Little Rock, Ark. - Louisiana's shutout bullpen performance and five runs in the last four innings pushed the Ragin' Cajuns past Little Rock, 7-4, to victory on Sunday afternoon at Gary Hogan Field.
Six Ragin' Cajuns (22-17, 8-7 SBC) recorded multiple hits on Sunday, highlighted by Ben Fitzgerald going 3-for-5 with a double and home run and Carson Roccaforte going 2-for-2 off the bench with two doubles.
Drake Osborn added two hits to his efforts on Sunday, improving to 5-for-10 when batting leadoff.
Dane Dixon earned his second win of the season and Brandon Talley posted his sixth save of the year as well.
Little Rock (18-18, 9-6 SBC) was the first to score the ball game. Noah Dickerson started a two-out rally, hitting a double to right field before a flare to shallow left field from Kobe Barnum gave the Trojans the 1-0 lead.
The Ragin' Cajuns did a nice job of bouncing back in the top of the fourth inning, scoring two runs on a Connor Kimple RBI single and Brennan Breaux sac fly, giving Louisiana a 2-1 advantage.
All set up with two outs, Little Rock was able to plate three runs in the bottom half of the third off Carter Robinson to regain the lead.
Kimple tagged a ball off the right field wall for his third triple of the season, brining Louisiana within a run in the sixth inning.
The Ragin' Cajuns strung together three-straight doubles from Roccaforte, Osborn and Fitzgerald to score two runs in the top of the seventh and give them the 5-4 lead.
Robinson started the game for Louisiana, throwing four innings and allowing four runs. Jack Burk, Chipper Menard and Dane Dixon all combined for 2.1 scoreless innings of relief.
Brandon Talley started the eighth inning for Louisiana by walking the leadoff hitter, Jake Wright. Talley later went on to retire the next three batters to hold the lead for the Cajuns. Talley pitched a key ground ball against one of the league's best hitters in Tyler Williams to end the inning with runners on first and second.
Up 5-4 heading into the ninth, Louisiana's Osborn singled home Roccaforte and Fitzgerald blasted his 11th home run of the season to put Louisiana up 7-4.
Talley did not need the insurance runs created in the ninth and closed the door for Louisiana, giving it the 7-4 win.
FOLLOW THE RAGIN' CAJUNS
For the latest updates on Ragin' Cajuns baseball, follow on Facebook (RaginCajunsBaseball), Twitter (@RaginCajunsBSB) and Instagram (@RaginCajunsBSB) or check RaginCajuns.com.
------------------------------------------------------------
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere.
To reach the newsroom or report a typo/correction, click HERE.
Sign up for newsletters emailed to your inbox. Select from these options: Breaking News, Evening News Headlines, Latest COVID-19 Headlines, Morning News Headlines, Special Offers