MOBILE, Ala. — Third-ranked Louisiana-Lafayette swept a three-game Sun Belt Conference series from South Alabama at Eddie Stanky Field over the weekend, winning 5-2 and 8-7 in a Saturday doubleheader and 13-3 on Sunday.
The Ragin’ Cajuns improved to 46-7 overall and 23-4 in conference play. Friday night’s scheduled game was rained out, forcing the doubleheader.
Game 1: Louisiana-Lafayette 5, South Alabama 2
Cajuns right-hander Austin Robichaux held South Alabama to two unearned runs on two hits over seven innings, striking out eight and walking two.
Game 2: Louisiana-Lafayette 8, South Alabama 7
Louisiana-Lafayette loaded the bases against South Alabama starter Kevin Hill on two singles and a walk, and Greg Davis followed with a grand slam for an early 4-0 lead. An RBI double in the fourth and a two-run homer in the fifth pushed the margin to 7-0.
South Alabama answered with seven runs in the bottom of the sixth. Drew LaBounty walked, Andrew Tindell singled and Garrett DeGallier walked to load the bases. Cameron Cummings singled to right-center for the Jaguars’ first run, and Cole Gleason followed with a two-run single that scored Tindell and DeGallier to make it 7-3.
Matt Wojciechowski singled home Cummings, and Connor Hawthorne walked to load the bases. Jones grounded out to shortstop to bring in Gleason, and Davis Knapp’s sacrifice fly to center scored Wojciechowski to pull South Alabama within 7-6. LaBounty then tied the game 7-7 with a two-out RBI single to center.
In the top of the ninth, Louisiana-Lafayette put a runner in scoring position with a single and a stolen base, and Davis delivered a two-out RBI single to right field for the winning run.
Game 3: Louisiana-Lafayette 13, South Alabama 3
The Cajuns completed the sweep Sunday. Hunter Soleymani took the loss for South Alabama, allowing six runs on eight hits with one strikeout in 2 2/3 innings.
Sun Belt Standings
With three conference games left, Louisiana-Lafayette (23-4) has clinched the No. 1 seed for the Sun Belt Tournament. Arkansas State (17-10) is second, followed by Texas State (16-11), UT Arlington (15-11) and Western Kentucky (13-13). Georgia State, South Alabama and Louisiana-Monroe are tied for sixth. Troy (9-17) is ninth, one spot outside of tournament qualifying, and Arkansas-Little Rock (9-18) is 10th.
The top eight teams qualify for the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, which South Alabama will host at Eddie Stanky Field from May 21 to 25.
Up Next: at Troy
South Alabama closes the regular season with a three-game series at Troy from Thursday through Saturday. Each game is scheduled for 6 p.m.
