It was a game that just had frustration written all over it.
Then with one swing of the bat, UL shortstop Kyle DeBarge allowed everyone rooting for the Ragin’ Cajuns to breathe again with a game-winning, three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth for a dramatic 3-2 win over Southern Miss on Friday at Russo Park in Lafayette.
“He threw me a high and in changeup,” DeBarge said. “I don’t know why or how it went out, but thank you God.
“It was just a hard night to hit. There was frustration with striking out and the ball just not falling our way. You just have to get through it and find a way.”
The Cajuns are now 32-12 overall and 16-3 in Sun Belt play, while the Eagles fell to 26-16 and 11-8. Game two of the series is at 2 p.m. Saturday.
Cajuns honoring legendary 2014 baseball team
UL is now five games up on both Southern Miss and Coastal Carolina, while Troy is now in sole possession of second place at 12-8.
“It started to feel like it was to be honest,” DeBarge said when asked if a slide was starting to fester after three losses in four games. “So yeah, this win was huge to put ourselves in a good situation. If we want to win the conference, we’re going to have to roll off these next few series.”
The inning started with Jackson Halter getting hit by a pitch as a pinch hitter to lead off the frame. John Taylor then foiled the Eagles’ big shift with a soft liner to third to set the table.
The first big decision is Deggs elected not to bunt. “I went over and told DeBo and Pastore, ‘I’m putting this on y’all right now’,” Deggs said. “We’re not bunting. We’re going to go win this thing.”
Then came the decision of whether to pitch to DeBarge or not.
As it worked out, pinch-hitter Caleb Stelly advanced both runners with a bouncer to the mound, effectively working as a bunt would have.
“When they pitched to him, I knew that was a mistake,” UL starter Andrew Herrmann said. “We were all laughing in the dugout, because we knew something was going to happen.”
With Lee Amedee on deck, DeBarge delivered the three-run homer for the lead.
“I mean I crushed a ball earlier in the game that went nowhere,” said DeBarge, who crushed a ball into the wind in the sixth that didn’t get to the warning track. “The wind was howling in. That was a 2-0 and I felt so good, but I was honestly just trying to bloop one over there.”
The dramatic homer ended Herrmann’s night after 120 pitches, but also got him off the hook when it appeared he was headed for a hard-luck loss. Herrmann allowed two runs on three hits, three walks and seven strikeouts.
And of course, LP Langevin kept the momentum going with a perfect ninth with nine strikeouts.
The homer also shifted that unwanted label to Southern Miss starter Billy Oldham. The senior right-hander was tagged with two of the runs on five hits, one walk and struck out 10 in 7-plus innings.
The Eagles got a two-run homer in the first inning from Slade Wilks and that 2-0 lead stood until the bottom of the eighth.
“Hats off to their third hitter for getting it over the fence,” Herrmann said. “It was a 1-0 changeup, good pitch low and in. He just got lucky with it. I just tried to bounce back and give our team a chance to win. Fortunately, I was able to do that.”
Herrmann didn’t allow another hit until Gabe Broadus got a one-out single in the eighth – a far cry from his worst outing of the season at Coastal Carolina last Friday.
”This was very important,” he said. “It’s game one on Friday night. It’s very important.”
It was the sixth comeback win of the season trailing after seven innings for the Cajuns.
“That kid (DeBarge) is entering legendary status here pretty quick,” Deggs said.
