Baseball Drops Series Opener to Louisiana-Lafayette 2-1

Friday, April 1

Lafayette, La.

7:00 PM

Florida Atlantic

17-9, 5-2

Louisiana

14-11, 4-3

Florida Atlantic

Louisiana

4/1/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

April 1, 2011

Final Stats

Lafayette, La. - One run proved to be the difference between the Florida Atlantic University and University of Louisiana-Lafayette baseball teams, and it was the host Ragin' Cajuns that scored a 2-1 victory to take Friday night's opener of this weekend's Sun Belt Conference series at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field in Lafayette, La. The series features a showdown of the two teams that tied for last year's conference regular-season championship.

The loss halts the Owls' six-game winning streak. FAU now stands 17-9 on the season and 5-2 in league action. ULL improves to 14-11 overall and 4-3 in conference play. The two teams will continue the series on Saturday, April 2, with a game starting at 7:05 p.m.

"I thought we played well, but (Louisiana-Lafayette) just played one run better," said John McCormack, FAU's head baseball coach. "We just have to be a little bit better offensively for the rest of the series."

The Ragin' Cajuns scored the winning run on Greg Fontenot's double to right-center field that brought around Alex Fuselier.

Florida Atlantic would attempt a ninth-inning rally as senior first baseman Dan Scheffler had a one-out infield single. He was replaced at first base by pinch-runner Geoff Jimenez. On the first pitch to senior designated hitter Eddie Cassidy, the speedy Jimenez was thrown out trying to steal second base. Then, ULL reliever Joey Satriano got Cassidy looking at a third strike to preserve the win. The right hander picked up the victory, tossing four scoreless innings. He improved to 2-1 on the season.

On the other hand, FAU starting pitcher Ryan Garton suffered the loss despite giving up just the two runs and striking out five batters in 6.1 innings. The junior right hander settled into a comfortable rhythm on the mound after throwing 60 pitches in the first two innings. Garton falls to 2-2 on the season.

"Ryan gave us what we needed and he settled down after the opening innings," noted McCormack. "He made the necessary adjustments throughout the night. He was able to throw a breaking ball for a strike and he had better command of his fastball."

The Ragin' Cajuns grabbed an early lead in the second inning on Tyler Frederick's RBI single to center field that scored Lance Marvel.

The lead was short-lived as FAU caught a break when a pop up by senior second baseman Raymond Church fell in shallow left-center field. That allowed a hustling Colby Gratton to score all the way from first base with two outs. That would be the only run for the Owls, which got five hits in the opener compared to the Ragin' Cajuns' eight hits.

Senior shortstop Nick DelGuidice extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a single in the fifth inning. Junior outfielder Alex Hudak also had a single in the sixth inning.

Louisiana's Fontenot and Frederick each had a RBI and two hits to highlight the home team's offensive attack.

Florida Atlantic lost the series opener last season in the Bayou, before rallying to win the last two games of the series. Those victories gave the Owls the regular-season championship over ULL.

The Owls will have junior Paul Davis starting on the mound on Saturday's game. He was named the Sun Belt Conference's Pitcher of the Week after winning his second straight league game last Saturday.

A broadcast and details of Saturday's game can be found at www.fausports.com. Season and individual tickets of Florida Atlantic baseball games are available by calling the FAU Ticket Office at 1-866-FAU-OWLS.