LAFAYETTE – Chase Morgan and James Trimble recorded strong debuts on the mound while Louisiana capitalized on 10 free passes to claim a 7-2 victory over San Jose State in the 2025 season opener for both teams on Friday at M.L. "Tigue" Moore Field at Russo Park.
The top three hitters of Maddox Mandino, Drew Markle and Lee Amedee each drove in runs as Louisiana (1-0) scored four unearned runs in the third before adding a pair of runs in the fifth and one in the eighth.
The series will resume on Saturday in a 1 p.m. start. The game will be broadcast in the Lafayette area on KPEL-FM (96.5) and worldwide on the Varsity Network app. Blake McGehee will earn the start for Louisiana while San Jose State (0-1) will counter with right-hander David Thomas.
Morgan (1-0) scattered four hits and struck out seven batters in 5.0 innings before Trimble, a junior college transfer making his Louisiana debut, pitched the final 4.0 innings with five strikeouts to earn his first save.
"The plan was for C-Mo to get us through five and then get JT in there to finish it," head coach Matt Deggs said. "C-Mo set a great tone for a Friday night and then handed the ball off to JT there, and what else can you ask?
"We won the freebie battle tonight. Our defense played great, and we were grinding out at bats. We didn't have a ton to show, but we won the pitch count battle and were able to crack their defense. The biggest thing I liked about tonight was that they scored, and we scored big. They scored late and we matched, and that's what we're all about."
Morgan allowed a two-out single in the first inning to Zach Chazimo after fanning his first two batters of the night before striking out Jake McCoy to end the frame. The southpaw gave up a two-out single in the third to Jeriah Lewis, before Lewis stole second and scored on Antonio Nanez's RBI single to right.
Louisiana responded in the bottom half of the inning, scoring four runs without the benefit of a hit. Luke Yuhasz led off the inning with a walk before Connor Cuff was hit by a pitch from SJSU starter Jesse Gutierrez (0-1). Both runners would score on a throwing error on Sam Ardoin's sacrifice bunt to third before Drew Markle reached on a second Spartan error, allowing Ardoin to score for a 3-1 lead.
After Markle swiped third, Amedee executed a squeeze bunt up the third-base line to give Louisiana a 4-1 lead.
Ardoin, who finished 1-for-1 with a pair of walks in his Louisiana debut, led off the fifth with a single through the left side before advancing to second on a wild pitch by Spartan reliever Joey Cammarata. Mandino, who finished 1-for-4 with two RBI, would follow with an RBI single up the middle and would later score on a wild pitch for a 6-1 lead.
Trimble relieved Morgan in the sixth and fanned a pair of batters while being aided by a 9-6-5 relay throw to nail McCoy trying to advance on Drew Giannini's base hit. The right-hander retired San Jose State in order in the seventh before Lewis hit the first pitch in the eighth for a solo home run.
Yuhasz added a fourth-inning triple for Louisiana, which finished with four hits, but took advantage of Spartan pitching, drawing eight walks with three hit batters.
Gutierrez allowed four runs – all unearned – and a pair of hits while striking out four batters in 4.0 innings. Lewis led San Jose State at the plate going 2-for-4 with Rocco Caballero and Alex Fernandes each recording base hits.
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