LAFAYETTE, La. – A seven-run bottom of the fifth inning allowed Louisiana to break open the game as Old Dominion Baseball fell 13-1 to the Ragin' Cajuns in seven innings on Saturday.
"Rough day for us today," said ODU Head Coach Chris Finwood. "Seven runs in the fifth inning, all with two outs, did us in. They outplayed us in every way. We need to show up and show some toughness tomorrow because we got pushed around today."
The hosts opened the scoring in the bottom of the first as John Taylor laid down a bunt single and came home on a Duncan Pastore two-run home run down the left-field line. The Monarchs (13-10, 2-3 Sun Belt) had an opportunity to respond in their next turn at the plate. After Alex Bouche was hit by a pitch and moved up to second on a wild pitch, Kenny Levari earned a base on balls and another wild pitch moved the pair into scoring position with one out. However, Jackson Tone struck out swinging and Maverick Stallings grounded out to the shortstop.
The Ragin' Cajuns (15-8, 4-1) pushed their lead to 3-0 in the fourth inning. Pastore drew a one-out walk and advanced to third on a Lee Amedee single to center field. Kellen Davis then entered the game and struck out the next batter, but allowed a Conor Higgs RBI double down the right-field line.
ODU retired the first two Louisiana batters in the home half of the fifth, but five singles, a double, a walk and a hit batter allowed the home team to go up 10-0. Steven Meier broke up the shutout in the sixth inning as he doubled and later scored on a wild pitch. The Ragin' Cajuns weren't done though as they plated three more runs on four hits in bottom of the frame.
Dylan Brown (1-2) received the loss after allowing three runs on three hits and one walk, adding two strikeouts in a 3.1-inning start. Meier (1-for-3) had the lone hit of the afternoon while Bouche (0-for-1), Levari (0-for-2) and Stallings (0-for-1) all walked.
"We really need somebody to step up offensively," continued Finwood. "We seem to really be in our heels these last four games. We hit a few balls hard that they made some nice catches on, but just didn't have enough hard contacts."
ODU and Louisiana wrap up their Sun Belt series on Sunday at noon.
Monarchs Drop Game Two at Louisiana
