Cajuns Come up Short in Finale against Arizona
LAFAYETTE, La. – The 14th-ranked Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns baseball team saw its 2016 season come to an end Monday night as the Cajuns couldn't come back from an early deficit against Arizona falling 3-1 in a winner-take-all championship game at the Lafayette Regional hosted at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field.
With the loss, the Ragin' Cajuns finish the season with a 43-21 overall record capping the best four-year span in program history.
"We knew game two was probably going to be a dog fight, and it was," head coach Tony Robichaux said. "I give them credit. They have a good ballclub. Their starter did his job and got them through the middle innings. The lefty came in and didn't let the momentum of the game change. You have to tip your hat to those two guys. Our guys that came in matched them inning for inning. We just couldn't cut the deficit down.
"I'm proud of our guys. I am proud of the way that they fought all year to be able to get to this point."
Seniors Eric Carter, Stefan Trosclair and Kyle Clement were named to the all-tournament team for their performances at the Lafayette Regional.
Carter was exceptional in relief tossing five scoreless innings with five strikeouts, while Dylan Moore came on and got three straight outs in the ninth to keep the Cajuns within two runs.
Starter Wyatt Marks (5-7) took the loss for the Ragin' Cajuns after giving up three runs on six hits in two innings of work.
Kevin Ginkel (4-1) picked up the victory for Arizona (42-21) allowing just one run on four hits in 5.2 innings. Ginkel struck out two and walked three in the victory.
Reliever Cameron Ming notched his first save of the season tossing 3.1 scoreless frames to close out the ballgame. Ming struck out five with no free passes.
Cody Ramer, Zach Gibbons and Bobby Dalbec each had two hits on the night as the Wildcats outhit Louisiana 9-5. Clement led the Cajuns offensively going 2-for-3 with a home run.
For the second straight game, the Wildcats jumped out to an early advantage. Arizona picked up its first run on a throwing error by right fielder Steven Sensley allowing Gibbons to score from first base on a Ryan Aguilar double. Aguilar then scored on a Marks wild pitch to give the Wildcats a 2-0 edge.
Ramer increased the lead to 3-0 in the bottom of the second on an RBI single up the middle scoring Louis Boyd from second base.
In the top of the fourth, Clement cut the Arizona lead to 3-1 in the top of the fourth when he drove a 3-1 pitch from Ginkel well over the fence in right field for his fourth homer of the year.
That would be as close as the Cajuns would get though as Ginkel and Ming would scatter three hits over the final five frames to seal the victory.
Arizona Forces Winner-Take-All Championship Game
LAFAYETTE, La. – The 14th-ranked Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns baseball team couldn't overcome an early six run deficit as the Cajuns fell 6-3 to second-seeded Arizona to force a winner-take-all championship game at the Lafayette Regional on Saturday at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field.
The loss snaps the Ragin' Cajuns (43-20) 12-game win streak. The Cajuns and Wildcats (41-21) play the final game of the Lafayette Regional at 7 p.m. at The Tigue.
The championship game will be broadcast on ESPN3.com with Brett Dolan and Tom Holliday making the call. Fans can also listen live on News Talk 96.5 KPEL-FM with Jay Walker providing play-by-play.
Arizona outhit Louisiana 8-5 in the game led by Cody Ramer and Cesar Salazar who each had a pair of hits.
Louisiana starter Evan Guillory (5-6) was run from the game in the first inning for the second time this season after giving up three runs on two hits and a walk without recording an out.
Reliever Will Bacon was strong in relief allowing three runs on six hits in six innings of work with two strikeouts.
Nathan Bannister (11-2) earned his second victory of the tournament in the game allowing just three runs on five hits in seven innings. Bannister struck out five, walked three and retired eight straight hitters from the second through the fifth inning.
Arizona jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first. With the bases loaded and no outs, Ryan Aguilar doubled to right field to bring home a pair of runs. Later in the inning, Bobby Dalbec brought home a run on a squeeze bunt to give the Wildcats a three-run edge.
In the bottom of the second, Arizona added two more runs on a Louis Boyd squeeze bunt and an RBI single to centerfield by Ramer to take a 5-0 advantage.
The Wildcats made it 6-0 in the bottom of the fourth on Boyd's second squeeze bunt of the contest.
Steven Sensley manufactured his own run in the top of the seventh to cut the Arizona lead to 6-1. Sensley doubled to right center and then moved to third on a dropped third strike. He then came home to score on a wild pitch by Bannister.
The Ragin' Cajuns pulled within three runs at 6-3 in the top of the eighth on a two-run blast to left field by Joe Robbins. The home run is the tenth of the year for Robbins.
The Cajuns loaded the bases later in the inning with one out, but Arizona reliever Kevin Ginkel came on and got Kennon Fontenot to ground into a double play to end the threat and keep the score 6-3.
Ginkel retired all three batters that he face in the ninth getting Hunter Kasuls to ground out to second base to end the game and claim his third save of the year.