McManus grand slam helps LSU win first in sweep of scrimmage games vs. ULL

BATON ROUGE, La. – Catcher Tyler McManus launched a grand slam in the bottom of the seventh inning Sunday to break a 3-3 tie and lift LSU to a 8-6 win over UL Lafayette in the first of two eight-inning scrimmages at Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field.

The Tigers edged the Cajuns, 9-8, in the second eight-inning scrimmage as infielders Jordan Thompson and Cade Doughty combined to drive in five runs for LSU.

“I thought we played really well,” said LSU coach Jay Johnson. “We left a few at-bats on the table, but we honestly haven’t gotten to that phase of situational hitting yet in practice. What I’m excited about is that the things we need to do better are all in front of us as part of our development process. Our plate discipline was really good, which created a lot of opportunities, and with the ability I believe our players have, we’re eventually going to crack through.”

LSU trailed the Cajuns, 3-2, entering the bottom of the seventh, but Thompson tripled and scored on a sacrifice fly to tie the game. The Tigers loaded the bases later in the inning, setting the stage for the grand slam by McManus to give LSU a 7-3 lead it would not relinquish.

LSU grabbed a 1-0 lead in the bottom of second on Thompson’s RBI single that scored left fielder Gavin Dugas. The Cajuns responded to tie the game 1-1 in top of third and LSU took a 2-1 advantage in the fifth when Doughty was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, scoring Thompson from third.

UL Lafayette scored two runs in the sixth to take 3-2 lead before LSU mounted its comeback in the seventh inning.

LSU overcame an early 4-0 deficit in the second scrimmage, with Thompson’s three-run homer in the third inning giving the Tigers a 5-4 lead.

The Cajuns responded and held a 7-5 advantage in the fifth, but Cade Beloso delivered an RBI single in the bottom of the frame, and Doughty’s run-scoring double in the sixth tied the contest at 7-7.

The Tigers scored the go-ahead run in the seventh when outfielder Dylan Crews drew a bases-loaded walk, and LSU extended the margin to 9-7 later in the inning on a passed ball.

Notable Stats from Scrimmage Game 1
• Jordan Thompson 2-2, 3B, RBI, 2 BB
• Tyler McManus 1-4, HR, 4 RBI
• Dylan Crews 1-2, BB, HBP
• Will Safford 1-4, RBI
• Eric Reyzelman 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R

Notable Stats from Scrimmage Game 2
• Tre Morgan 2-4, RBI, BB
• Gio DiGiacomo 2-4
• Dylan Crews 1-3, 2B, RBI, 2 BB
• Jordan Thompson 1-4, HR, 3 RBI
• Cade Doughty 1-3, 2 RBI, 2 BB
• Cade Beloso 1-1, RBI
• Grant Fontenot 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 Ks

RAGIN’ CAJUNS RELEASE:

BATON ROUGE – CJ Willis belted an opposite-field, three-run home run in the opener while Carson Roccaforte and freshman Kyle DeBarge collected two hits in the finale as the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Baseball team wrapped up fall practice on Sunday, dropping a pair of back-and-forth contests (8-6 and 9-7) at LSU at Alex Box Stadium.

Louisiana, which will officially open the 2022 season on Feb. 18 at home against NCAA Regional finalist UC Irvine, recorded 10 hits in each contest with DeBarge going a combined 4-for-7 with a pair of RBIs to lead the Ragin’ Cajuns.

DeBarge drove in Louisiana’s first run of the day with an RBI single to drive in Tyler Robertson, who reached on a one-out double. Louisiana scored twice in the sixth inning to take the lead as Julian Brock tripled into the left-field corner, driving in Roccaforte, before scoring on Jonathan Brandon’s sacrifice fly.

LSU used a five-run seventh to regain the lead, which was highlighted by Tyler McManus’ grand slam to center before withholding a Ragin’ Cajuns rally in the eighth.

Brock reached on a one-out walk for Louisiana before advancing to third on Brandon’s double down the right-field line. Willis, who began his career at LSU before transferring to Louisiana, cut the Tigers’ lead to 7-6 with a home run to left field before Grant Taylor got the final two outs to end the threat.

Louisiana jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning as it took advantage of a trio of LSU errors in the frame. Roccaforte drove in Robertson with an RBI single before the Ragin’ Cajuns would score a pair of runs off a pair of Tiger miscues.

Roccaforte, who was a combined 3-for-7, gave Louisiana a 4-0 lead in the third inning with an RBI grounder before LSU would rally to take a 5-4 lead in the bottom half of the frame.

The Ragin’ Cajuns regained the lead with their second three-run frame in the fifth as Bobby Lada and DeBarge hit back-to-back RBI doubles before Will Veillon hit an RBI single up the middle.

LSU tied the game at 7-7 in the sixth on an RBI single by Cade Doughty before Dylan Crews added an insurance run with a bases-loaded walk in the seventh.

Notable Stats (GAME 1)

Tyler Robertson – 2-2, 2B, 1 run

Kyle DeBarge – 2-3, 1 SB, 1 RBI

Carson Roccaforte – 1-4, 1 run

Julian Brock – 1-1, 3B, RBI, BB, 2 runs

Jonathan Brandon – 1-1, 2B, SacFly, RBI, 1 run

CJ Willis – 2-2, HR, 3 RBI, 1 run

Dylan Theut – 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 K

Notable Stats (GAME 2)

Tyler Robertson – 1-2, 2B, 2 runs

Conner Kimple – 1-1, 2 BB, 1 run

Kyle DeBarge – 2-4, 2B, RBI, 2 runs

Bobby Lada – 1-2, 2B, RBI, 1 run

Carson Roccaforte – 2-3, 2B, 2 RBI, 1 run

Will Veillon – 1-4, RBI

Julian Brock – 1-2, 2B, 1 run

Chipper Menard – 1.0 IP, 2 K

Bo Bonds – 1.0 IP, 1 K

FOLLOW THE RAGIN’ CAJUNS

For the latest updates on Ragin’ Cajuns baseball, follow on Facebook (RaginCajunsBaseball), Twitter (@RaginCajunsBSB) and Instagram (@RaginCajunsBSB) or check RaginCajuns.com.