Box Score LITTLE ROCK - Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns (22-14, 10-8) completed their three-game sweep of the UALR baseball team (21-17, 4-11) with a 13-7 victory at Gary Hogan Field on Sunday afternoon. The Ragin' Cajuns jumped out to a 10-2 lead after three innings and banged out a season-high 18 hits to pick up their eighth-straight victory.
Catcher Chad Keefer went 4-for-5 with four RBI to lead the way for Louisiana, while Jordan Poirrier and Greg Fontenot totaled three hits apiece. Outfielders Kyle Olasin and Matt Goulas each scored three runs in the win, while Alex Fuselier hit his third home run of the season - a two-run shot in the top of the first.
UL starter T.J. Geith improved to 3-1 on the year despite allowing five hits and six runs (five earned) over 5.0 innings of work. Reliever Ryland Parker closed out the game by holding UALR to one hit over 3.1 scoreless innings to pick up his first save of the year.
UALR starter Calvin Drinnen (2-2) lasted just seven batters on Sunday, taking the loss after allowing four hits and five runs (four earned) over 1/3 of an inning. Senior Landis Wilson led the Trojan offense with a 3-for-5 day at the plate, while juniors Jason Houston and Brock Feldmann drove in two runs apiece.
The Ragin' Cajuns jumped all over the Trojans in the top of the first, as a fielding error on a grounder by Olasin opened the floodgates for a five-run inning. UL followed up the error with back-to-back singles by Goulas and Poirrier, the last of which plated Olasin to make it a 1-0 contest. Keefer delivered a two-run double to left to give UL a 3-0 lead, and Fuselier capped off the scoring with a two-run homer to right center.
Drinnen struck out the next batter he faced before hitting Lance Marvel with a pitch to end his afternoon. UALR brought on Travis Henke with a runner on base and one out, and the 6-6 junior was able to get the Trojans out of the inning by striking out the first two hitters he faced.
Down 5-0, the Trojans manufactured two runs in the bottom half after junior Jake Rowell got the team going by drawing a two-out walk. Senior Tyson Parks plated Rowell with a RBI double to right center, his 18th of the year, and the Beatrice, Neb.-native came around to score moments later on a dropped fly ball in left.
The Ragin' Cajuns tacked on two more runs in the top of the second after loading the bases with no outs on the board. Keefer and Marvel each delivered run-scoring singles in the frame as Louisiana took a 7-2 lead. UL pushed across three more runs in the third inning after opening the frame with three-consecutive hits. Keefer capped off the three-run rally with a RBI double to make it a 10-2 contest.
UL extended its lead to 10 in the top of the sixth, pushing across a pair of runs off reliever Scott Keffer to go on top 12-2. The Ragin' Cajuns opened the frame with a leadoff single by Marvel and a double by Justin Robichaux, and Fontenot plated both with a run-scoring double down the right field line.
After four scoreless frames, the Trojan bats finally came to life in the bottom of the sixth as UALR pushed across five runs after loading the bases with no outs on the board. Rowell (single), Parks (walk) and Wilson (single) each reached base to start off the inning, and Geith hit senior Nate Brown with a pitch to force across the first run.
Reliever Joey Satriano took the mound in relief of Geith with the bases loaded and no outs. After getting a fly out from the first batter he faced, Satriano surrendered a two-run single through the left side to Feldmann. Houston capped off Trojans' rally two batters later with a two-RBI single up the middle to make it a 12-7 contest. Ryland Parker came on for Satriano after Houston's single with two runners on and two outs, and prevented any further damage by striking out the first batter he faced to end the inning.
Parker closed out the game by holding UALR to one hit over 3.0 scoreless innings to pick up his first save of the year, and the Ragin' Cajuns added a run in the eighth to bring the game to its 13-7 finale.
UALR returns to action next weekend when it travels to Murfreesboro, Tenn. for a three-game Sun Belt Conference series with Middle Tennessee.
