By Lori Lyons, Rougarou Writer
It’s awfully hot in Texas, but that didn’t keep things from snowballing for the Baton Rouge Rougarou Thursday night in a 6-1 loss to the Brazos Valley Bombers.
A slew of errors, passed balls, wild pitches and other unfortunate events helped Brazos Valley (15-8) secure the top spot in the Texas Collegiate League as the first half of the season winds down. The Rougarou drop to 11-11, three and a half games out of first place.
The Rougarou outhit Brazos Valley 9-7, but only one came at a crucial point. Davis Meche led the offense with three hits and scored the team’s only run of the night on a single by T.J. Grines in the fifth inning, but he also was stranded at third in the third inning. Derrald Moore Jr. was left at third in the fourth. Mozell Little III was thrown out at home by the Bombers’ center fielder in the sixth. Josh Shelly was left at third in the eighth when Little was picked off at first.
Starting pitcher Will Tarpley threw five innings, allowing three runs on three hits and striking out three. LSU pitcher Nic Bronzini made his Rougarou debut, throwing 1 2-3 innings, giving up three runs on three hits and striking out three. Kade Linn closed, giving up no runs, one hit and striking out two. The Rougarou did not walk a batter.
But they did give up untimely hits and gave the Bombers too many free passes. Passed balls led to three Brazos Valley runs – one in the third, one in the fourth, and one in the seventh. The Rougarou also committed three errors.
“We had six or seven hits and hit six balls on the nose right to someone that killed any offensive momentum,” Rougarou coach Jeff “Rooster” Southall said. “Tarpley threw well (but) the defense hurt his outing. Bonzini threw well but had a Texas Leaguer blooper fall in and a passed ball with a man on third that hurt him. Linn pitched very well on the back end, which was good to see. His last two outings were less than ideal, but I’m happy he bounced back tonight.”
The Rougarou return home for Friday’s game against the Seguin River Monsters at 7 p.m. at Pete Goldsby Field.