LAFAYETTE – Will Veillon’s two-run double fueled a three-run, sixth inning and six Ragin’ Cajuns pitchers combined on a three-hitter as Louisiana earned a 5-3 win over I-10 rival McNeese on Wednesday at M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field at Russo Park.
Max Marusak, Julian Brock and Luke Yuhasz each drove in runs as Louisiana (8-4) collected nine hits and snapped a five-game win streak for McNeese (8-5).
Tommy Ray (2-0), the third pitcher used by Louisiana, recorded a pair of hitless innings for the Ragin’ Cajuns, who did not allow a hit after the third inning and retired 21 of the final 22 batters faced.
David Christie and Dylan Theut each pitched a 1-2-3 inning down the stretch for the Ragin’ Cajuns, who retired the last 13 Cowboy batters in the game, before Blake Marshall fanned two batters in the ninth to earn his first career save in a Louisiana uniform.
McNeese, which began its five-game win streak with a 5-4 victory over Louisiana on Feb. 28, took an early 2-0 lead in the first as Josh Leslie laced a one-out double to left off Louisiana starter Ben Tate before later scoring on a wild pitch. Tate, making his first career start on the mound for the Ragin’ Cajuns, would settle down and keep the Cowboys off the board with a pair of strikeouts in 2.0 innings of work.
Louisiana would cut the lead in half in the second inning when Mason Zambo led off with a walk, moved to second on a passed ball and scored on Brock’s RBI double into the right-center field gap.
After the Cowboys took a 3-1 lead in the third on Brad Burckel’s RBI single to left, Louisiana answered with a run in the fourth as Yuhasz beat out a potential inning-ending, double-play grounder and allowing Brock to score.
Brock and Kyle DeBarge each singled to lead off the sixth inning for Louisiana off McNeese reliever Cameron LeJeune (0-1) before the pair moved up after a passed ball. John Taylor would draw a walk to load the bases for the Ragin’ Cajuns and Veillon would follow as he poked a 0-and-2 breaking ball by Christian Vega inside the third-base bag to give Louisiana the lead for good at 4-3.
Heath Hood went 2-for-4 to extend his hit streak to 12 games for Louisiana with Brock and DeBarge posting two hits apiece. Tate and Cooper Rawls pitched 2.0 innings each for the Ragin’ Cajuns, scattering three hits on the night.
Leslie went 2-for-4 to lead McNeese at the plate with Cowboy starter Burrell Jones allowing three hits with a run and two strikeouts in 3.0 innings of work.
Louisiana will return to action beginning Friday when it plays host to High Point (N.C.) in a three-game series at M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field at Russo Park. The series will start on Friday at 6 p.m., with the teams playing on Saturday at 2 p.m. Sunday’s finale, originally scheduled for 1 p.m., will now start at noon.
All three games will be streamed live on ESPN+ with live stats available at CajunStats.com.
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