Louisiana’s Bats Shut Out by Southern Miss in 5-0 Game Two Loss

The Southern Miss Golden Eagles shut out the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns to take game two of their weekend series by a 5-0 score.

With the loss, Louisiana dropped to 6-5 this season and saw their three-game winning streak snap. The series rubber match is scheduled for Sunday at 1:00 p.m.

Southern Miss used one pitcher in this game, and it was starter Hunter Riggins. He threw 100 pitches in a complete game shutout. Louisiana's bats got on base multiple times throughout the game, but unlucky double-plays and hard-hit outs prevented them from breaking through against the starter.

Associate head coach Seth Thibodeaux praised the Southern Miss pitcher.

"We pitched well enough, but their arm was too good for us today," Thibodeaux said. "Like I told the guys, we lined out in some clutch moments. Those innings are precious and baseball fortune went their way. Hats off to their guy, he pitched his tail off."

Thibodeaux talked about game three's importance to the team.

"We need to win the series," Thibodeaux said. "Tomorrow is a big day for us. We need to come out here and take care of business at home like we are supposed to. Sweeping a team like Southern Miss is extremely difficult. These guys are pretty good. It'll be a big day, but our guys will be ready for it."

Dylan Theut was the starting pitcher for Louisiana, and he worked out of early trouble multiple times. In each of the first three innings, Southern Miss got the leadoff runner on, but the Cajuns were able to get a pair of double-plays to keep them scoreless.

In the second inning, Connor Kimple hit a leadoff single, and Tyler Robertson bunted him over to second base, but a groundout and strikeout stranded him in scoring position.

Louisiana actually had two separate base runners in the third inning, but a double-play and a pick off erased both of them.

Theut once again got into trouble in the fourth, giving up a leadoff walk and double. He got a strikeout, and a RBI groundout broke the scoreless tie. A two-out RBI-double ended his day, and Jacob Schultz entered the game. Schultz got the inning-ending fly-out, and he was excellent for the Cajuns. He faced the minimum through three innings of work until he gave up a two-out hit in the seventh inning.

In the bottom half of the fourth, Kyle DeBarge hit a leadoff single, but he was caught stealing after the umpires failed to rule that the Golden Eagle shortstop was blocking the base. The leadoff single failed to blossom into anything as a result.

Robertson hit a single to open the fifth inning, but a lineout turned into a double-play to end that threat.

With two outs in the seventh, Chipper Menard relieved Schultz who threw three scoreless innings and only allowed two hits out of the bullpen. Southern Miss added two runs in the eighth to make it 4-0, but Louisiana's offense had an opportunity to finally break through in the bottom half of the inning.

A single with one out and another single with two outs put runners at the corners, but a groundout ended the frame.

Head coach Matt Deggs got ejected in the top of the ninth inning after he argued a check swing that the third-base umpire blew. Southern Miss eventually added a run in that inning, and the Cajuns went down in order to end the game.

Up next, Louisiana and Southern Miss play a rubber match to determine the winner of the series. That game is scheduled to start on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.