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Fluno masterpiece helps No. 19 Louisiana past Marshall, 2-0

Matt Sullivan, UL Director of Athletics Communications
·4 min read

LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY)– Carson Fluno pitched no-hit ball into the eighth inning and No. 19-ranked Louisiana scored a pair of runs in the first inning to earn a 2-0 win over Marshall and complete a three-game Sun Belt Conference sweep Sunday at M.L. “Tigue” Moore Field at Russo Park.

Duncan Pastore had three hits, including an RBI double, as Louisiana (28-9, 14-1 SBC) swept its fourth consecutive series and equaled the SBC record for most consecutive wins by a member school since South Florida won 14 straight league game in 1986.

One day after Chase Morgan and JT Etheridge limited Marshall (12-22, 5-10 SBC) to one hit in a 1-0 victory, Fluno (2-0) retired the first eight batters he faced before Eddie Leon drew a two-out walk in the third.

The right-hander, who struck out five and walked three in 7.0 innings of action, walked a batter in both the fourth and seventh innings. Marshall’s AJ Havrilla would break up the no-hitter in the eighth when his grounder up the middle caromed off second base and over the head of John Taylor in center field.

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Matthew Holzhammer immediately relieved Fluno after his season-high, 109-pitch performance and pitched a scoreless eighth before Jack Martinez pitched a scoreless ninth to earn his second save of the year.

“That was like a train wreck, I saw the whole thing coming,” Louisiana head coach Matt Deggs said about the eighth-inning hit. “He (Fluno) would have stayed out there if he had a shot because that opportunity (no-hitter) rolls around only every so often.

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“He’s worked so hard, battled so many things … ups and downs. He’s a great teammate and he put it all together today. He was tough.”

Louisiana, which allowed just one run in a three-game series for the second time this season, generated all of the scoring it would need in the first inning against Marshall starter Carson Lyles (0-3).

Taylor led off the inning with a walk, stole second and scored on Kyle DeBarge’s one-out, RBI single through the left side for an early 1-0 lead. Pastore, who finished 3-for-4 after going 0-for-7 in the first two games of the series, then laced a double inside the third-base line, allowing DeBarge to score all the way from first.

Louisiana loaded the bases in the third inning after Pastore singled and moved to third on Conor Higgs’ ground-rule double to left. Luke Yuhasz was then hit by a pitch to load the bases before Marshall reliever Griffin Miller got a strikeout and double play to keep the Cajuns from adding to the lead.

The Ragin’ Cajuns, who recorded nine hits and stranded nine runners, added two more base runners in the fifth after singles by Pastore and Trey LaFleur, but the Thundering Herd got out of the jam as reliever Alex McKay got a fly ball to left to strand a pair of runners.

In the sixth, Louisiana got a leadoff double from Maddox Mandino before he was tagged out at third on an attempted sacrifice bunt.

Louisiana, which lowered its overall team ERA to 3.35 and 2.18 in SBC games, allowed seven hits over the three-game series with all three starters (Andrew Herrmann, Morgan, Fluno) each recording a quality start.

“The pitchers have put us on their shoulders the last several games, and (pitching coach) Gunner’s (Leger) got them rolling,” Deggs said. “They’re doing an incredible job. We’ve got to execute better offensively. We scattered nine hits and tried to rest some guys today … we just didn’t execute very well with guys on base.

“We’ve got to continue to work, get our approach back and can’t lose our identity of being able to center-up the baseball, get good pitches, put it in play and make stuff happen. We’re getting away with it right now, but that’ll only last so long, because the stakes only go up from here.”

Louisiana will open its final five-game week beginning on Tuesday when it faces in-state opponent Southeastern Louisiana in a home-and-home midweek series. The teams will meet in Hammond beginning on Tuesday at 6 p.m. before concluding the series on Wednesday in Lafayette at 6 p.m.

Both games will be streamed live on ESPN+ with fans able to listen to both games in the Lafayette area on KPEL-FM (96.5) or worldwide on the Varsity Network app.

Tickets for Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Baseball are available for purchase on-line at RaginCajuns.com/tickets or by calling the Louisiana Athletics Ticket Office at (337) 482-GoUL (4685).

Fans are encouraged to stay engaged with the Ragin’ Cajuns by downloading the #GeauxCajuns app. Click here for iOS/Apple platforms and here for Android platforms.

For the latest updates on Ragin’ Cajuns baseball, follow on Facebook (RaginCajunsBaseball), Twitter (@RaginCajunsBSB) and Instagram (@RaginCajunsBSB) or check RaginCajuns.com.

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