PINEVILLE, La. – The Louisiana Christian University baseball team exploded for six or more times in three innings during the doubleheader against Houston-Victoria, but errors and walks proved costly in game one while the Wildcats put it all together in game two to split the doubleheader against the Jaguars, dropping game one 12-8 before winning game two 22-4 in seven innings, Friday evening at Billy Allgood Field at Legacy Stadium.
 
Game 1 – Houston-Victoria 12, Louisiana Christian 8
 
The Wildcats jumped all over the Jaguar starter in the second inning, trying to put the first game away early. Peyton Lamartiniere and Nicolas Ramos led off the frame with a base hit and hit by pitch, respectively. They both moved up on a wild pitch before Beau Freeman knocked in Lamartiniere with a single through the left side of the infield to put the Wildcats on the board first. Ty Morgan kept it going with a double down the third base line to score Ramos. After Adrian Aguilar walked to load the bases, Alex Ashby also watched ball four to sail by for a walk that forced in Freeman for a 3-0 Wildcat lead. Keelyn Johnson kept the run going with a base hit to center that brought in pinch runner Dru Scully from third. Adrian Aguilar scored as everyone moved up on another wild pitch. Ju'Juan Franklin's base hit through the left side scored Ashby. The returning Nick Brunet closed out the scored as he rolled a ball to short, allowing Johnson to score from third for a 7-0 LCU lead when the inning finally closed.
 
UHV got on the board in the top of the third with a lead-off, solo home run, however, LCU got the run right back in the bottom of the fifth inning as Ty Morgan hit a solo shot of his own to make it 8-1.
 
But an error in the sixth inning by the Wildcat defense allowed the floodgates to open as the Jaguars took advantage of the extra chances to plate ten runs in the frame to take the lead, 11-8. The Jaguars added an insurance run in the top of the seventh and LCU mounted no response as the game ended.
 
Ty Morgan led the Wildcat offense in game one, going two-for-three with a double and his fourth home run of the season, a walk, two RBI, and a run scored. Keelyn Johnson also went two-for-three with a walk, a RBI, and a run scored. In his return to the line-up from injury, Nick Brunet hit a double and a RBI. Alex Ashby went one-for-four with a walk, a stolen base, a RBI, and a run scored. Beau Freeman went one-for-three with a RBI and run scored. Ju'Juan Franklin had the team's final RBI. LCU out-hit UHV in game one, despite the loss, 11-8.
 
Beau Hebert (2-3) came on in relief and took the loss in a tough outing as he faced three batters, walked two and allowed a base hit with all three coming around to score, all unearned. Brooks Southall started and threw 5.2 innings and gave up six hits and seven runs, four earned, walked two, and struck out two. Rett Bowman finished threw the final 1.1 innings and gave up one hit and two runs, one earned, walked two, and struck out one.
 
Game 2 – Houston-Victoria 4, Louisiana Christian 22 (7 innings)
 
UHV struck first in the top of the second inning as a solo home run put the Jaguars on top 1-0. But LCU would not let that stand, turning the game one script as an error on the other end opened the floodgates for a Wildcat lead that would be much safer this time around. LCU loaded the bases right off the bat as Haydon Helms and Peyton Lamartiniere both singled, which was followed by a base on balls to Jacob Fowler. Nicklaus Stein got the scoring started with a base hit to left-center that scored Helms to tie the score. Ty Morgan was then plunked, forcing in Lamartiniere and the Wildcats took the lead and never looked back. Adrian Aguilar's fly ball to center was deep enough to score Fowler from third while Stein took his chances and moved up 90 feet as well. That proved vital as Alex Ashby followed that with a fly ball to center as well and Stein tagged up to score on the sacrifice fly to give LCU a 4-1 lead.
 
One of the key moments of the game came two batters later as Ju'Juan Franklin rolled a ground ball to third base, and the Jaguar third baseman booted it, allowing Franklin to reach and Dru Scully to score from second and keep the inning alive. What came next was a torrent of Wildcat runs as LCU grabbed total control of the game. Right after the error, Haydon Helms banged the center field wall for a triple that scored both Franklin and Keelyn Johnson. Peyton Lamartiniere followed that with a walk where he immediately took off for second, drawing a throw that allowed Helms to steal home from third cleanly. Jacob Fowler dropped a base hit into center, scoring Lamartiniere from second. After a walk and hit batter re-loaded the bases, Adrian Aguilar dropped a base hit into center, scoring Fowler and Stein. Alex Ashby then totally cleared the bases with a three-run blast to left-center. As if that wasn't enough of topping to the inning, after another Jaguar error allowed Keelyn Johnson to reach safely, Ju'Juan Franklin went to the deepest part of the park for a two-run jack to center, the last two runs of a 16-run frame for the Wildcats as LCU ended the second inning up 16-1.
 
UHV tried to get some momentum right back in the top of the third as a sacrifice fly and a two-run double helped the Jaguars immediately get three of those runs back, but LCU made sure there would be no big comeback this time, adding six more runs in the bottom half to extend the advantage. A walk and a pair of base hits loaded the bases again with no outs for LCU. Ty Morgan rolled a grounder to short, but in an effort to get the relay for two started quickly, the shortstop threw it away and both Peyton Lamartiniere and Jacob Fowler scored. With runners on the corners and now one away, the weather played a role in LCU's next run as Alex Ashby popped the ball up on the infield into the windy night, but the defense didn't get a read of the wind and the ball hit the dirt, allowing Nicklaus Stein to go home on the bounce. After a walk put a second runner on base, Ju'Juan Franklin capped the scoring a big way, hitting his second home run in as any innings, a three-run homer to put LCU up 22-4, which ended up as the game's final score.
 
Nicklaus Stein had a game at the plate, getting base hits in all three of his at bats as well as a walk, a RBI, and touching home three times. Jacob Fowler went two-for-three with a walk, a stolen base, a RBI, and three runs scored. Haydon Helms went two-for-four with a triple, stole home, knocked in two runs, and scored twice. Both of Ju'Juan Franklin's hits in his four at bats in the contest went over the wall for his team-leading ninth and tenth home runs of the season as he knocked in five runs and scored three times. Alex Ashby went one-for-three with his fifth home run of the season, knocked in five runs and scored twice. Adrian Aguilar went one-for-three with three RBI and a run scored. Even without getting a base hit in the game, Ty Morgan knocked in two runs in the contest.
 
With such a big lead after just two innings of play, Cortlynn Ramirez (7-2) went the distance in the contest as he threw all seven innings and gave up 12 hits and four runs, all earned, walked two and struck out nine to pick up the win.
 
The Wildcats (22-11, 15-8 RRAC) and Jaguars (19-15, 14-9 RRAC) decide a series winner on Saturday with the rubber game of the three-game set. First pitch of the series-deciding contest is set for noon at Billy Allgood Field at Legacy Stadium.