TROY, Ala. — The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns baseball survived a late rally from Coastal Carolina and secured a 5-4 victory Friday night in the Sun Belt Conference tournament, a game moved to Riddle-Pace Field in Troy due to weather.
This is the fourth time in five meetings this season that the Cajuns beats the Chanticleers.
Louisiana built an early five-run cushion behind a four-run third inning and held on despite Coastal Carolina cutting the deficit to one in the eighth.
The Cajuns struck first in the third after a Coastal Carolina error opened the door for a big inning. Colt Brown delivered a two-run double to deep right field before Drew Markle followed with a two-run single to give Louisiana a 4-0 advantage.
Louisiana added another run in the fourth when Maddox Mandino doubled to right-center field to score Blaze Rodriguez and extend the lead to 5-0.
Coastal Carolina answered in the bottom half of the fourth. Walker Mitchell doubled and later scored on Rex Watson’s RBI double before Trace Mazon added an RBI single to trim the lead to 5-2.
The Chanticleers threatened again in the eighth inning. Blake Barthol doubled to open the frame and Mitchell followed with an RBI double down the right-field line. Mazon later added another RBI single to make it 5-4, but Louisiana reliever Andrew Herrmann escaped further damage with consecutive strikeouts.
Herrmann earned the win after allowing two runs on four hits with nine strikeouts across five innings of relief. Cody Brasch recorded the save, stranding the tying and go-ahead runs on base in the ninth inning after striking out Mitchell to end the game.
Brown paced Louisiana offensively by going 2-for-4 with two RBIs, while Mandino finished 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Markle added two RBIs in the win.
Louisiana (37-22) will have to beat Texas State twice on Saturday, May 23 in order to advance to the Sun Belt Championship game. The first game will be at 10:00 a.m. and the second would follow at 1:30 p.m.
------------------------------------------------------------
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