By Lori Lyons, Rougarou Writer
In their final home game of the regular season Tuesday night, the Baton Rouge Rougarou were generous hosts to a park full of dogs and their owners and the Seguin River Monsters.
The Rougarou pitchers – six of them in all – gave up only seven hits, but issued a whopping 13 walks and hit three batters to help Seguin walk away with a 4-2 victory. The loss dropped Baton Rouge (19-23 overall, 8-11 in the second half) to half a game behind Brazos Valley in the Texas Collegiate League standings. The Rougarou remain one game ahead of Acadiana with four games remaining.
All but two batters in the Seguin lineup reached base due to a base on balls or was hit by a pitch at least once. Two Seguin batters walked three times, one walked twice, one was hit by a pitch twice. Also aiding the Seguin cause were 12 wild pitches and two passed balls. The River Monsters could not take advantage of all of their gifts, however, as they left 17 runners on base.
Seguin’s pitchers weren’t quite so generous, walking only five batters and hitting four. The Rougarou managed eight hits: T.J. Grines went 2-for-5 with a double and drove in one of the runs. Derrald Moore Jr. went 2-for-3 and scored one run. Trevor Durr walked twice and scored one run. Mozell Little III had one RBI double. Davis Meche had two hits, including a double. The Rougarou left 11 men on base.
After the River Monsters took a 1-0 lead in the third, the Rougarou tied it in the bottom of the frame. Durr drew a lead-off walk followed by Moore’s single. Grines reached on a fielder’s choice that put Durr out at third. Little then reached on a fielder’s choice that put Grines out at second but Moore scored.
Sequin regained the lead in the top of the fifth inning with a single, three walks, two wild pitches and a passed ball. They added another run in the seventh with a single, two walks and a wild pitch. Another run scored in the top of the eighth with a single, a wild pitch, a passed ball, a walk, and a pair of singles.
The Rougarou scored their last run in the seventh. With one out, Durr walked for the second time then Moore walked. The runners advanced on a wild pitch. Durr would score on an infield groundout. Little and Shelly were hit by pitches to load the bases, but all were left stranded.
The team will take Wednesday off before hitting the road for their final four games. The Rougarou will be at Brazos Valley Thursday and Friday, at Seguin Saturday and at Acadiana Sunday to close out the regular season. Look for a recap of those games Sunday at brrougarou.com.