MONROE, La. -- Marcus Aranda drove in
Henry Garcia Jr. in the bottom of the 10th inning that delivered a walk-off 4-3 win for the ULM baseball team and evened the Sun Belt Conference series versus the Ragin' Cajuns on Saturday (April 12) at Lou St. Amant Field in Monroe, La.
The Warhawks (17-19, 4-10 Sun Belt) relinquished the lead in the top of the eighth inning when the Ragin' Cajuns (17-21, 8-6) tied the game on a two-RBI double by Lee Amedee. ULM flamethrower
Josh Gregoire shut down the Cajuns' offense and pitched 2.1 scoreless innings to set the stage for the Warhawks' walk-off moment.
The ULM pitching staff held the Cajuns to five hits and two extra-base hits and struck out six. The Warhawks racked up nine hits and powered four extra-base hits on the day.
Kade Dupont recorded a career-high four hits to lead ULM at the plate, including a double.
ULM starter
Daniel Gonzalez induced a 6-4-3 double play that ended the top of the first inning without surrendering a run. Dupont swung at the first pitch he saw and singled to left and
Bryce Blaser followed with a hit by pitch before a double play concluded the bottom of the first. The visitors scored first on a two-out RBI double by catcher Jose Torres. After Gonzalez sat the Cajuns down in order in the top of the third, ULM catcher
Tony Lindwedel crushed his first triple of the season off the top of the wall in left field.
Isaiah Walker lifted a sacrifice fly that scored Lindwedel and tied the game at 1-1 through three innings.
Gonzalez handed the baseball off to
Aidan Haynes out of the bullpen with two runners on in the top of the fourth. After a walk that loaded the bases, Haynes picked up two crucial outs and kept the game tied heading into the bottom of the fourth. On the first pitch of the ULM fourth inning,
Colby Lunsford launched a 341-foot missile that cleared the left field fence for his fourth home run of the season that gave the Warhawks the lead. Haynes found a groove on the mound and hurled three straight 1-2-3 innings and limited the Cajuns to just one run through seven innings. Lunsford delivered another clutch RBI in the bottom of the fifth on a two-out RBI single that plated Dupont. Dupont doubled to center in the bottom of the seventh for his third hit of the day, but the Warhawks were unable to extend the lead and were up two runs through seven innings.
With two outs in the top of the eighth frame, Amedee evened the score with one swing of the bat on a two-RBI double down the line in left. Gregoire struck out the next Cajun on four pitches and the score was tied heading into the bottom of the eighth.
Angelo Aleman was hit by a pitch to start the eighth and was lifted for a pinch runner,
Ben Coke. Coke was nabbed attempting to steal second base for the second out.
Michelle Artzberger singled with two outs before the Cajuns' reliever Blake McGehee struck out the final batter of the inning. Gregoire tossed a pair of strikeouts in a quiet top of the ninth inning for the Cajuns. Dupont collected his fourth base knock in the bottom of the ninth before the Cajuns turned two and sent the game to extras.
Conor Higgs drew a walk for the Cajuns with two outs in the top of the 10th. During the next at-bat, Higgs broke for second base and was initially ruled safe on a steal attempt. The Warhawks challenged the call and after the review, the call on the field was reversed to an out and ended the inning for the Cajuns. Garcia Jr. shot a ball in the left-center field gap and doubled to start the 10th inning for the Warhawks and carried the potential game-winning run. The Cajuns committed an error on the next play that put runners at the corners with no outs. After an intentional walk to
Jacob Billings, Aranda was called to pinch it with the bases loaded. Aranda fouled off two pitches down in the count and slashed a 1-2 pitch that hung in the air while Garcia Jr. bolted for the plate. The Cajuns' third baseman had no play on Garcia Jr., and Aranda drove in the game-winning RBI to give the Warhawks a 4-3 walk-off victory.
Gregoire picked up his second win of the week on the mound and struck out three batters out of the seven he faced. Haynes completed 4.1 innings and struck out two batters while Gonzalez punched out one and allowed just one run.
At the plate, Dupont's four hits led the Warhawks while Lunsford also swung for a multi-hit game with a pair of hits.
Saturday's walk-off was the first walk-off win for the Warhawks over the Cajuns with both teams being members of the Sun Belt Conference, dating back to 2006.
The series finale between the Warhawks and the Ragin' Cajuns is set for tomorrow (April 13) at 1 p.m. from Lou St. Amant Field.
