It was a not-so-beautiful day in Russo Park, as the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns welcomed back the Texas State Bobcats on Saturday for the second game of the series. The gray, gloomy skies were a clear indication of the kind of game it was going to be.
The Cajuns were coming off a 2-0 victory against the Bobcats the day before, so Texas State decided to even the series with an equal blow. They would win 2-0 thanks to the efforts of Samson Pugh and pitcher Jesus Tovar.
Honestly, neither team cared who won or lost. It seemed that they were both focused on the same goal, which was to avoid getting rained on. I couldn’t have been the only one in the park checking my phone every 30 seconds to make sure the weather app wasn’t lying to me.
Both teams executed the plan to perfection as the game flew by. There wasn’t a single hit until the top of the fourth, courtesy of the Bobcats, and there wasn’t a single run until the top of the seventh, also courtesy of the Bobcats.
A little over an hour went by and we were already in the fifth inning. In large part, the pitching was solid for both teams. Tovar only allowed four hits, with a pair of strikeouts and assisted in three double plays. Andrew Herrmann played 8.1 innings, accumulating four strikeouts for the Cajuns.
Batters from both sides really struggled to find a spark, especially early on. Not to mention the invisible, impenetrable force they were up against. Any solid contact made on the ball was quickly enveloped by the wind and brought back down for a fly out.
The wind speeds reached up to 21 mph during the game, making batters’ lives harder, while also putting the outfielders to work tracking down the sporadic balls.
Caleb Stelly was responsible for the first Cajun hit in the fourth, but the momentum quickly died as Tovar would initiate a double play to end the inning.
Texas State’s first run would come at the top of the seventh beginning with a walk to Alan Shibley. He would then advance to third off of a sacrifice bunt and fly out. Pugh would take him home with a drive to the left to give the Bobcats a 1-0 lead.
The Ragin’ Cajuns looked to respond in the bottom of the seventh when Lee Amedee reached on an infield single. Jose Torres then followed with a single to right, but Amedee was tagged out at third on an impressive throw from Shibley all the way from right field.
It definitely wasn’t a bad decision by Amedee, considering it was the closest the Cajuns were to scoring. They were desperate for an opportunity and he was only out by an inch. It was more of a great defensive play by Shibley to throw across the field and secure the out.
That play was the defining moment in the game as the energy was sucked out of the park. The Cajuns would be shut out for the remaining two innings while the Bobcats would muster in another score in the ninth.
Reliever Tate Hess was in the game at this point. Shibley hit a single and shortly advanced to second after a sacrifice bunt. Pugh, a familiar culprit, delivered his second hit of the day with a left-field bomb.
It was a double that brought Shibley home, also giving Pugh his second RBI of the afternoon. That was the nail in the coffin for Cajun fans.
To make matters worse, it didn’t even rain until much later in the evening. All of the suspense of whether or not we would get rained out was all for nothing. The plan to end the game as quickly as possible was unnecessary.
Most importantly, the weather app lied. I spent most of the game strategically mapping out the most efficient way to get to my car, just for a 10-minute, foot-dragging walk of agony.
The Cajuns now move to 16-17 on the season and 7-4 in conference play, dropping them to fourth in the standings.
Their next series will begin Friday, Apr. 11, against our sister school, Louisiana-Monroe (13-17). The Cajuns will travel up north to Lou St. Amant Field for the matchup.