LAFAYETTE – JR Tollett pitched 4.0 innings of solid relief to earn his first collegiate victory and Louisiana used a seven-run, seventh inning to rally for a wild 14-11 win over Texas Southern in the midweek opener for teams on Tuesday at M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field at Russo Park.
Conor Higgs broke out of a 0-for-7 start with three hits and an RBI while Caleb Stelly and Connor Cuff each drove in two runs as Louisiana (2-2) remained unbeaten against Texas Southern (1-3) in 16 all-time meetings.
With Louisiana throwing three true freshmen among its first four pitchers – including starter Parker Smith in his collegiate debut – Texas Southern built a 10-4 lead after three innings before Tollett and Matthew Holzhammer limited the Tigers to one run on three hits over the final 6.0 innings.
“Well, we’ll get everybody’s best bow and hats off to Texas Southern,” Louisiana head coach Matt Deggs said. “I thought they did a great job of being aggressive. Look, their starter (Justin Mayes) did a great job against us and we gave them a bunch, but they were able to find some holes and get some knocks and they got a little momentum going there.
“We seemed to be dumping lighter fuel on the fire instead of water. And then JR (Tollett) comes in … no walks, he’s able to have his best outing of his career here and hopefully it’s a good way to jumpstart that career. He’s the reason we won this game because he was able to match them and get us some zeros (on the scoreboard) and let this offense settle in a little bit.”
The Tigers sent 10 men to the plate and scored four times in the first inning, highlighted by Evan Joubert’s three-run homer to left. TSU increased its lead to 8-1, scoring four more runs in the second inning before Louisiana plated three runs to close the gap to 8-4.
Texas Southern added two runs in the third and a run in the fourth for an 11-4 lead before Maddox Mandino’s solo homer – the first of his career – closed the gap to 11-5 heading to the fifth.
Tollett (1-0), who entered in the fourth inning, allowed a pair of doubles in the frame before settling down and allowing a lone base runner in the sixth. The right-hander fanned a career-high five batters before Holzhammer pitched the final 2.0 innings with two strikeouts to earn his first save.
Louisiana’s first eight batters reached base in the seventh, beginning with a pair of hits and three walks off Tigers reliever Kewan Braziel. Stelly opened the inning with a single and moved to second on a TSU error before eventually scoring on Higgs’ bases-loaded single to center.
Drew Markle drew a bases-loaded walk to plate pinch-hitter Kasen Bellard before Cuff greeted reliever Isaac Garcia (0-1) with a two-run single through the right side. Lee Amedee then laced his first hit of the season – a opposite-field double – to drive in Markle before eventually scoring the go-ahead run on a wild pitch.
Luke Yuhasz added an RBI double in the eighth for Louisiana before pinch-runner Mark Collins scored on a throwing error.
Jaden Flores went 4-for-5 to lead Texas Southern with Jaden Jones and Daylon Carleton each earning a pair of hits. Justin Mayes pitched 5.0 innings in his first appearance for the Tigers while Garcia was saddled with the loss after allowing two runs on two hits.
Louisiana will return to action beginning on Friday when it plays host to No. 23-ranked Nebraska (2-2) in a three-game series. The series starts on Friday at 6 p.m. with Saturday’s game scheduled for 2 p.m. and Sunday’s finale at 1.
Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Baseball season and single-game tickets are available for purchase online at RaginCajuns.com/tickets or by calling the Louisiana Athletics Ticket Office at (337) 482-GoUL (4685). Fans can also support the baseball student athletes, and invest in the program’s future, through the Krewe Allons NIL Collective (click here).
