SAN MARCOS, Texas (Interstat) — In a Sun Belt Conference opener defined by dominant pitching and one monumental swing, Jaquae Stewart’s eighth-inning grand slam lifted Texas State to a 4-1 victory over Louisiana-Lafayette on Friday night at Bobcat Ballpark.

The game was a tense pitchers’ duel for seven innings between the Ragin’ Cajuns’ Sawyer Pruitt and the Bobcats’ Kyle Froehlich. Pruitt was brilliant, tossing seven no-hit innings with eight strikeouts. He faced the minimum through six, with a double by Rashawn Galloway in the fourth inning being erased on a subsequent flyout and a groundout.

Froehlich was equally masterful for Texas State, matching Pruitt frame for frame. He allowed just three hits and struck out 10 over seven scoreless innings, a stark rebound from his previous start on March 13 against Louisiana-Monroe where he allowed four earned runs in just two innings of work.

The stalemate was finally broken in the top of the eighth. After Froehlich was lifted, Louisiana-Lafayette’s Steven Spalitta greeted reliever Wade Cooper with a triple to right-center field. One out later, shortstop Blaze Rodriguez delivered an RBI single through the left side to give the Ragin’ Cajuns a 1-0 lead.

The lead was short-lived. In the bottom of the eighth, the Bobcats mounted a two-out rally against the Louisiana-Lafayette bullpen. Parker Smith relieved Pruitt and allowed a single to Jackson Cotton and hit Manny Salas with a pitch. After a walk to Galloway loaded the bases, Cole Flanagan entered the game for the Cajuns.

On a 1-1 count, Stewart connected, sending a towering drive over the right-field fence for a grand slam, instantly turning the one-run deficit into a 4-1 Texas State advantage. The hit accounted for all of the Bobcats’ runs and four of their six total hits in the game.

Cooper, who earned the win, worked a scoreless ninth, navigating around a leadoff single before inducing a game-ending double play.

The victory improved Texas State’s record to 13-8 overall and 1-0 in Sun Belt play, while Louisiana-Lafayette, which had won six of its last seven, fell to 16-6 and 0-1. The result defied the pregame projection from Interstat, which gave the Ragin’ Cajuns a 55% probability to win and forecasted an 8-4 victory.

The two teams are scheduled to continue the three-game series on Saturday.