The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns were on a roll heading into their next series of games against cross state opponents the UL Monroe Warhawks.
The Cajuns would host the Warhawks as the first game began on Friday (April 5) night.
The Cajuns would increase their streak to 13 wins as they won the game against the Warhawks 4–1 under the lights of Russo Park.
The Cajuns would give the start on the mound to junior lefty Andrew Hermann. Hermann pitched a good game. Starting the game off by retiring the first three batters to the plate. He would have another three up three down inning in the fourth and keep the Warhawks to zero till the fifth where they would score their only run of the game.
Hermann faced a total of 24 batters allowing five hits, striking out six and did not give up a single walk. Hermann’s only problem was pacing as by the time he was pulled after 6.2 innings he had thrown 82 pitches.
Hermann was replaced by junior right hander LP Langevin who would pitch the remainder of the game. Langevin would throw 24 pitches against eight batters, striking out four, walking none and allowing no hits or runs in the save.
The Cajuns showed up to bat as well, driving in four runs by the end of the night. Third baseman Lee Amedee led the team in hitting as he went 3 of 4 recording a double and an RBI.
Maddox Mandino, Kyle DeBarge and Connor Higgs all recorded a hit and recorded a run. Caleb Stelly recorded an RBI on a sac fly to the outfield then another RBI on a single. The Cajuns as a team combined for 10 hits in 29 at bats.
With win 13 under their belt the Cajuns would move on to Saturday’s (April 6) game. Fans would be treated to a great show as the crack of bats filled the park in Louisiana’s 14th straight win as they brought down the Warhawks 7–4.
Starting on the mound for the Cajuns was freshman lefty Chase Morgan. In five innings Morgan would allow two hits and one run, with both hits and the run coming in the fourth. He retired the lineup in order in four of those five innings.
In the sixth inning Morgan would get one out before ULM’s Shawn Weatherbee would reach base on an error by Louisiana right fielder Luke Yuhasz. Morgan let the situation escalate as he then allowed two hits that would allow two more runs.
He’d be pulled for right hander David Christie ending the top of the sixth shortly after as he would force the batter into a double play to the shortstop.
Christie would give another run in the seventh but end the chance for ULM to try and rally after that. He would be pulled at the beginning of the eighth for Matthew Holzhammer who would finish the rest of the game, not allowing any rallies by ULM by forcing the last six batters out with the help of the fielders.
The best part of this game came from the batters as the Cajuns launched four balls out of Russo Park.
All-Sun Belt shortstop Kyle DeBarge had a monster day at the plate as he launched two balls out of the park as he finished the game with three hits in four at bats, with the only non-home run hit being a double. His hitting would net him three RBIs while also helping him score three runs.
He was not the only one having fun at the plate as John Taylor and Trey LeFleur would each get a home run of their own during the game. LaFleur would also draw a walk which would turn into another run for the Cajuns.
The only other player to see batting success would be the Cajun’s catcher Jose Torres as he would get on base twice in his four at bats but sadly he was left on base both times.
The final game of the series came on Sunday (April 7) which would see the teams play under a very cloudy sky. That lack of sun though did not hinder the Cajuns as the offense would explode once again for another dominant win over the Warhawks 9–2.
The Cajuns rotated through a number of pitchers throughout the game but the start went to Carson Fluno. After four innings where he struck out four, walked two and only allowed one hit, he was pulled for Jack Martinez.
Martinez would begin the Cajuns rotation through pitchers as each pitcher was brought on for a single inning. Martinez was replaced by JT Etheridge in the sixth inning, Etheridge was replaced in the seventh by Blake Marshall, who was then replaced in the eight by Matthew Holzhammer and the final inning was pitched by LP Langevin.
These remaining pitchers allowed five hits and two runs combined, holding the Warhawks and keeping them from attempting to rally back.
The bats though once again swung as the Cajuns could not be held, scoring five runs in the second inning alone.
While there were no home runs to be had there were multiple players to have multiple hits, including the first three in the lineup. Taylor, LeFleur and DeBarge each at at least two hits and Taylor scored three runs. DeBarge, Pastore and Stelly each had two RBIs with LaFleur and Alexander also recording their own RBIs.
The Cajuns showed complete dominance in their wins over ULM, and their win streak continues as they finish the weekend with their 15th straight win. They look to continue that against opponents Prairie View A&M and Louisiana Tech during the week and then their weekend series against Sun Belt opponent Marshall on the weekend of April 12–14.