Cajuns are Baton Rouge-bound after winning Houston Regional

The Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns baseball team took the lead in the fourth inning and never gave it back, getting stellar pitching and timely hitting to knock off No. 19 Rice, 5-2, in the final of the NCAA Tournament Houston Regional Monday afternoon at Cougar Field.
With the win, the Cajuns (42-21) advance to the Super Regional this weekend in Baton Rouge where they will take on LSU in search of the program’s second-ever berth in the College World Series.
They will come to Baton Rouge riding an eight-game win streak after taking down the Owls (37-22) for the second time in four days.
“We knew Rice would come out and grind with us, but one of the advantages we had was that the game last night took so long for them,” Louisiana head coach Tony Robichaux said in a news release Monday, referencing Rice’s 20-inning win to advance to the regional final. “But you have to give them credit for being able to turn around on such a short timeframe and pushing us the way they did all the way to the end.”
Louisiana-Lafayette’s Evan Guillory (5-0) allowed just two runs in five innings for the win, while Dylan Moore shut down Rice in the final three frames to earn his 13th save this season and second in the regional tournament.
“Guillory got us off to a good start and kept us in the ballgame, and (Jordan) Stephens did the same for them,” Robichaux said. “We finally got a walk, moved some runners around and got in, and from there, the game turned on us. I felt that the save would have to come in the seventh, so I had to bring out (Dylan) Moore earlier than I wanted to. But they pushed our hand on it, and I thought the game was on the line there, so we went with Moore.”
Robichaux commended the job Moore, a true freshman, did.
Louisiana-Lafayette scratched out seven hits against Rice pitching, with the biggest being a two-run single from the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, Evan Powell, in the top of the fifth to give the Cajuns a 4-2 lead. Dylan Butler was the lone Cajun with a multi-hit effort, going 2-for-3 with an RBI.
Powell was joined on the all-tournament team by teammates Greg Davis and Blake Trahan.
Stephens suffered the loss for Rice, allowing four runs in 4.2 innings before handing the ball off to a shorthanded Owls’ bullpen that was just hours removed from a 20-inning victory against Houston early Monday morning to keep its season alive.
In the top of the fourth, designated hitter Tyler Girouard gave the Cajuns a 1-0 lead on a single up the middle, scoring second baseman Stefan Trosclair from third. Trosclair reached on an error by third baseman Grayson Lewis with one out. He then stole second and moved to third on a wild pitch.
Louisiana-Lafayette added three more runs in the top of the fifth for a 4-0 advantage. Centerfielder Kyle Clement brought home the first run on a single through the infield’s right side. Two batters later, Powell delivered a two-run single to center to give the Ragin’ Cajuns a four-run edge.
Rice answered in the bottom of the fifth, plating two runs on two-out double to left-center by Lewis to cut the Cajuns’ lead to 4-2.
The Owls threatened again in the bottom of the seventh, loading the bases with no outs after singles by John Clay Reeves and Kirby Taylor and a well-placed bunt by Leon Byrd.
The Cajuns turned to Moore on the mound as he got Lewis swinging for the first out.
After right fielder Charlie Warren grounded into a force play at the plate for the second out, Moore induced a fly out to left-center by second baseman Ford Stainback to end the threat.
The Ragin’ Cajuns tacked on a run in the top of the eighth to extend the lead to 5-2 on a sacrifice fly from Butler.
That was more than enough for Moore in the ninth. The UL closer issued a leadoff walk but then retired the next three Rice hitters, including a strikeout of Stainback to shut the door.