Three-run eighth helps Cajuns corral Cowboys, 4-1

LAFAYETTE – Conor Higgs’ two-out RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning broke a 1-1 tie and Jose Torres and Caleb Stelly each drove in runs to highlight five consecutive hits in a three-run inning to give Louisiana a 4-1 win over in-state rival McNeese on Wednesday at M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field at Russo Park.

Matthew Holzhammer (2-0) worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of the eighth, striking out a pair of batters after McNeese (9-9) tied the game on a bases-loaded walk to Chase Keeton.

Louisiana (13-8), which won its fourth straight game and eighth in its last 10, received stellar pitching beginning with starter Chase Morgan, who struck out a career-high six batters while allowing one hit in four scoreless innings.

Jack Martinez fanned a pair of batters in 2.0 innings in relief for Louisiana with Blake Marshall pitching a scoreless seventh with a pair of strikeouts.

“Good pitching all night long,” head coach Matt Deggs said. “I thought Chase Morgan was the story. He’s starting to look really, really good and that’s been since Minute Maid (Park). He’s been great in his last three outings.

“(Jack) Martinez looked great and I was proud of Marsh (Blake Marshall). I thought Steven (Cash) bent and Matty (Holzhammer) is more than capable in getting that first hitter that he faced.”

Louisiana took a 1-0 lead at the end of the fifth inning after Connor Cuff was caught in a rundown between first and second base, allowing Torres to score from third.

The Cowboys loaded the bases in the seventh inning after Peyton LeJeune led off with a walk from Ragin’ Cajuns reliever Steven Cash before McNeese put runners on first and second after LeJeune reached second on Ben David’s attempted sacrifice bunt back to the mound.

Conner Westenburg’s infield single off the glove of first baseman Lee Amedee loaded the bases with no outs before LeJeune was thrown out a home when Cooper Hext reached on a fielder’s choice.

Keeton tied the game at 1-1 when he drew a walk off Holzhammer, but the right-hander got Elliot Hebert looking at a called third strike before fanning Simon Larranaga to end the threat.

JT Moeller (1-1), the fifth pitcher used by McNeese opened the eighth inning by striking out Josh Alexander and getting Kyle DeBarge to ground out to third before the Ragin’ Cajuns made adjustments at the plate.

“They pitched us tough, but we had some really tough at-bats and didn’t have a lot to show for it until right there at the end,” Deggs said. “We had to adjust our approach off that guy (Moeller) … really good change-up and just start a little bit later and try to hunt that oppo gap, and we were able to find a little bit of contact and finally got some balls to fall in.”

Duncan Pastore lifted a single to center field to keep the inning going for Louisiana and Amedee followed with a bloop single into center with Pastore advancing to third.

Higgs then followed with a flair into left-center field to drive in Pastore for the go-ahead run before Torres blooped a single over the head of Larranaga and into right field to plate Amedee. Stelly then hit a slow roller between first and second, allowing Higgs to score for a 4-1 lead.

“No, but we deserve it,” Deggs said about the five straight hits in the eighth. “The game will pay you back if you play it the right way and you keep working … the game will pay you back. It will find you.

“We’ve got a good approach going right now, and the thing about it is we might not start off hot all the time, but it just keeps building and building and we’re able to put stuff together at the end.”

Holzhammer allowed one hit and fanned three batters in 1.2 innings of relief to earn the win for Louisiana, which swept the season series and improved to 103-77 against its I-10 rival. Louisiana managed nine hits with all of its runs coming with two outs.

Alexis Gravel allowed one hit and struck out four in 3.0 innings of work for McNeese.

Louisiana will continue its six-game homestand on Friday when it resumes Sun Belt Conference play with a three-game series against Old Dominion. First pitch for Friday’s opener is slated for 6 p.m. with Saturday’s contest scheduled for 2 p.m. and Sunday’s finale at 11 a.m.

All three games will be streamed live on ESPN+ with fans able to listen in the Lafayette area on KPEL-FM (96.5) and worldwide on the Varsity Network app.

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).