LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE DEFEATS FURMAN 5-2
The Cajuns scattered five runs throughout the contest as they rolled to a 5-2
victory over the Furman Paladins Friday night at M.L. “Tigue” Moore
Field.
Kevin Ardoin picked up his second win of the season as the Cajuns improved
to 9-5 overall. Ardoin (2-1) pitched seven innings without surrendering an earned
run and striking out nine.
Brandt Sanders saved the game for Louisiana-Lafayette.
Starting pitcher David Mitchell (1-2) took the loss for Furman going five innings
while surrendering four runs on seven hits.
Case Cassedy reached on an error with two gone in the second for Furman, but
Ardoin would get out of the inning with a routine ground out to third.
Phillip Hawke gave the Cajuns a 1-0 lead with a solo shot over the center field
wall to lead off the bottom of the second.
Trying to keep pace with Hawke, Justin Merendino went deep in the bottom of
the third giving the home team the 2-0 edge.
Furman’s Derek Norman doubled down the third base line with one away in
the fourth. Dominic Franchini moved Norman to third with a slow-rolling single
to short. The Paladins pulled Norman across the plate on a fielding error.
Dallas Morris started the bottom half of inning four with a stand-up double.
Morris moved over to third on a ground out to the second base side. Jason Rodriguezslapped
a single up the middle scoring Morris and giving the Cajuns the 3-1 advantage.
Nick Wajda hit a single to center field and advanced to single on an error.
Wajda wound up on third after tagging up on a lofty fly out to right field.
Ardoin would; however, pitch out of the jam employing the strikeout to get out
of the inning.
Adam Massiatte hit a bloop that fell for a double down the right field line
with no outs in the bottom of the fifth. John Coker advanced Massiatte to third
with a single that found its way through the left side. Massiatte scored on
a Merendino sacrifice fly to center increasing the Cajuns’ lead to 4-1.
Morris knocked a seeing-eye single up the middle to start the sixth before
Hawke drew a walk on a full count. Brad Saloom, pinch-hitting in the designated
hitter spot, laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance the runners to second and
third. The Cajuns; however, were not able to add any insurance runs in the inning.
Furman pinch hitter, Joe Daysh singled with no outs off of Brandt Sanders who
came on in relief of Ardoin. Franchini doubled to left plating Daysh and cutting
the Cajuns lead in half.
Cajuns leftfielder Leonard Guerrero was hit by the first pitch he saw in the
bottom of the eighth to take first with no outs. He advanced to third on Hawke’s
double off the left field wall. Saloom was intentionally walked to load the
bases. Micah Cockrell walked on a full count to bring in the fifth run on the
night for the home team.
The Cajuns will tangle with the same Furman Paladins in games two and three
of the series tomorrow. Game one of the doubleheader will start at 3 p.m. at
Moore Field.