San Marcos, Texas – The No. 1 seed UL Lafayette became the first team in Sun Belt Conference baseball history to win three consecutive tournament titles with a 5-0 win on Sunday against No. 6 seed Georgia Southern at Bobcat Ballpark in San Marcos, Texas.
The No. 17-ranked Ragin’ Cajuns (41-19) earn the league’s automatic bid to the 2016 NCAA Baseball Championship. The team went undefeated through the tournament to claim the title. UL Lafayette senior Nick Thurman was named the Community Coffee Most Outstanding Player of the tournament and went 1-for-4 with a solo home run in the winner-take-all championship game. Thurman finished the tournament 5-for-16 with a home run, a double and six RBI. He also scored six runs.
UL Lafayette sophomore Wyatt Marks (5-6) earned the win as he threw seven scoreless innings, scattered four hits and struck out 10 batters. Georgia Southern junior Evan Challenger (7-5) was effective while pitching on three days’ rest as he lasted five innings and gave up two earned runs on four hits with five strikeouts. UL Lafayette sophomore Dylan Moore earned his 13th save of the season as he tossed two scoreless innings and struck out two.
With the 12 strikeouts on the day, that pushed the Ragin’ Cajuns total to 48 for the tournament which broke the previous record of 45 set in 1994. The Cajuns’ 48 strikeouts came in 48 games compared to the six games in 1994.
Senior Brian Mills had a hit, a run and a RBI in the game while junior Joe Robbins and senior Kyle Clement each contributed a RBI. Freshman Hunter Kasuls went 1-for-3 with a run scored.
The Ragin’ Cajuns started the scoring in the bottom of the fifth inning when Thurman reached base on a dropped third strike. Kasuls sacrificed him to second and Mills delivered with a RBI double down the first base line. Robbins stepped in and singled Mills home.
UL Lafayette tacked on runs in the seventh and eighth innings. Clement hit a sacrifice fly to left to plate Kasuls and put the team up 3-0.
Junior Brenn Conrad singled to left to start the eighth inning and was pulled for pinch runner sophomore Jam Williams. Williams stole second, was sacrificed to third by sophomore Kennon Fontenot and then scored on a wild pitch. Thurman stepped in and hit a no-doubt blast to right field, his second home run of the season, to put the Ragin’ Cajuns up for good.
The tournament title is UL Lafayette’s fourth in program history. Georgia Southern was playing in its first-ever Sun Belt Conference baseball tournament title game.
The Ragin’ Cajuns now await the 2016 NCAA Baseball Championship selection show to be televised live on ESPNU on Monday morning at 11 a.m. CT. The regional hosts of the tournament will be announced at 7:30 p.m. CT on Sunday night.
2016 Sun Belt All-Tournament Team
Justin Friend, IF, Troy
Cory Geisler, P/OF, Texas State
Randy Bell, P, South Alabama
Ty White, OF, Arkansas State
Tony Ortiz, 1B/P, Arkansas State
Brian Eichhorn, P, Georgia Southern
Jordan Wren, OF, Georgia Southern
Landon Hughes, P, Georgia Southern
Logan Baldwin, OF, Georgia Southern
Dylan Moore, P, UL Lafayette
Eric Carter, P, UL Lafayette
Wyatt Marks, P, UL Lafayette
Kyle Clement, OF, UL Lafayette
Community Coffee Tournament Most Outstanding Player
Nick Thurman, C, UL Lafayette