LAFAYETTE, La. (Interstat) — Mitchell Heer delivered a dominant start and Michael Young provided the decisive solo home run as South Alabama edged Louisiana-Lafayette 3-2 in a tightly contested Sun Belt Conference opener Friday night at M.L. Tigue Moore Field.

The victory pulled both teams even at 13-5 overall and 1-0 in league play after a pitchers’ duel that featured just 12 combined hits and pivotal late-inning defensive plays.

The most critical sequence unfolded in the bottom of the seventh inning. With South Alabama leading 3-1, Louisiana-Lafayette’s Noah Lewis, who had entered as a defensive replacement, sparked a rally with a one-out double against Heer. After Jaxon Shineflew relieved Heer, Lewis stole third base. On the next pitch, Lewis broke for home on a double-steal attempt and was initially called out, but a Louisiana-Lafayette challenge overturned the call, awarding Lewis a steal of home and cutting the deficit to 3-2.

South Alabama immediately responded in the top of the eighth. Facing reliever Parker Smith with two outs, Young launched his second RBI hit of the game, a solo shot to left field, to restore the two-run cushion at 3-2. The homer proved to be the game-winner.

Heer, named the top star for South Alabama, was brilliant over 6 1/3 innings, allowing just two unearned runs on no hits. He walked five and struck out five. His no-hit bid was broken up by Lewis’ double in the seventh, the only hit he allowed. Shineflew earned the save with 2 2/3 innings of perfect relief, striking out four.

Young finished 3 for 4, driving in two of South Alabama’s three runs. His first RBI came on a sixth-inning single that scored Alex Wright, who had doubled and advanced on a sacrifice bunt.

Louisiana-Lafayette scratched across its first run in the fourth without a hit. Kyle Spalitta walked, stole second, and advanced to third on a Blaze Rodriguez single. Spalitta then scored on a fielder’s choice and a throwing error by the South Alabama shortstop.

Ragin’ Cajuns starter Sawyer Pruitt took a hard-luck loss, yielding two runs on five hits over 6 2/3 innings. Rodriguez went 2 for 3 for Louisiana-Lafayette.

The game defied pregame projections. Interstat’s game simulator had predicted a high-scoring 8-7 South Alabama win, while its ELO system gave Louisiana-Lafayette a 59.2% probability of victory.

South Alabama’s win followed a 10-3 victory over Southeastern Louisiana on Wednesday. Louisiana-Lafayette had entered on a three-game winning streak, including a midweek win over Texas-Rio Grande Valley.

The series continues Saturday at M.L. Tigue Moore Field.