Cajuns Top Troy 2-1 to Claim the Sun Belt West Division Title

The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns baseball team won the Sun Belt West Division by beating the Troy Trojans 2-1 on senior day to win their three-game weekend series.

With the win, the Cajuns improved to 30-22 this season and 13-11 in Sun Belt Conference play. They have won seven of their last nine games.

Carter Robinson got the start for Louisiana in the regular season finale and pitched his best game of the season.

Troy hit a home run on the first pitch Robinson threw, but, after that, he allowed nothing else. Robinson retired 15 of the next 16 batters he faced before he gave up his second hit of the game with two outs in the fifth. He finished with 5.2 innings pitched, allowing only three hits and one earned run while striking out a career-high eight batters.

However, he left with the game tied at 1-1 because the Cajuns offense struggled against the Trojans starting pitcher.

The Cajuns tied the game in the third inning, using a sacrifice bunt and a RBI-groundout by Drake Osborn to bring Bobby Lada home after he hit a leadoff double. After Osborn's RBI-groundout, eight-straight Cajuns were retired with seven outs coming on groundouts.

In the bottom of the seventh, the Cajuns got the leadoff runner on with a hit-by-pitch, and a bunt-single by Ben Fitzgerald brought the leading run to second base. Tyler Robertson used a fly-out to advance the runner to third base, and a RBI-groundout by Carson Roccaforte gave the Cajuns a 2-1 lead.

Louisiana's bullpen was great in the regular season finale. Chipper Menard, Dane Dixon, Jason Nelson, Blake Marshall, and Jacob Schultz combined to throw 3.1 scoreless innings in relief while only giving up two hits and striking out five batters.

In such a tight game, they played an essential role in keeping the Cajuns in it late. Dixon earned the win to improve to 3-0 on the year and Schultz earned his fourth save this season.

Head coach Matt Deggs was proud of his team for winning the close game to seal the Sun Belt West Division title.

"There was a championship up for grabs, and we found a way to do it," Deggs said. "Things fell our way and we found a way to win the division."

Up next, the Cajuns will play in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. This year, the tournament is divided into four pools where each team will play two games. Louisiana's first game is on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. against Texas State in Pool C. Texas State is the six seed in the West after losing seven-straight Sun Belt Conference games.