BOONE, N.C. – Austin Perrin and Dylan Theut combined to allow one hit and fan nine batters over the final 6.2 innings and the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Baseball team pounded out 18 hits to claim a 12-7 win over Appalachian State in a Sun Belt Conference game on Saturday at Beaver Field at Jim and Bettie Smith Stadium.
Kyle DeBarge and Julian Brock each homered while Brock and Max Marusak each collected three hits as Louisiana (25-16, 14-6 SBC) won its fifth straight game and scored in the first five innings in building an 11-7 lead.
With the forecast of rain in the Boone area beginning Sunday afternoon, the final game of the three-game series is scheduled for 10 a.m. ET (9 a.m. CT). Fans can listen to the game in the Lafayette area on KPEL-FM (96.5), the Varsity Network and the #GeauxCajuns app. Live statistics will be available at CajunStats.com.
Louisiana scored four runs in the first inning as Marusak, Tyler Robertson and Heath Hood drove in runs before DeBarge belted his third home run of the season off App State starter Trey Tujetsch (3-4).
Marusak, who finished 3-for-6 with a pair of doubles and three stolen bases for the Ragin’ Cajuns, drove in Will Veillon with an RBI double in the second before stealing third and scoring on one of six Mountaineers errors in the game. Robertson, who went 2-for-4 with three RBI, gave Louisiana a 7-1 lead after doubling down the left field line.
App State (14-26, 5-15 SBC) scored three times in the second and cut the Louisiana lead to 8-7 in the third after Dylan Rogers hit a two-run double to chase starter Jacob Schultz after 2.1 innings.
Perrin (1-0), making his first appearance since April 14, came in and got Alex Reed to fly out before fanning RJ Johnson to end the threat. The southpaw, who picked up his first victory since March 28, 2021, against Coastal Carolina, fanned five batters in a season-high 4.2 innings and allowed a lead pinch-hit single by Jacob Whitley in the fifth.
Marusak gave Louisiana a 9-7 lead in the fourth when he led off with a double and scored on Robertson’s fielder’s choice before the Ragin’ Cajuns scored twice off a pair of errors in the fifth.
Connor Kimple added a two-out single to right in the seventh to drive in Warnner Rincones, who reached on a two-out single before stealing second.
Theut pitched the final 2.0 innings of hitless relief for Louisiana with four strikeouts.
Jeff Wilson (4-1, 3.50 ERA) will start on the mound for Louisiana in Sunday’s finale while App State will counter with right-hander Jason Cornatzer (1-1, 6.17 ERA).
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