Courtesy of XULA Athletics
NEW ORLEANS – Deionte Norris, Michael Sonn and Kabrel Johnson homered Friday to help Xavier University of Louisiana defeat Texas College 39-0 in the opener of a three-game Red River Athletic Conference baseball series at Wesley Barrow Stadium.
The game was stopped after 6 1/2 innings because of the 10-run rule.
The teams will play a noon doubleheader Saturday at Barrow.
Norris had three extra-base hits and seven RBIs for XULA Baseball, including a grand slam. Johnson hit a three-run homer, and Sonn hit a two-run homer.
XULA pitchers Blair Frederick, LaMar Price and Anthony Dumas combined on a two-hitter with 18 strikeouts. Frederick, the starter and winner, faced 10 batters, struck out nine and walked one. He struck out the first eight Steers. Price struck out five, and Dumas struck out four.
XULA baseball scored 15 runs in the third inning. Thirteen of XULA’s 25 hits went for extra bases. Armand Daigre hit three doubles and had three RBIs, Johnson had five RBIs, and Skyler Roberts had four RBIs. Courtesy runner Mike Harris scored four times and produced four of the Gold Rush’s 17 stolen bases.
In six offensive innings, the Gold Rush produced 64 plate appearances: 41 at bats, 14 walks, four hit batters, one sacrifice and four sacrifice flies.
XULA is 12-16 overall and 8-11 in the RRAC; Texas College is 0-19 and 0-19. The Steers have been outscored 458-11 this season and shut out 11 times. Seven times this season the Steers allowed 30-or-more runs, including a high of 43 at home Feb. 25 against Texas A&M-Texarkana.
For XULA’s pitchers and defense, it was their first shutout this season after recording four in 38 games in 2021.