UL baseball vs Georgia Southern: Cajuns aren't done yet in SBC Championship Tournament

Louisiana baseball had a quick turnaround, and a lot was riding on its performance after dropping its first game of the Sun Belt Conference tournament against Marshall on Wednesday.

Offensively, the No. 5-seeded Ragin’ Cajuns have struggled but they dug deep Thursday, facing No. 9 seed Georgia Southern in an elimination game. With their season on the line and backs against the wall, the Cajuns snagged a 5-4 victory over the Eagles to keep their season alive.

"Somebody's got to win ugly games," UL coach Matt Deggs said. "We talk about that a lot, and today was an ugly game that we found a way to win. I love gritty games more than I like pretty ones. Cajun baseball is a particular brand of baseball, and it's it's hard nosed and it's gritty, and we have to get back to that."

Sophomore pitchers Chase Morgan and JR Tollett put on a master class on the mound, both doing all they could to limit the Eagles lineup. It took locked-in pitching and some gritty at-bats from Lee Amedee and Drew Markle to take down the Eagles (28-30, 13-17), whom they beat 2-1 in their regular season series.

“You’re fighting for you life tomorrow,” Deggs said. “There’s a chance that this is the last time this team will be together, so you want to come out and lay it all out on the line. In our program, that’s what you want to do every day. It’ll really be good to put a complete game (Friday).”

The Cajuns (27-30, 17-14) now await the loser of No. 1 Coastal Carolina and No. 4 Marshall, which they will face at 6:30 p.m. Friday.

"It means everything to us," Tollett said. "I'm just thinking about our seniors and playing for them and the brotherhood. We love tournament baseball. We love postseason. We love the pressure and the longer you can stay in these postseason games, the better chance you have to get deeper into it."

Jose Torres 47, Louisianas Ragin Cajuns take on Georgia Southern Baseball. Friday, April 25, 2025.

Louisiana Ragin' Cajun baseball vs Georgia Southern live score by inning

*Check back here for live game updates and more once the game starts.

Eighth inning

BOT 8 UL 5, GSU 4: With the game back tied up the Cajuns were ready to answer back and senior Caleb Stelly kicked them off with a lead-off single. He advanced all the way to third base on wild pitches, setting up Amedee for a sacrifice fly to score the go-ahead run.

Juju Stevens answers back

TOP 8 UL 4, GSU 4: Stevens was the bane of the Cajuns' existence earlier in the game giving the Eagles the lead with a three-RBI double, and now he has struck again. This time the outfielder sent Cajuns relief pitcher JR Tollett's pitch out of the park for a solo home run to tie this game back up.

Seventh inning

Have yourself a game, Drew Markle

BOT 7 UL 4, GSU 3: Desperate to tie this game back up, UL went with pinch hitter freshman Brooks Wright and he drew a walk. He used his speed to steal second base and set the table for the hottest bat of the game, Markle. He delivered with his biggest hit of the season on a single RBI but he wasn't done after that.

"Me and Coach Deggs have been working a lot just with timing swing-wise and just keeping the same approach," Markle said. "He talked to me this past week in practice about a simple approach and using my levers and everything that I'm good at to just keep a simple approach in every at-bat. I was able to do that today as everybody who set me up into good spots to be able to drive a fastball."

He stole second base causing some throwing errors for the Eagles as he made his way all the way home to give the Cajuns back the lead. Donkey followed that up with the Cajuns' sixth hit of the game as momentum is swinging their way now.

Sixth inning

More Cajun mistakes

BOT 6: This game could've been tied up after freshman Owen Galt hit a ground ball for a fielder's choice that wouldn't score a run. The call would be called a double play instead due to Amedee not sliding to second base on the Eagles' double play attempt. Cajuns strand more runners and remain behind by a run.

BOT 6 UL 2, GSU 3: After the Eagles loaded up the bases last inning now it was the Cajuns turn. Markle kicked things off with a lead off single and DeGondea did the rest, walking batters to load the bases up for junior Lee Amedee. He kept the theme going getting hit by a pitch for an RBI to make this a one-run game.

DeGondea ended his day after hitting Amedee, his third hit batter of the game. The Cajuns are facing Davis Smith now with the bases still loaded and just one out.

Fifth inning

Haunting errors

TOP 5 UL 1, GSU 3: Errors have started to plague the Cajuns and for the first time Morgan couldn't get them out of the jam. The Eagles loaded up the bases thanks to bunts and an error by Connor Cuff and Juju Stevens made them pay for it. He hit a two-out double for three RBIs to give the Eagles their first lead of the game.

Fourth inning

Leave it to C Meaux

TOP 4: Almost midway through the game and its a low-scoring affair due to the top-notch pitching on display from both teams. Morgan has been rolling on the mound striking out nearly half of the batters he's faced so far for seven Ks.

"That's the best I've seen Chase in five weeks or so," Deggs said. "It's been a while, you know, he's battling some injuries, not to his arm, just some extremely tight stuff. And so that was his best attack when he could compete and command the strike zone."

Georgia Southern's starting pitcher, lefty Carter DeGondea, has been just as effective minimizing the Cajuns to just two hits so far. He's managed to keep his pitch count pretty low as well with just 42 pitches heading into the bottom of the fourth.

Thrid inning

TOP 3: Morgan is wheeling and dealing on the mound to start this one. Despite the Eagles getting four runners on base, he's gotten out of jams while picking up strikeouts along the way. He is up to six Ks so far and has only allowed three hits.

First inning

BOT 1 UL 1, GSU 0: Cajuns' Drew Markle picked up where he left off from yesterday getting their first hit of the game on a one-out single. He used his wheels to get into scoring position, and Big Donkey did the rest. Junior Luke Yuhasz came through with an RBI single to score the first run of the game.

Cajuns Pitcher Chase Morgan 18, Louisianas Ragin Cajuns take on James Madison Baseball. Friday, March 28, 2025.

C Meaux's shove day begins

TOP 1: The Eagles started off the game applying pressure to Morgan getting two runners on and driving the lefty's pitch count up. Morgan stayed composed, ending the inning unscathed and striking out three batters.

What channel is Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns baseball vs Georgia Southern game on?

TV channel: N/A

Livestream: ESPN+

No. 5 Louisiana vs. No. 9 Georgia Southern in a single-game matchup will be available live on ESPN+ for the Cajuns' SBC Championship Tournament quarterfinals game. Matt Stewart and Ronnie Rantz will provide commentary from Riverwalk Stadium. Streaming options for the game include ESPN+.

What time do Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns baseball vs Georgia Southern play?

• Date: Thursday, May 22
• Time: 12:54 p.m. CT

The Louisiana vs Georgia Southern in a single-game matchup will kick off on Thursday at 12:30 p.m. at Riverwalk Stadium in Montgomery as the second game of day three of the SBC Championship Tournament.

Louisiana Ragin' Cajun baseball vs Georgia Southern weather update

Thursday's matchup will be played in mainly sunny weather with clear skies throughout the day. The forecast is set to a high of 90 degrees and a low of 64. Winds will get up to about five to 10 mph with less than 10% of rain.

Shannon Belt covers high school sports and the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow her high school and Cajuns coverage on Twitter: @ShannonBelt3. Got questions regarding HS/UL athletics? Send them to Shannon Belt at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: UL baseball vs Georgia Southern: Cajuns aren't done yet in SBC Championship Tournament