Amedee’s hit helps Cajuns walk off Green Wave In extras, 5-4

Herrmann goes 8.0 innings and fans nine; series finale set for 1 p.m. on Sunday

LAFAYETTE – Lee Amedee’s RBI double in the bottom of the 10th inning scored Trey LaFleur and gave Louisiana a 5-4 victory over Tulane in the second game of a three-game series Saturday afternoon at M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field at Russo Park.

Andrew Herrmann tossed 8.0 innings and struck out nine batters as Louisiana (7-7) took a 4-3 lead in the eighth inning on LaFleur’s two-run homer before Tulane (10-5) tied it in the ninth.

Jack Martinez (1-2) earned his first win in a Louisiana uniform after tossing 2.0 innings with five strikeouts. Amedee led a 13-hit attack for the Ragin’ Cajuns going 3-for-5.

The final game of the three-game series is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Sunday. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ with fans able to listen to the game in the Lafayette area on KPEL-FM (96.5) and worldwide on the Varsity Network app.

Sunday’s game is Kid’s Day at Russo Park with kids able to stand with the Ragin’ Cajuns during the National Anthem and “Run The Bases” after the game. The game is being promoted to children as “Capes and Crowns” where kids can dress as their favorite Super Hero for a chance to win a prize (No masks allowed).

“We’ve got a bunch of tough kids,” head coach Matt Deggs said. “It’s been a long week and a half for us. We’ve lost some heartbreakers (last week) at Minute Maid and obviously spit up a huge lead late. And to spit it again in the ninth when we execute a pitch and it squibs between the mound and the dish.

“That’s a heartbreak right there, but he (Martinez) responded. Jack did an amazing job getting us out of that inning, not only just to do that, but then we get runners at second and third with no outs and strand them again.”

LaFleur opened the 10th inning with a single up the middle off Tulane reliever Trey Cehajic (0-2) before stealing second. After Kyle DeBarge was intentionally walked, Amedee hit a 3-and-2 over the head of Tulane center-fielder Teo Banks which allowed LaFleur to score from second.

Louisiana took a 1-0 lead in the first inning after Maddox Mandino singled, moved to second on a ground ball and scored on DeBarge’s single to center.

Tulane knotted the game at 1-1 in the third after Mandino and Conor Higgs collided in center-field, allowing Gavin Schulz to record an inside-the-park home run. Nathan Rose gave the Green Wave a 2-1 lead in the fourth on a solo home run down the left-field line before the Ragin’ Cajuns evened things up in the bottom half of the frame on Amedee’s leadoff triple and Duncan Pastore’s RBI single.

Herrmann, who scattered five hits in the longest outing by a Louisiana pitcher this season, allowed a two-out solo homer to Brock Slaton in the eighth before the Ragin’ Cajuns responded in the bottom half.

“We needed to protect our bullpen a little bit today, and he got better as the game went on,” Deggs said. “He gets better as he goes, and he’s not just a one-time, two-time through the lineup guy. He gets stronger and better. He starts introducing different pitches and he did that today.”

Bryan Broussard, Jr., led off the inning with a single up the middle off Green Wave reliever Blaise Wilcenski before LaFleur hit an opposite-field home run to give Louisiana its first lead of the game, 4-3.

Tulane knotted the game at 4-4 in the top of the ninth as Jackson Linn hit a one-out double, Marcus Cline walked and Schulz was hit by a pitch to load the bases. After Martinez fanned Colin Tuft for the second out of the inning, Brady Marget fell behind in the count (1-and-2) before beating out a dribbler up the third-base line and allowing Linn to score the game-tying run.

Cehajic, who allowed three hits with two strikeouts in 1.0 innings of work, worked out of a jam in the ninth after John Taylor led off with a double and pinch-runner Ben Robichaux moved to third when Jose Torres’ reached on a sacrifice bunt to put runners on the corners. The right-hander struck out the next two batters before getting Broussard to ground out to short to keep the Cajuns off the board.

LaFleur and DeBarge each had two hits for Louisiana, which outhit Tulane, 13-7. Marget posted two hits to lead the Green Wave while starter Chandler Welch scattered seven hits with five strikeouts in 7.0 innings of work.

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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