Cajuns, Jaguars clinch Sun Belt semifinal berths

CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL | PURCHASE TICKETS

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – For the second-straight day, each of the top-seeded teams prevailed in pool play action at the 2021 Guardian Credit Union Sun Belt Baseball Championship presented by Troy University in Montgomery, Alabama.

No. 1-seeded South Alabama and No. 1-seeded Louisiana earned clean sweeps of their pools to advance to Saturday’s semifinals, while No. 2-seeded UTA proved victorious in its pool play opener.

Due to projected weather conditions for Friday, No. 3 Troy will face No. 2 UTA to close out Pool D at 10 a.m. CT, followed by No. 3 ULM versus No. 2 Georgia Southern at 1:30 p.m. CT to round out Pool B.

Game 8 – No. 1 South Alabama def. Little Rock, 6-2
Sun Belt East Division champion South Alabama secured a 6-2 victory over Little Rock to sweep Pool A play and advance to Saturday’s semifinals.

Little Rock jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first, before the Jaguars responded with runs in the second, third, fifth, eighth and ninth to produce the 6-2 win. Junior shortstop Santi Montiel powered the South Alabama offense with a pair of home runs to plate the tying run in the third and the go-ahead tally in the fifth.

Ron Maestri Sun Belt Coach of the Year Mark Calvi used ninth pitchers in the contest, with Noah Michael picking up the win. With the victory, South Alabama moves to 91-60 in Sun Belt Championship play all-time.

Game 9 – No. 2 UTA def. Arkansas State, 8-3
Sun Belt West Division co-champion UTA rode a six-run, first-inning outburst to an 8-3 victory in its pool play opener at Riverwalk Stadium.

Junior right-handed pitcher Carlos Tavera picked up the victory after going 6.1 innings, while establishing a new Mavericks single-season strikeout record in the process. Redshirt senior shortstop Josh Minjarez opened the scoring with a two-run bomb down the left field line in the bottom of the first and senior outfielder Connor Aube closed it with a two-run home run of his own in the bottom of the eighth.

UTA improves to 8-10 in Sun Belt Championship action all-time following Thursday’s win.

Game 10 – No. 1 Louisiana def. No. 4 App State, 7-2
Sun Belt West Division co-champion Louisiana topped App State, 7-2, to sweep Pool C and advance to Saturday’s semifinals.

Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year senior catcher Drake Osborn got the Ragin’ Cajuns on the board early with a leadoff home run in the bottom of the first, before starters junior left-handed pitcher Tyler Tuthill of App State and sophomore right-handed pitcher Connor Cooke of Louisiana settled into a pitcher’s duel. A grand slam from Ragin’ Cajuns junior designated hitter Ben Fitzgerald in the bottom of the eighth broke the game open and punctuated the win for Louisiana.

With the win, Louisiana moves to 50-42 all-time in Sun Belt Championship play.

The 2021 Guardian Credit Union Sun Belt Baseball Championship presented by Troy University continues Friday, with pool play action resuming at 10 a.m. CT. Tickets remain available, with prices ranging from $10 to $25 for a single game and from $50 to $110 for all-session tournament booklets. For more information on tickets and seating options—or to purchase all-session tournament booklets—contact the Montgomery Biscuits ticket office by calling 334.819.7483. Each game of the Sun Belt Baseball Championship will also be broadcast live on ESPN+.

For additional information, including relevant links and daily recaps, visit Sun Belt Baseball Championship Central.

Championship Schedule
Friday, May 28 
Game 11 – No. 2 UTA vs. No. 3 Troy, 10:00 a.m.
Game 12 – No. 2 Georgia Southern vs. No. 3 ULM, 1:30 p.m.

Saturday, May 29 
Semifinal 1 – South Alabama vs. Pool D Winner, 12:00 p.m.
Semifinal 2 – Louisiana vs. Pool B Winner, 4:00 p.m.

Sunday, May 30 
Championship Game – Semifinal 1 Winner vs. Semifinal 2 Winner, 1:00 p.m.

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