LAFAYETTE, La. — Louisiana scored eight consecutive runs Saturday afternoon to beat No. 10 Southern Miss 8-4 at Russo Park, evening the Sun Belt Conference series.
The Golden Eagles, now 25-10 overall and 8-6 in conference, saw their three-game winning streak come to an end. The Ragin’ Cajuns improved to 20-15, 5-9 in league play, after ending a four-game losing streak.
After three scoreless innings, Southern Miss took an early lead in the fourth. Joey Urban was hit by a pitch with one out, and Davis Gillespie followed with his ninth home run of the season to left-center, giving the Eagles a 2-0 advantage. Cajuns starter Andrew Hermann kept the Golden Eagles off the board until the ninth, when Kyle Morrison hit his 11th home run of the year, a two-run shot, to seal the victory. Hermann earned his third complete game of the season, allowing four runs on five hits with nine strikeouts to improve to 4-2.
Louisiana’s offense ignited in the fifth inning. After allowing a walk and infield singles, Southern Miss starter Camden Sunstrom issued a walk to load the bases. Reliever Camden Clark entered and recorded a lineout for the first out. Drew Markle then singled to tie the game, and Lee Amadee knocked in the go-ahead runs with a two-run single. The Cajuns continued to add to their lead in the sixth, with Steven Spalitta hitting a two-run homer and Blaze Rodriguez driving in an RBI double. Louisiana scored its final run on a bases-loaded double play in the seventh.
Sunstrom was charged with the loss, going four-plus innings and allowing four unearned runs on three hits, with two walks and six strikeouts. The series concludes Sunday at 1 p.m., with the teams set to face off in the deciding game.
