LAFAYETTE — The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns opened a crucial Sun Belt Conference series with one of their most complete performances of the season Thursday night, defeating the No. 20 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers 7-2 at M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field at Russo Park.
Louisiana (33-20, 15-13 Sun Belt) pounded out 11 hits and received a dominant start from Cody Brasch, who allowed just one hit and struck out seven over six shutout innings to earn the victory.
The Cajuns jumped ahead in the first inning when Lee Amedee drove in Blaze Rodriguez with a groundout after Rodriguez singled and stole second base.
Louisiana broke the game open with a three-run third inning. Colt Brown delivered an RBI single before Donovan LaSalle ripped a two-run double down the right field line to extend the lead to 4-0.
The Cajuns added another run in the fifth when Amedee singled home Noah Lewis, who finished 3-for-5 with two runs scored and two stolen bases. Rodriguez also scored three runs and stole two bases in the win.
LaSalle paced Louisiana offensively, going 2-for-2 with three RBIs, while Amedee drove in two runs.
Coastal Carolina (35-18, 20-8 Sun Belt) struggled to generate offense against Brasch and the Louisiana pitching staff, managing only three hits in the game. The Chanticleers did not score until the seventh inning when Blake Barthol launched a two-run homer to right field.
Louisiana answered immediately in the bottom half of the seventh on an RBI walk from LaSalle before Lewis added an RBI single in the eighth to cap the scoring.
Parker Smith and Hayden Pearson combined to close out the final three innings for the Cajuns, with Pearson tossing two scoreless frames to finish the game.
The series continues Friday night at 6:00 p.m. in Lafayette.
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