LAFAYETTE, La. -- ULM dropped a pair of games on Friday to No. 19 Louisiana-Lafayette at M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field. The Warhawks dropped the resumption game from Thursday, 8-2, followed by game two of the series, 6-5 in 11 innings.
The Warhawks are now 20-34 on the season and 10-19 in conference play while the Cajuns are 36-19 and 20-9. With the loss, ULM is eliminated from Sun Belt Conference Tournament contention.
No. 19 Louisiana-Lafayette 8, ULM 2 (Resumption Game from Thursday)
With one out in the third, Nathan Reynolds singled through the left side and was able to move into scoring position on a balk by Gunner Leger. Reynolds was able to move 90 feet from home as he advanced when Anthony Herrera flew out to left. After a walk by Ross Moore, Reynolds was able to race home and give ULM a 1-0 advantage as Jacob Stockton reached on a fielding error by third baseman Joe Robbins.
ULM starting pitcher Keegan Curtis, likely the last person in the ballpark that wanted to see a delay of any sorts, was dominate on the hill. In four innings of work, Curtis faced the minimum as he allowed one walk and struck out five during his 57-pitch outing. Robbins was the only player to reach base during Curtis' outing and he was caught stealing to end the first.
When the delay began, at 7:15 p.m. on Thursday night, ULM had runners at first (Herrera) and second (Moore) with two outs and Jacob Stockton at the plate.
After a delay of 20 hours, 46 minutes, the two teams resumed game one of the series. In the bottom of the fifth, Louisiana-Lafayette picked up three consecutive hits with one out to take a 2-1 lead after five complete innings.
In the bottom of the sixth, Louisiana-Lafayette got a pair of two-RBI hits (double, homer) to highlight a five-run frame to extend the lead to 7-1. The Cajuns added one run in the eighth, on a passed ball, to move ahead, 8-1.
ULM scored the game's final run as Cade Stone drove home Danny Springer with a RBI single through the right side in the top of the ninth to set the final tally at 8-2.
Keller Bradford (2-3) was tagged with the loss after allowing five runs on four hits and one walk in 1.2 innings.
Eric Carter (4-2) earned the win for Louisiana-Lafayette as he pitched the final 4.1 innings, surrendering two hits and one run.
Louisiana-Lafayette 6, ULM 5 (Final in 11 innings; Game Two of Series)
The Ragin' Cajuns plated the game's first run as Hunter Kasuls led off the bottom of the first inning with a solo homer to right field.
ULM answered right back as the Warhawks plated a pair in the top half of the second inning. With one out in the frame, Josh Faciane delivered a solo homer to left field to even the game at 1-1. Later in the inning, Dalton Todd gave the Warhawks the lead as he raced home on a wild pitch.
Louisiana-Lafayette got a single run in the bottom of the second on a wild pitch as the home team evened the contest at two runs apiece.
After a scoreless third inning, the Warhawks regained the lead as they plated a pair of runs in the top of the fourth. With runners at the corners, Cade Stone delivered a blooper to shallow left that turned into a RBI double as Nathan Reynolds was able to score. Faciane was able to move from first to third on Stone's hit. Anthony Herrera followed and pushed the lead to 4-2 as his sacrifice fly to center field brought home Faciane.
The Cajuns evened the contest at 4-4 as they scored two runs in the home half of the fifth inning. Two innings later Louisiana-Lafayette took a 5-4 lead as Brenn Conrad drove in Joe Robbins with a single to left.
The Warhawks knotted the game at 5-5 in the top of the eighth inning. With one out, Jacob Stockton doubled down the left field line to bring home Herrera and even the game.
After the two teams traded zeros in the ninth and 10th innings, Louisiana-Lafayette plated the winning run on a RBI double in the bottom of the 11th to claim the 6-5 win in the night cap.
Herrera (1-4) took the loss after allowing two runs on six hits and two walks with four strikeouts in career-long outing of 5.2 innings.
Cajun reliever Jevin Huval (2-1) earned the win after tossing two scoreless innings, allowing two hits during his 26-pitch outing.
Diamond Notes…
- Official delay time in game one between ULM and Louisiana-Lafayette was 20 hours, 46 minutes.
- Spencer Hemphill threw out his 20th runner of the season as a 2-4 caught stealing of Joe Robbins ended the bottom of the first inning of game one of the series.
- Ross Moore reached base safely in each of his first three plate appearances in game one of the series (walk, walk, hit-by-pitch).
- ULM's streak of using a different batting order in every game ended in game two of the Louisiana-Lafayette series… ULM used a different batting order in each of the first 53 games of the season… ULM's similar lineup matched that of game one of the series at Arkansas State.
- Jacob Stockton notched his 12th double of the season to lead off the top of the third in game two of the series.
- Cade Stone recorded his 10th double of 2016 as he drove in Nathan Reynolds with a blooper to shallow left field in the top of the fourth… Stone tallied three hits in the game and also walked twice as he reached five total times.
- Anthony Herrera's outing of 5.2 innings was a career-long outing for the junior.
- ULM's top four hitters tallied 11 of the team's 16 hits on Friday night in game two of the series… Cade Stone (three; including double and triple), Anthony Herrera (two), Nathan Pugh (two), Jacob Stockton (four; including two doubles)
- The extra inning game between ULM and Louisiana-Lafayette marked the fifth time this season the Warhawks played an extra-inning contest… The Warhawks are now 1-4 in extra-inning contests in 2016.
Up Next…
ULM and Louisiana-Lafayette will conclude the three-game series tomorrow afternoon at 3 p.m.
For updates on the baseball squad, be sure to follow the team on Twitter
@ULM_BSB, Facebook (
www.facebook.com/ULMBaseball) and Instagram (
@ULM_BSB).
