PINEVILLE, La. – The Louisiana Christian University baseball team scored eight runs in the first inning and never looked back as it finished off a sweep in the first Red River Athletic Conference series of the season, defeating the Jarvis Christian Bulldogs 14-4 in eight innings Saturday afternoon at Billy Allgood Field.
 
After getting Jarvis Christian (0-9, 0-3 RRAC) in order in the top of the first inning, Louisiana Christian (18-2, 3-0 RRAC) jumped all over the Bulldog starting pitcher. Braden McLin started it off with a base hit into center and then Brady Huffman drew a walk. Braden Trull brought them both home with a double to right field for the early lead.
 
After Chris Kelley drew another walk, Harrison Waxley dropped a double down the left field foul line which scored Trull. Now with one out, Caleb Brown found the left-center gap in front of the diving Bulldog left fielder for a double which scored Kelley.
 
Cayden Cuti then drew the third base on balls by the Wildcats in the first inning to load the bases, ending the day of JCU's starting pitcher with just one out on the board. Jake Messina met the new Bulldog pitcher with a base hit to right field to score Waxley for a 5-0 lead.
 
Back at the top of the order, McLin sent a fly fall to center which was deep enough for Brown to tag up and score. With his second plate appearance of the inning, Huffman got his first hit of the game as he found the right-center gap for a double, scoring both Cuti and pinch runner Luke Morgan for an 8-0 LCU lead when the first inning finally came to its end.
 
After another quick inning for the Wildcat defense, the bats went back to work in the second inning. With one out, Waxley and Sterling Sims drew back-to-back walks, setting up Brown who went over the left fielder's head for a double which scored both base runners. Messina brought Brown home with a base hit to the left-center gap, making it 11-0 Wildcats through just two innings.
 
Jarvis Christian pulled one back in the third inning, finding grass in left-center for a RBI base hit with two outs and runners on the corners to cut the LCU lead to 11-1.
 
The Wildcats got that one back in the fourth inning as Brown smashed his first home run of the season, a solo shot down the left field line with one out.
 
LCU was four outs away from ending the game early, but JCU wouldn't allow the Wildcats to end the game in the seventh as a three-run home run got the score under the 10-run threshold.
 
But that would only delay the inevitable as the Wildcats found the two runs they would need to enact the run rule in the bottom of the eighth. Huffman got LCU on the precipice of ending it as he started the frame with a solo shot to right, also his first home run of the year. Now with one out, Morgan came up in a pinch hit opportunity and found the right field line and hustled around for a double. Darron Degeyter brought the game to its conclusion as he traded spots with Morgan, doubling down the left field line for the game-ending RBI.
 
Brown led the Wildcat offense by getting hits in all three of his at bats in the contest, two doubles and a home run. He also drove in four runs and scored three times.
 
Huffman, Trull, and Messina all had two hits apiece in the contest.
 
Huffman was 2-for-3 with a double, a home run, a walk, was hit by a pitch, drove in three runs and scored twice.
 
Trull was 2-for-5 with a double, a run scored, and two RBI.
 
Messina was 2-for-3 with two RBI. Morgan scored one run as Messina's courtesy runner before coming in later in the game to get a double in his lone plate appearance and came around to score the walk-off run.
 
Jacob Bareswill (3-1) threw the first three innings and allowed just one hit and one run, which was earned, walked one and struck out two as he got the win from the mound.
 
Alan Mason and Aedan Thibodeaux both threw an inning of relief, getting out all three batters each one faced. Mason struck out two while Thibodeaux got one batter out on strikes.
 
Seth Whitney also threw an inning and gave up two hits and three runs, all earned, with one walk and one strikeout.
 
Owen Simoneaux finished things out on the mound for LCU, throwing the final two innings and allowed three hits but no runs with no walks and three strikeouts.
 
The Wildcats head out on the road for two straight weekends, starting on Friday in Victoria, Texas to take on #20 Texas A&M-Victoria. First pitch of Friday's doubleheader against the #20 Jaguars (11-7, 2-1 RRAC) is set for 4:30 p.m. at Riverside Stadium.