Princeton University
Louisiana Lafayette
Players Mentioned
UL-Lafayette Rallies Past Princeton In NCAA Baseball Opener
June 04, 2016 | Baseball
The ball smacked off the bat of Joe Robbins and headed into the gap in left-center, and Tigue Moore Field erupted in a way that very few college venues could ever dream of matching.
If Scott Bradley wanted his Princeton baseball team to get the full NCAA tournament experience, then he couldn't have come to a better place than the University of Louisiana-Lafayette.
Princeton, playing its first game in more than three weeks, battled the 17th-ranked Ragin' Cajuns the entire way before falling 5-3 in front of 3,569 of the rowdiest college baseball fans anywhere on Day 1 of the NCAA Regional. Or was that Day 2?
Because of thunderstorms throughout the day, the game didn't start until 9:40 local time, and it didn't end until 12:10. Princeton now has a quick turnaround to take on Sam Houston State, who lost 7-3 to Arizona, in the elimination game Saturday at 1.
"I've been to a lot of places in baseball," Bradley said. "I don't know that I've ever been to a place where the fans are a in tune with every pitch for nine innings. I can't tell you what an amazing experience the fans and the atmosphere made it for our players. I thought it was just a great college baseball game."
Princeton is the fourth seed, but with a fantastic start from Chad Powers and some timely hitting, the TIgers led the top-seed Ragin' Cajuns into the seventh.
It started early, when Billy Arendt tripled and then scored on a Danny Hoy sacrifice fly to put the Tigers up in the top of the first. Powers made his presence known just as quickly, striking out the side in the bottom of the inning.
UL-Lafayette hit a pair of solo home runs to go up 2-1, but the Tigers answered in the sixth. Jesper Horsted started it with a single, and Arendt put runners at the corners with one of his own. Hoy tied it with a single for his second RBI, and Joseph Flynn made it 3-2 Tigers with a two-out single.
Powers kept it that way with a scoreless sixth, and it was still 3-2 after Princeton went out in the top of the seventh.
And that's when the Cajun party started. First it was the seventh-inning stretch, which featured "Centerfield" by John Fogerty, accompanied by the entire crowd, who sang, danced and clapped hands the entire time.
Then it got even louder. A single, a bunt, a strikeout and a single tied it at 3-3 after seven, and Robbins' one-out triple scored Hunter Kasuls, as the crowd roared in a way usually reserved for a rock concert or maybe a packed house at a college basketball game.
It also ended the night for Powers, who struck out eight and walked none and was nothing short of brilliant. The crowd knew it had seen a special outing, and it rose as a sea of red to salute Powers as he walked off.
Chris Giglio relieved Powers, and Robbins alertly tagged up on a foul out down the first base line, making it 5-3 after eight. UL-Lafayette closer Dylan Moore, all 6-4, 200-pounds of him, pitched a 1-2-3 ninth with two strikeouts for his 14th save.
Next up is Sam Houston, and the chance to extend the stay here in Louisiana.
"I hope all the Louisiana fans come back now and root for Princeton," Bradley said. "I hope we can win a ballgame and stay around and play a little more, because it sure is fun."