Baseball: Louisiana Pitches One-Hitter, Beats Coastal, 7-0

 BOX SCORE (PDF)

LAFAYETTE – Louisiana Baseball pitched a combined one-hit shutout en route to taking its third game in four days from Coastal Carolina, 7-0, on Monday afternoon at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field at Russo Park. 

This is the first combined one-hit shutout since Jack Burk and Gunner Leger combined for one on March 10, 2017 against Saint Peter’s. Burk, today’s winning pitcher, also set a new career high in strikeouts with eight. 

On his birthday, Carson Roccaforte tallied a team-high four hits, becoming the third Ragin’ Cajun to do so this season. Roccaforte also drove in three runs on the day, two of which came with two outs. 

Ben Fitzgerald went one-for-three at the plate with a double, increasing his league-leading total to 10. 

Behind the pitching efforts of Jack Burk (2-0), Will Moriarty, Peyton Havard and David Christie, Louisiana was able to allow only one hit and send down 14 Chanticleers on the day. 

Louisiana jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first inning on a Roccaforte RBI-single that scored Tyler Robertson. The Ragin’ Cajuns matched that run in the second by scoring a run from a Kevin Fitzgerald bunt that put the game at 2-0. 

In the fourth, the Ragin’ Cajuns used a Roccaforte and Connor Kimple RBI-single to put the game at 4-0. 

Coastal Carolina didn’t get its first and only hit off Jack Burk until the top of the fifth inning, a double down the left field-line.

Moriarty relieved Burk and got back on track, pitching two innings and punching out three of the eight batters he faced. 

The Ragin’ Cajuns added three runs in the seventh and eighth inning, two on bases loaded walks from Brennan Breaux and Drake Osborn and another on a Roccaforte double. 

Havard and Christie finished the game for Louisiana, both posting hitless frames while throwing 20 or less pitches. 

Due to the Easter holiday, Louisiana will play ULM starting on Thursday and running through Saturday next week.