No. 21-Ranked Louisiana Gets Story Book Finish in 13-3 Win Over Rival Jags
AFAYETTE – Hollywood movie writers could not have written a better “Senior Day” script in No. 21-ranked Louisiana’s regular-season finale against South Alabama on Saturday at M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field at Russo Park.
Trey LaFleur and Kyle DeBarge each belted a pair of home runs, with DeBarge becoming the first player in the school’s rich baseball history to reach the 20-homer mark in a single-season as the Ragin’ Cajuns scored in every frame of a 13-3, seven-inning victory over the Jaguars.
The win marked for Louisiana (40-16, 23-7 SBC) marked its second consecutive 40-win season while winning 40 games in regular-season play for the first time since a 49-7 mark in 2014.
Just under 24 hours after clinching the outright Sun Belt Conference regular-season title before dropping a 10-0 contest in seven innings to South Alabama (31-24, 14-16 SBC) in Friday’s scheduled game, Louisiana needed one pitch in the first inning to set the tone in Saturday’s finale.
LaFleur, who went 3-for-5 with three runs scored and four RBI, crushed the first pitch offered by Jaguar starter Mitchell Heer (2-2) to right field for his ninth homer of the year and a quick 1-0 lead. The Ragin’ Cajuns loaded the bases in the inning after Conor Higgs singled, John Taylor was hit by a pitch and Duncan Pastore walked before Lee Amedee’s infield single scored Higgs for a 2-0 cushion.
“It’s just a big-time response coming off a really emotional day yesterday,” head coach Matt Deggs said. “That (10-0 loss) was the perfect trap scenario where you got a team that’s playing for their life, and we had just captured the conference championship outright.
“We were able to finish it off in the first three innings (Friday) and then get boat-raced in the second one, and you could see it coming a mile away. (Today) shows the kind of character we have in this clubhouse. Coach (Seth) Thib (Thibodeaux) reminded them this morning – 14-3 against Western Kentucky, 10-3 against Texas State – that ain’t scores from this year, that’s scores from 2014. That happens to the best of them and it’s how to respond to it.”
Carson Fluno (4-0) retired six of the first seven batters he faced in keeping South Alabama at bay before Louisiana would put the game away with four runs in the second.
Luke Yuhasz led off the inning with an infield single off Jag reliever John Michael Gillis before moving to third on LaFleur’s opposite-field double. Higgs, who went 3-for-4 and scored three times, then singled to center to drive in Yuhasz for a 3-0 lead before DeBarge belted his 20th homer of the season, breaking the single-season record held by David Alvis (1985) and David King (1989).
Louisiana took a 7-1 lead in the third when Jose Torres reached on a ground-rule double before scoring on LaFleur’s fielder’s choice before scoring three more times in the fourth for a 10-1 lead.
“We came out today and put our foot on the gas pedal, hammered down and we were able to get after it,” Deggs said. “It takes a lot of character to do that, and these kids have been tremendous since August. Just some tough, hard-nosed gritty dudes. It ain’t all the time pretty, but they find a way to outlast people.
“I can’t say enough about our fans. This is family right here and our boys absolutely love our fans and we can’t thank them enough no matter what.”
DeBarge, who scored a pair of runs to move past Blake Trahan (155, 2013-15) into fifth place in school history (156), belted his second homer of the day in the fourth inning with a solo blast to left off Tyler Smith before Caleb Stelly’s two-run single scored Taylor and Pastore.
The Ragin’ Cajuns added another run in the fifth for an 11-1 lead before answering South Alabama’s two-run sixth with two runs of their own as LaFleur ripped his second homer of the game and 10th of the season.
Fluno, celebrating his 22nd birthday and one of eight seniors recognized in a pre-game ceremony, pitched 3.0 innings in a scheduled start for Louisiana, allowing a pair of hits and striking out two. Hometown product David Christie, making his 78th career appearance in a Louisiana uniform, struck out three and scattered four hits in 3.0 innings while JT Etheridge tossed a scoreless inning with three strikeouts.
“I didn’t want to pitch him a long time,” Deggs said about Fluno, who improved to 8-1 in his Louisiana career. “He went three (innings), I thought David (Christie) was tremendous as well, and (JT) Etheridge was pretty good at the end.”
Louisiana, the top-seeded team in next week’s Guardian Credit Union Sun Belt Baseball Championship at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery, Ala., will open play on Wednesday against the lowest remaining seed (Old Dominion, South Alabama or Georgia State) in the 10-team field.
Single-game tickets and all-session tournament booklets are available. Prices range from $10 to $25 for a single game and from $50 to $110 for all-session tournament booklets. For more information on tickets and seating options, contact the Montgomery Biscuits ticket office by calling (334) 819-7483.
Fans are encouraged to stay engaged with the Ragin’ Cajuns by downloading the #GeauxCajuns app. Click here for iOS/Apple platforms and here for Android platforms.
For the latest updates on Ragin’ Cajuns baseball, follow on Facebook (RaginCajunsBaseball), Twitter (@RaginCajunsBSB) and Instagram (@RaginCajunsBSB) or check RaginCajuns.com.
GAME NOTES –
• John Taylor (General Studies with concentration in Business Studies) and Conor Higgs (Kinesiology with concentration in Sport Management) each received their respective Bachelor’s degrees in a pre-game ceremony.
• Seniors Bryan Broussard, Jr., Blake Marshall, David Christie, John Taylor, Duncan Pastore, Trey LaFleur, Carson Fluno and JT Etheridge were honored in a pre-game ceremony.
• Chief of Staff and Director of Player and Program Development Anthony Babineaux was presented a game ball after marking his 2,000th career game with the Ragin’ Cajuns Baseball program.
• Attendance for the three-game series was 10,800, pushing the final total to 113,491 through 34 games.
• Louisiana’s 26 wins at home are the most in a season since the No. 1-ranked 2014 squad won 32.
• The four home runs hit by Louisiana increased its season total to 72 and surpassing the 2023 total (71) set in 65 games.
• The 23 Sun Belt Conference victories for Louisiana equaled the most since 2007.
• The win marked the first back-to-back, 40-win seasons for the Ragin’ Cajuns since a combined 85 wins in 2015-16.
• Louisiana recorded its ninth 40-win season during regular-season play and its 17th overall.
• Kyle DeBarge’s 156 runs scored are one shy of tying Damian Grossie (1988-91) for fourth on the school career list and two of tying Josh Landry (2003-06) for third.
• Bryan Broussard, Jr’s. sixth-inning bunt single was the 30th overall by the Ragin’ Cajuns this season.
• Louisiana’s pitching staff allowed six or fewer hits for the 28th time during the season, improving to 27-1 overall.
• The Ragin’ Cajuns 16 hits marked the 31st game this season with 10 or more hits and increased Louisiana’s season average to .301.
• Louisiana is 38-3 overall when outhitting its opponents.
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