STERLING, La. – The Louisiana State University of Alexandria baseball team opened the Cajun Collision with a pair of losses. They fell in the opening game, 5-4, to Tabor (5-0) before falling 6-3 to Park (Mo.) (2-0).
"Today was a tough day," LSUA Head Coach Kody Gautreaux said. "In game one,
Josh Pierce pitched a great game and we competed well at the plate. He just made a few mistakes in the lat inning that led to the game-winning homerun. In game two, we competed the entire game. We just could not scratch across runs when we had opportunities. We made a few key mistakes that led to one big swing by Park and the was the difference in the game. We have to move on tonight and come out tomorrow and play our brand of baseball."
GAME ONE | Tabor 5, LSUA 4
Josh Pierce (1-2) hurled 6.2 innings of work, allowing five runs on six hits. He struck out six and did not issue a free pass.
Until the seventh inning, Pierce had only allowed two runs on four hits. A one-out hit by pitch, followed by a double to center brought the winning run to the plate. Pierce got a popout for the second out of the inning, A three-run homerun gave the Blue Jays a walk-off win, 5-4.
The Generals opened the scoring in the top of the first inning with a lead-off solo shot from
Luke Benoit. The Blue Jays responded with a solo homerun of their own in the bottom of the second.
An RBI single from Tabor in the fourth put them ahead 2-1.
The Generals scored three runs in the fifth inning, staking out a 4-2 lead. Julian Kliebert laced a single to right, driving in
Landon Langley. Kliebert then came around to score on a wild pitch after moving over to third on a single from Benoit.
Blaise Foote created a chance for Benoit to slip home, getting into a rundown between first and second, for a two-run advantage.
Benoit recorded a pair of hits and scored twice. He and Kliebert each had an RBI.
GAME TWO | Park 6, LSUA 3
A five-run third inning spurred Park to victory over the Generals in LSUA's second game of the day.
The Pirates opened the scoring with a bases loaded RBI single, before a grand slam put them ahead 5-0 in the third inning.
LSUA responded with three runs of their own in the bottom of the inning. An RBI double from Benoit brought around the first Generals' run. He scored later in the inning on an error, before
Judge Boudreaux hit a solo homerun.
Park notched a solo shot of their own in the fifth.
Boudreaux recorded a pair of hits for LSUA, while Benoit and
Zach Mengarelli each notched one.
Brenyn Ebarb (0-1) was charged with the loss. He tossed five innings and allowed six runs, four earned, on five hits. He struck out three and walked just one.
UP NEXT
LSUA has a pair of games against Georgetown College (Ky.) and Indiana University Kokomo in the final day of the Cajun Collision. First pitch is scheduled for 2:30 PM and 6:00 PM, respectively.
