By Lori Lyons, Rougarou Writer
The Rougarou was licking its wounds after losing a tough one Sunday night in Victoria, Texas.
Baton Rouge took a 2-0 lead into the eighth inning only to watch the Generals rally for three runs in the bottom of the frame. Their hopes for a ninth inning comeback were dashed as Victoria’s pitching retired the side in order, letting the Generals take a 3-2 victory in their well-attended home opener at Riverside Stadium.
Up until then, everything seemed to be working for the Rougarou (3-2), which had won three straight. Starting pitcher Tanner Roberts pitched four scoreless innings, allowing only three hits, walking one and striking out three. Reliever Holden Hess pitched the next three innings without giving up a run or a hit, walking none and striking out three.
But the Generals knocked four hits off of reliever Gavin Green in the eighth inning, including a pair of doubles that tied the game at 2. A fielding error allowed the Generals to score the winning run.
“Gavin pitched well and ran into some bad fortune,” Rougarou coach Jeff “Rooster” Southall said. “A couple of miscues in the eighth mixed with some timely hitting on their part in that inning. Our pitching was very good again and hitting was sporadic. Our guys stayed focused in Victoria’s home-opener that had a big crowd of 1,600 t0 2,000. It was a lot of fun playing in that environment and our guys handled that part well.”
The Rougarou finished with seven hits off of three Victoria pitchers. Josh Shelly went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Sully Stringer went 2-for-3 with a triple and an RBI. Austin O’Malley hit a double and scored a run. Banks Byers and Derrald Moore Jr. also knocked hits for the Rougarou.
The Rougarou took a 1-0 lead in the second inning when O’Malley led off with a double. Trevor Durr’s grounder moved the runner and O’Malley scored on a grounder by Stringer.
The team increased the lead to 2-0 in the third. Safford led off with a walk and stole second. A grounder by T.J. Grines moved Safford to third and he scored on a single by Shelly.
“I told them boys ‘Flush it, get a good night’s sleep and let’s ride again tomorrow,'” Southall said.
Baton Rouge will get another chance against the Generals Monday night at 7 p.m. at Riverside Stadium. The team returns home to Goldsby Field to face the Generals on Wednesday and again on Thursday at 7 p.m.