Cajuns cap sweep of Monarchs with more pitching dominance

Louisiana extends win streak to seven after SBC sweep; outscores ODU 18-1 in series

LAFAYETTE – Kyle DeBarge’s sacrifice fly in the sixth inning broke up a scoreless contest while Chase Morgan and a pair of relievers notched Louisiana’s second shutout victory in three games in claiming a 2-0 win over Old Dominion to complete a three-game Sun Belt Conference sweep on Sunday at M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field at Russo Park.

Jose Torres had a pair of hits and scored an insurance run on Kyle DeBarge’s sacrifice fly in the eighth as Louisiana (16-8, 5-1 SBC) won its 1,000th overall game on its home field. Since its first season in 1978, Louisiana has posted a 1,000-408-2 record.

“This place is so special to everyone, and to everybody here and everybody in Cajun Nation,” head coach Matt Deggs said. “One of my best friends and mentors (the late UL coach Tony Robichaux) helped build this place and posted most of the wins, so it’s a special day.

“We gave the lineup card and game ball to (UL Chief of Staff) Anthony Babineaux to hold because he’s been a part of just about all of them. Thanks to Cajun Nation for coming out today the way they did at 11 o’clock in the morning with a little bit chilly weather. I’m just proud of the way we competed and fought all weekend.”

Louisiana earned its three-game sweep of ODU (13-11, 2-4 SBC) in impressive fashion outscoring the Monarchs, 18-1, while allowing nine hits and a 0.36 earned run average in 25.0 innings.

Both teams battled through a scoreless contest through the first five innings before Louisiana finally broke through in the sixth. The Ragin’ Cajuns nearly broke the scoreless battle in the second after Duncan Pastore singled before eventually moving to third on a wild pitch.

A potential two-out infield single by Conor Higgs which scored Pastore was overturned after review and keeping the game scoreless.

ODU missed an opportunity to get on the scoreboard in the third after loading the bases with two outs. Kyle Edwards and Steven Meier reached on two-out singles off Morgan before Luke Waters was hit by a pitch, but the true freshman got out of the jam when he got Jake Ticer to ground to first to end the threat.

Louisiana finally broke the pitching duel in the sixth after John Taylor was hit by a pitch from ODU reliever Bailey Matela (1-1) before advancing to second on a wild pitch. Taylor advanced to third on a wild pitch and would score when DeBarge lifted a sacrifice fly to right for a 1-0 lead.

David Christie (1-0) allowed one hit over 3.0 innings in relief and struck out a season-high five batters for Louisiana. The right-hander allowed a one-out double to ODU’s Evan Holman in the fifth inning and retired his final five batters before Matthew Holzhammer pitched the final 2.0 innings to earn his third save.

The Ragin’ Cajuns added an insurance run in the eighth after Torres hit a one-out double off the wall in right field and scored on Taylor’s triple to center.

Louisiana collected four hits off four ODU pitchers. Morgan scattered three hits and struck out two in 4.0 innings of work for the Ragin’ Cajuns.

“There’s always room for improvement,” Deggs said. “We can still pitch it a little bit better, but this was about as good as it gets. We’ve got a couple of guys that are barking a little bit and we can get them healthy. We’re still learning and developing everybody’s role, but I think we took a huge step towards that this weekend.”

Louisiana will close out a six-game homestand on Tuesday when it hosts Grambling in a 6 p.m. contest. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ with fans able to listen to the game in Lafayette area on KPEL-FM (96.5) and worldwide on the Varsity Network app.

Tickets for Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Baseball are available for purchase on-line at RaginCajuns.com/tickets or by calling the Louisiana Athletics Ticket Office at (337) 482-GoUL (4685).

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