MONTGOMERY, Ala. — UL Baseball lives to fight another day.
Facing elimination in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, the Ragin’ Cajuns rallied late to defeat Georgia Southern 5-4 on Thursday afternoon, surviving a back-and-forth battle and keeping their postseason hopes alive.
Sophomore ace Chase Morgan set the tone early, striking out six batters through the first three innings and finishing with nine punchouts on the day. The Cajuns struck first in the bottom of the first when Luke Yuhasz drove a single into right field to score Drew Markle and make it 1-0.
Georgia Southern answered in the fifth with a bases-clearing double from Juju Stevens, giving the Eagles a 3-1 lead. But UL refused to back down.
In the seventh inning, Markle again made his presence felt — tying the game with an RBI single before turning heads with a daring dash around the bases. After a steal attempt and an errant throw from the Eagles, Markle advanced from second to third — then all the way home — giving the Cajuns a 4-3 lead. The sophomore finished 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored.
Stevens, however, wasn’t done. The Georgia Southern slugger launched a solo home run in the eighth to tie the game again, bringing his RBI total to four.
But in the ninth, when UL needed a response, Lee Amedee came through with a sacrifice fly to score Caleb Stelly and put the Cajuns back in front 5-4. The bullpen held strong to seal the win.
“We put together a gritty win today,” said head coach Matt Deggs. “Somebody’s gotta win the ugly games. We talk about that a lot, and today was an ugly game that we found a way to win by outlasting them. That’s always been our MO. You have to have tough guys to do that.”
“That’s pack baseball,” Markle added. “It’s the same game we’ve played for the last year. It’s about how much more you want it than the other team. I think we play to the end — that’s just what you have to do to win games here.”
With the win, Louisiana continues its run through the loser’s bracket. The Cajuns return to action Friday at 6:30 p.m., where they will face the loser of Marshall vs. Coastal Carolina.
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