Ragin’ Cajuns Win Lafayette Regional
Jun 1, 2013; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin Cajuns first baseman Logan Preston is congratulated by teammates after scoring a run in the ninth inning against the Jackson State Tigers during the Baton Rouge regional of the 2013 NCAA baseball tournament at Alex Box Stadium. Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin Cajuns defeated the Jackson State Tigers 15-1. Mandatory Credit: Crystal LoGiudice-USA TODAY Sports
Mississippi State was unable to get past ULL, falling victim to the swamps like so many this year. The Bulldogs season ends with a 5-3 loss to Louisiana.
State had their chances, and you can’t really say the Cajuns beat us in this one. It was MSU unraveling a bit, and some terrible calls by the umpires.
It all started in the top of the third when Lucas Laster loaded the bases…on walks. Jacob Lindgren came into the game down 1-0 to face their best hitter. ULL would score two more runs without the benefit of a hit – two wild pitches with a run scoring on each.
Lindgren was very wild, throwing four wild pitches in the game. It allowed a 4th run in the 4th inning when he hit a batter who then advanced to third on wild pitches, and home on a suicide squeeze.
You have to hand it to ULL though, they took advantage of our mistakes.
State missed a big opportunity in the 6th inning when Wes Rea doubled – with runners on 2nd and 3rd, Jake Vickerson flied out.
MSU’s offense was electric with 2 outs in the 7th inning. After Matthew Britton was plunked, Seth Heck drew a walk, then C.T. Bradford hit an RBI single. Brett Pirtle, who finished the Regional 11 for 17, had an RBI single as well.
The umpiring was terrible in this game. The strikezone was all over the place. The worst call was against Gavin Collins – to end the 7th a called strike three that must have been a foot and a half outside.
Also, Seth Heck was called out at 1B despite the first baseman never tagging him. It was bad.
It was 4-3 when Johnathan Holder came in during the 8th inning. He did a good job, but they managed to squeak across another run in the 9th on him.
The game, and season, ended in 1-2-3 fashion for State.
ULL will now host Ole Miss in the Super Regionals.
It was a good year. Disappointing ending but you can’t be disappointed in the team. They always play tough and put their best out there. Some guys didn’t have the year they wanted to have but sometimes that’s the way it goes.
The seniors: C.T. Bradford, Ben Bracewell, Brett Pirtle, Alex Detz, Demarcus Henderson and Derrick Armstrong will be missed; as well as any juniors who leave for the pros.
We’ll have more on the blog in the coming days including a look at what’s in store for next year.