In the midst of the parades and celebrations of Mardi Gras in Lafayette, the Ragin’ Cajuns opened up their 2026 season against the Bears of Missouri State in ML “Tigue” Moore Field at Russo Park.
Despite all the festivities outside of the Tigue, the mood inside did not match as Louisiana lost their season opener 8–2. The Cajuns could not seem to put together any sort of offense.
After letting the Bears go up 4–0 entering the bottom of the eighth inning, the Cajuns managed to put together a small rally to cut their deficit to just two runs entering the ninth inning. Their hopes at tying the game were dashed after a terrible relief effort by freshman pitcher Byrce Wilson, who allowed four more runs in the ninth without recording a single out.
The Cajuns could do nothing in their final turn at the plate and ended up losing, the momentum solidly taken by the four runs gained by Missouri State.
While the first game of the season was disappointing, the second one might have been enough to raise true concern about the season. Louisiana lost their second straight to open the season 13–12, a game that went into the eleventh inning.
What was so concerning was that the Cajuns choked their massive 10–3 lead going into the eighth. The Cajun bullpen, following a good start by Andrew Herrmann and relief by Sawyer Pruitt, allowed seven runs in the final two innings, tying the score.
After both teams went scoreless in inning 10, Missouri State exploded for three runs to go up 13–10. Louisiana attempted to fight back, getting into a bases-loaded situation with no outs, but only managing two runs on fly outs. The game ended with a strikeout, securing the Bears their series win.
Starting out a new season 0–2 against an opponent expected to be worse is never what the fans or the team want to see. Yet, the Cajuns did not let this poor momentum continue, stopping it in its tracks in game three of the series.
Game three was another high scoring affair, one in which the Cajuns came out on top 9–7, finally getting a mark in the win column.
The game started hot as both teams quickly scored three runs in the first inning. The Cajuns took the lead in the second with an RBI single by third baseman Drew Markle to make things 4–3.
That lead was expanded by an explosive fourth inning that saw Louisiana score three runs, including back-to-back home runs by Rigoberto Hernandez and Lee Amedee, increasing their lead to 7–3.
Both teams scored two runs in the fifth, bringing the score to 9–5. The Bears tried to fight back, but only managed two additional runs thanks to the nearly flawless relief of the Louisiana bullpen.
The Cajuns leveled their win-loss record to 2–2 following a 3–0 win over the Rice Owls during a mid-week trip to Houston. That win can be placed on the shoulders of the six pitchers used by Louisiana, holding the Owl lineup to no runs and striking out a combined 11 batters.
The momentum built by these two wins rolled smoothly into the second series of the season against the Big 10’s Maryland Terrapins.
The first game of the series was a 7–6 victory that saw the Cajuns come back from a three-run deficit going into the bottom of the ninth inning, which ended in a rather anti-climatic walk-off.
Louisiana’s starting pitcher, southpaw Ty Roman, gave up a three-run shot to Maryland in the third. Despite that, he managed to finish that inning followed by two more, only allowing one more run before being pulled.
Roman’s ability to pull through that tough situation helped the Cajuns’ offense, as they began to slowly chip away at the lead. They scored their first run in the fifth, followed by two more in the sixth, making the score 4–3, a narrow Terrapins lead heading into the final stretch of the game.
The Terrapins scored another two runs in the seventh, giving them a 6–3 lead. It seemed the Cajuns failed to come back as they entered the bottom of the ninth.
Yet, they were able to pull through, mainly thanks to the help of the Maryland pitchers imploding and the pressure from the fans in the stands. Even as pitchers warmed up on the mound, they were plastered with the shouts and noise of the Cajun faithful.
A mix of walks and hits tied the game for the Cajuns 6–6. Blaze Rodriguez would call the game, as the pitcher walked him, giving Louisiana a walk-off victory.
Game two was far less close, with the Cajuns dominating Maryland in every part of the game on their way to a 9–1 win.
The MVP of the game undoubtedly goes to Andrew Herrmann, who is now on his third year with the team. He pitched a beautiful six innings, only giving up two hits, walking three and striking out seven. Of his 116 pitches, only one allowed a runner to cross home and that was a lone homerun in the seventh inning.
Herrmann was pulled shortly after the homerun to a standing ovation by the fans at the game. He was replaced by Pruitt who continued the excellent pitching of the day and finished out the game. Pruitt would only allow four runners on base, but none would ever cross home.
The Cajuns’ would sweep the series with a victory 6–5 in their third game against Maryland, which ended with another Rodriguez walk-off. This one came in inning 15, a single to left field that helped Steven Spalitta score the winning run from second base.
This win was thanks to the valiant efforts of the Louisiana bullpen, including Cody Brasch. Brasch came in at the top of the eighth and did not leave the mound until inning 13, holding the Maryland lineup to no runs scored.
The Cajuns have now won five games in a row and hope to keep that momentum rolling into their mid-week series against the Kansas State Wildcats on Feb. 24 and 25. They have another home series against UC San Diego this upcoming Friday followed by a mid-week game against LSU on Wednesday, Mar. 4 at the Tigue.