Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Fall to Texas Longhorns 4-2

Behind outstanding starting pitching, clutch hitting and spectacular defense, the Texas Longhorns defeated the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns 4-2 in the opening game of the Coral Gables Regional Friday afternoon.  With the loss, the Ragin’ Cajuns will play in the elimination game Saturday morning at 11A Central Time.

Louisiana took a 1-0 lead in the top of the 6th on Connor Higgs’ 2-out base hit, scoring Heath Hood from second base.

Texas tied the game in the bottom of the inning when Mitchell Daly connected on an 0-2 pitch for a solo home run.  It was only the fourth hit of the game allowed by Ragin’ Cajuns starter Jackson Nezuh and his day was done when he walked the next batter.

Last week’s pitching hero Blake Marshall comes in relief, and while he did get two outs, he surrendered a run-scoring hit to Porter Brown.

The Longhorns padded their lead when Dylan Campbell drove in two runs with a double off the wall in left for 4-1 lead.

Louisiana closed the gap to 4-2 as Carson Roccaforte hit a solo home run in the 8th, but went down quietly in the 9th inning.

Perhaps the turning point in the game came when Cajuns shortstop John Taylor was robbed at the wall by Longhorns centerfielder Eric Kennedy of a 3-run home run in the 4th inning.

Louisiana gets the loser of the Miami Hurricanes and Maine Black Bears, while the winner faces Texas.