LAFAYETTE, La. (Interstat) — Andrew Herrmann delivered a masterful complete-game performance, and the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns rallied with a run in the eighth inning to edge the South Alabama Jaguars 4-3 in a tense Sun Belt Conference baseball game Saturday evening at M.L. Tigue Moore Field.

The victory, played before 3,814 fans, evened the weekend series and improved the Ragin’ Cajuns’ record to 14-5 overall. South Alabama fell to 13-6.

The most important part of the game unfolded in the bottom of the eighth inning with the score knotted at 3. Louisiana-Lafayette catcher Colton Brown led off with a double down the left-field line. Pinch-runner and designated hitter Leo Mandino advanced him to third with a well-executed sacrifice bunt. With the infield drawn in, shortstop Blaze Rodriguez hit a sharp grounder to third. South Alabama’s Stewart Puckett fielded it cleanly but had no play at home, opting to get the out at first as Brown crossed the plate with the decisive run.

That sequence made a winner of Herrmann, who was the unequivocal star. After surrendering three first-inning runs, the right-hander slammed the door, retiring 19 of the final 22 batters he faced. He finished with a complete-game five-hitter, allowing three earned runs while striking out nine and walking none. His performance was a stark turnaround from his previous start on March 6 against Dallas Baptist, where he gave up five earned runs in five innings.

South Alabama struck immediately in the first. Leadoff batter Connor Wright was hit by a pitch, and two batters later, catcher Duncan Mathews launched a two-run homer to left field. The Jaguars added a third run later in the inning on an RBI single from Nathan Wood.

Louisiana-Lafayette began chipping away in the bottom half. A sacrifice fly by Brown scored Alex LaSalle. In the second, a wild pitch by South Alabama starter Ryland Bozenhard allowed Ethan Lim to score, cutting the deficit to 3-2.

Bozenhard kept the Ragin’ Cajuns off balance despite control issues, allowing just two hits over 5 2/3 innings but walking three and hitting two batters. He was relieved by Jake Middleton in the sixth with two runners in scoring position. Middleton yielded a sacrifice fly to Noah Lewis that tied the game at 3.

South Alabama reclaimed the lead in the seventh on an RBI double by Wood, but Herrmann stranded the runner at second to limit the damage. The Jaguars managed just one single over the final two innings against Herrmann, who closed the game with a perfect ninth.

Middleton took the loss for South Alabama, allowing one run on two hits in 2 1/3 innings of relief.

The rubber game of the series is scheduled for Sunday afternoon.