Louisiana takes two from Georgia in SBC baseball
LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) – Chase Morgan pitched 6.0 shutout innings in his second quality start of the season while Owen Galt and Luke Yuhasz each hit RBI triples to lead Louisiana to a 4-1 victory over Georgia Southern in the completion of Friday’s suspended game at M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field at Russo Park.
In Saturday’s scheduled contest, Conor Higgs drove in four runs, including his 14th home run of the season as the Ragin’ Cajuns claimed a 7-3 win and a series win.
The final game of the three-game series is scheduled for Sunday at noon. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ with fans able to listen in the Lafayette area on KPEL-FM (96.5) and worldwide on the Varsity Network app.
LOUISIANA 4, GEORGIA SOUTHERN 1 (completion of Friday’s suspended game)
After Friday’s game was suspended after six innings with Louisiana holding a 2-0 lead. The Ragin’ Cajuns scored a run in the first on Yuhasz’s RBI single up the middle, plating Maddox Mandino before Galt’s triple in the fourth off Georgia Southern starter Brady Pendley (3-1) drove in Carson Hepworth.
That was enough for Morgan (4-1), who allowed a pair of hits and struck out five batters before the game was suspended.
Andrew Herrmann tossed the final 3.0 innings when play resumed and allowed three straight hits in the seventh, including Daniel Haab’s solo homer to left to cut the Eagle deficit to 2-1. Herrmann settled down to get JP Herrholz to pop out to second before allowing a pair of base runners in the ninth before earning his second save of the year.
Yuhasz helped Louisiana get an insurance run in the eighth as he drove in Drew Markle with a triple off Eagles reliever Jax Lewis. Higgs would lift a sacrifice fly to left for his 100th career RBI one batter later to help ice the win in the prolonged opener.
Caleb Stelly and Yuhasz had two hits each to lead Louisiana at the plate. Lee Amedee belted a double in the second inning – his 16th of the season with Mandino and Jose Torres each recording a hit.
LOUISIANA 7, GEORGIA SOUTHERN 3
Louisiana (22-23, 12-8 SBC) came out firing in the first inning with four base hits off Georgia Southern starter Kade Grundy (5-5), including three doubles, to build a 4-0 lead.
Mandino doubled on the second pitch of the inning before Markle reached on a bunt single. Yuhasz, who finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored, then doubled to drive in Mandino before Higgs got a double inside the first-base bag to bring in both Markle and Yuhasz for a 3-0 lead.
Higgs, who was 2-for-4 with three runs scored and four RBI, then scored two batters later when Amedee lifted a sacrifice fly to left.
The Ragin’ Cajuns added a run in the fourth to take a 5-1 lead as Caleb Stelly’s two-out double to the center-field wall scored Higgs, who drew a walk off Eagles reliever Jacob Phillips.
Higgs provided another two-out opportunity for Louisiana after Phillips retired the first two batters in the sixth. Yuhasz reached on an infield single before Higgs belted a two-run blast to right for a 7-1 lead.
Georgia Southern (23-20, 9-11 SBC) scored an unearned run off Herrmann in the second inning on Herrholz’s RBI single before scoring a pair of runs in the eighth on base hits by Sean White and Haab.
Tate Hess (5-2) relieved Herrmann after 2.2 innings and earned the win for Louisiana. The right-hander scattered four hits and struck out three before Dylan Theut and Matthew Holzhammer pitched the final 1.2 innings to close the game out.
Theut scattered a pair of ninth-inning hits in 1.0 inning of work as Georgia Southern loaded the bases. Holzhammer came in fanned Sean Smith before getting Sean White to fly out to left to pick up his fourth save of the season.