Brooks, DeBarge lead Cajuns past Demons, 14-4

LAFAYETTE – Murphy Brooks struck out three batters and allowed one hit in his Louisiana debut and Kyle DeBarge homered twice, including a first-inning grand slam, in a 14-4 seven-inning victory over Northwestern State on Wednesday at M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field at Russo Park.

Conor Higgs added a pair of hits while Duncan Pastore drove in a pair of runs as Louisiana (5-3) scored nine runs in the first inning before scoring once in the sixth and four in the seventh.

Louisiana, which scored eight runs in the first inning of its midweek opener last week at McNeese, sent 12 men to the plate against Northwestern State pitcher Tyler Nichol (0-1) as Trey LaFleur led off with a walk before four straight hits.

Higgs’ infield single with the bases loaded gave Louisiana a 1-0 lead before Pastore drove in two with a single through the right side. A wild pitch scored Higgs from third and a walk, error and hit batter kept the bases loaded before DeBarge would clear the bases three batters later his second home run of the season.

That was more than enough for Brooks (1-0), a redshirt freshman pitching in his first competitive game in over two years. The right-hander, who missed his senior season in high school due to injury, missed the 2023 season at TCU after recovering from a near-fatal illness shortly after his arrival on campus.

“What a comeback story,” head coach Matt Deggs said about Brooks. “He’s on his deathbed, basically, last year and they don’t if he’s going to make it out of there. That’s the great part about this game … you never know when that somebody’s why did they dig out of that hole, come all the way back and get healthy and really take the mound competitively for the first time since high school.

“What a redemption story and I’m just tickled to death for Murphy. Kyle DeBarge got rolling tonight and it was a good game all around.”

Brooks, the first of five pitchers used by the Ragin’ Cajuns, allowed a two-run homer to Colin Rains in the second inning while striking out three batters in a 26-pitch performance.

“It was incredible, first things first, the team came out and took care of business tonight against a tough Northwestern State squad,” Brooks said. “It was special, I can’t really describe it. Having gone what I went through and been able to come all the way back by the grace of God … I just went out there and did my thing. It’s just a blessing to be able to get back on the field again.”

Northwestern State (2-7), playing the second of six straight games against Sun Belt opponents, added a pair of runs in the fifth inning as Bo Willis’ two-run single drove in Cole Hill and Reese Lipoma.

The Ragin’ Cajuns would extend their lead to 10-4 in the sixth on Mason Zambo’s squeeze bunt before closing out the contest with a four-run seventh.

A leadoff error, walk and hit batter loaded the bases before Jackson Halter’s sacrifice fly scored Lee Amedee from third. Two batters later, DeBarge lined his second home run of the night with a three-run shot just inside the left-field foul pole to become the first Ragin’ Cajun to drive in at least seven runs since Hunter Kasuls drove in nine against Little Rock in 2018.

DeBarge finished 3-for-5 at the plate with a bunt single in the first inning while scoring three times. John Taylor, Josh Alexander and Caleb Stelly each scored a pair of runs for Louisiana.

Freshman Tate Hess fanned four batters in 2.0 innings of relief for the Ragin’ Cajuns with Phil Brennaman, Brendan Moody and Blake Marshall scattering a combined three hits with four strikeouts over 3.0 innings.

Louisiana will head west to Houston’s Minute Maid Park to compete in the Astros Foundation College Classic beginning on Friday. The Ragin’ Cajuns will face No. 9-ranked Vanderbilt on Friday at 3:05 p.m. before facing third-ranked LSU in the nightcap on Saturday at 7:05 p.m.

The Ragin’ Cajuns will close out the six-team tournament on Sunday against the University of Houston in a 7:05 p.m.

ALL NINE GAMES TO BE TELEVISED AND STREAMED
All nine of the tournament games will be televised by Space City Home Network and available on the channel in the entirety of the Astros five-state viewing area. Seven of the nine games will be on the primary channel, with Saturday’s afternoon and night games being aired live on the Space City Home Network alternate channel.

Additionally, all nine games will also be streamed live without a paywall on Astros.com and on the Astros X, Facebook and YouTube channels.

Nationally, MLB Network will air two games on their network outside of the Astros viewing area. The LSU and Texas game will air on tape delay on Friday night, beginning at 11 p.m. CT. The Louisiana-LSU game on Saturday will air live on MLB Network (blacked out in Astros viewing area).

2024 ASTROS FOUNDATION COLLEGE CLASSIC SCHEDULE:
Friday, March 1
Houston vs. Texas State – 11:05 a.m.
Louisiana vs. Vanderbilt – 3:05 p.m.
LSU vs. Texas – 7:05 p.m.

Saturday, March 2
Vanderbilt vs. Houston – 11:05 a.m.
Texas State vs. Texas – 3:05 p.m.
Louisiana vs. LSU – 7:05 p.m.

Sunday, March 3
Texas vs. Vanderbilt – 11:05 a.m.
Texas State vs. LSU – 3:05 p.m.
Houston vs. Louisiana – 7:05 p.m.

* – times subject to change; home teams listed second

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).