Cajuns righty Lee ties up USA in Sun Belt opneer

LAFAYETTE, La. – Louisiana junior right-hander Nick Lee was dominant on the mound Friday night as he led the Ragin’ Cajuns to a 2-1 victory over South Alabama in the series opener at M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field at Russo Park.

Lee limited the Jaguars (7-7) to one run on one hit in eight innings of work while posting a career-best 10 strikeouts. The Longville, La. native took a no-hitter into the seventh inning retiring 15 straight batters and 19 of his first 20 to earn his first win of the season.

The victory improves the Cajuns to 6-7 on the season as they have won three of their last four contests.

LEADING THE CAJUNS

Senior Kennon Fontenot went 2-for-4 at the plate with an RBI and extended his hit streak to five games, while junior Gavin Bourgeois has reached base in eight straight contests.

On the mound, freshman left-hander Brock Batty notched his first career save with a scoreless inning in the ninth retiring three of the four batters he faced.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Louisiana took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third when Fontenot sent a two-out double past second baseman Paul Russo into right centerfield to plate Bourgeois who reached on a bunt single earlier in the inning.

The Ragin’ Cajuns added to the lead an inning later as Kole McKinnon brought home Jonathan Windham on an RBI groundout to shortstop to make the score 2-0.

South Alabama cut the lead to 2-1 in the top of the seventh on the Jags only hit of the game as Wells Davis came up with a two-out RBI single to right field.

The Jaguars threatened in the top of the ninth putting runners on the corners with two outs, but Batty settled in and got Davis to fly out to centerfield to end the game.

UP NEXT

The Cajuns and Jags return to action tomorrow at 2 p.m. in game two of the series at Russo Park. Right-hander Jack Burk will make the start for Louisiana, while left-hander Zach Melton will take the mound for South Alabama. Live video and stats are available on RaginCajuns.com.

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