Sun Belt Conference wipes out remainder of winter, spring sports seasons

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak across the globe, the Sun Belt Conference -- along with the rest of the NCAA -- announced the cancellation of the remainder of the winter and spring sports seasons.

The conference made the announcement official via Twitter:

UL baseball picks up third shutout of season with 7-0 win over McNeese State

Led by a three-run third inning, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette baseball squad shutout McNeese State University, 7-0, Tuesday night.

Carter Robinson tossed five shutout innings, surrendering three hits and striking out three for UL (8-9), while designated hitter Ben Fitzgerald led the offensive charge with three runs batted in on 3-of-5 from the plate. He was just a double shy of hitting for the cycle.

The Ragin' Cajuns host Coastal Carolina for a three-game weekend series beginning this Friday, March 13. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.

McNeese State (10-7) kicks off a three-game weekend series at Lamar on Friday.

O'Neal, Boswell homers lead UL to 7-6 softball win over Florida

Raina O'Neal's sixth-inning homer provided some momentum, while Carrie Boswell's long ball solidified University of Louisiana's 7-6 come-from-behind victory over sixth-ranked University of Florida in Gainesville Sunday afternoon.

It marked seventh-ranked UL's second consecutive win over UF, capping the Ragin' Cajuns two games to one weekend series win over the Gators.

After falling behind 4-0 through two innings, UL's offense plated one run in the third and then a combined six runs in the sixth and seventh frames to pull away for the nonconference win.

Summer Ellyson (9-1) picked up the win, striking out a pair of batters in her four innings of work. Megan Kleist threw three innings of relief.

The Cajuns (14-5) will return home Wednesday, March 4 for a showdown with unranked Campbell at 6 p.m.

UL baseball overcomes early deficit, picks up series win over Sam Houston State

After dropping four consecutive losses, the Louisiana baseball squad picked up its second consecutive victory Sunday afternoon with a 7-5 win over Sam Houston State University.

The two-run victory, which gives UL the 2-1 weekend series win over SHSU, improves the Ragin' Cajuns overall record to 4-8.

Trailing 4-1 in the fourth inning, Gavin Bourgeois drove in a trio of runs with a bases-clearing double to knot the game, 4-4. Sam Houston regained the lead with a fielder's choice in the sixth, but from there UL plated three unanswered runs to pull away with the win.

Will Moriarty made the start on the mound, striking out nine batters in his 3.2 innings of work before Brandon Talley, the winning pitcher, struck out four and allowed just one run in his four innings of relief to pick up the win. Jacob Schultz shut out SHSU in the final 1.1 innings to pick up his first save of the season.

The Cajuns travel to Rice Tuesday, March 3 for a 6:30 p.m. first pitch.

McNeese softball drops 2-0 showdown to No. 7 Arizona

It's been a tough couple of days on the road for the McNeese State softball squad.

With a 2-0 loss to No. 7-ranked Arizona Saturday afternoon at the Easton Crimson Classic in Tuscaloosa, Al., the Cowgirls dropped to 15-6 on the season. It marked the second time in as many days that the Cowboys matched up with the highly-ranked Wildcats, following a 7-2 loss on Friday.

In the first game of McNeese's doubleheader on Saturday, UT-Arlington pulled away with a 5-4 victory.

The Wildcats (16-3) got off to the early 1-0 lead in the first inning with an RBI single from senior Jessie Harper, scoring Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza. Palomino extended the lead with her second run of the game in the fifth inning.

Freshman Whitney Tate (2-1) tossed a complete game with five strikeouts and one earned run in the loss for the Cowgirls, while senior Mariah Lopez (10-1) struck out 10 and surrendered just two hits in her complete game shutout for Arizona.

The Cowgirls will cap the classic with a showdown against No. 8 Alabama at 1:30 p.m. Sunday. They'll then return home to Lake Charles Friday, March 6 with the first of a three-game series against Abilene Christian. First pitch slated for 6:30 p.m.

Young tosses complete game shutout in 1-0 win over Sam Houston State

Brandon Young tossed a gem from the pitcher's circle Saturday afternoon to lead University of Louisiana to a 1-0 shutout win over Sam Houston State University.

Over his nine innings, the senior righty struck out 11 batters and surrendered just a trio of hits as UL picked up their third win of the season. The win snaps a four-game losing streak for the Ragin' Cajuns.

The first six innings went scoreless before designated hitter Ben Fitzgerald drove in Sebastian Toro on a fielder's choice to score the game's lone run.

Tremaine Spears registered two of Louisiana's three hits, going 2-for-3 from the plate. Toro had the other hit for UL.

Louisiana will look to pick up the three-game series win when they host Sam Houston State in a rubber match Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.