UL Sweeps MT With 11-3 Win

The Blue Raiders (21-23, 3-12) struggled once again on Sunday afternoon, dropping the third game of a 3-game series 11-3 to Louisiana-Lafayette (30-15, 12-3).

The win gave the Ragin' Cajuns the sweep of the series, meaning that the Blue Raiders have now lost six straight games in the league and eight consecutive losses overall.

UL got off to a fast start, plating two runs in the top of the first on an RBI single from Bryan Sneed and an RBI walk from Phillip Hawke.

However, the Blue Raiders returned fire in the bottom of the inning. Chuck Akers drew a walk to start the inning and Marshall Nisbett doubled to put runners at second and third. Justin Sims delivered a two-run single to center to knot the score.

The luck stopped there for the Blue Raiders.

The Ragin' Cajuns broke the game open with four runs in the top of the fourth with a three-hit barrage combined with a walk.

The Cajuns continued the onslaught in the top of the fifth when Doug Vicknair scored on a wild pitch from reliever Jeremy Armstrong.

The visitors got two more runs in the top of the sixth. A Blue Raider error allowed Sneed to reach first and a homer from Robert Shelton completed the scoring in the frame.

The Blue Raiders held the Ragin' Cajuns at bay for the next two innings, but the visitors again found away to get two runs across in the top of the ninth behind three more hits.

The Blue Raiders finally scored again when Josh Archer singled into center field to chase Nisbett across with the team's third run.

Nisbett, who made his first career start, took the loss for Middle Tennessee to fall to 0-3 on the year while UL's Corey Coles got the win to improve to 4-1.

The Blue Raiders will take the mid-week off for exams, but will return to action on Friday night against Sun Belt rival Arkansas State at 7 PM.

Follow the Blue Raiders on Twitter @MTAthletics for continued updates.