After finishing a very successful 2013 regular season, the Acadiana Cane Cutters traveled to Victoria to take on the Generals in the first round of the 2013 Texas Collegiate League Playoffs. The playoff appearance marks the second for Acadiana in just three years, and a victory would place the Canes into a best of three series for the TCL Title beginning Sunday night.
Southern Mississippi ace Jake Winston got the nod as the Cane Cutters looked to upset the number two seed Generals at their place Saturday. Victoria struck first with six consecutive two-out hits that allowed four runs to score, putting Acadiana in big hole after just the first inning of action. Cane Cutter hitters struggled all night to get runners on base. Victoria Generals' starter Kyle Keller was in the zone, not allowing any Cutters to cross through the first six innings. The seventh inning would bring much needed change however; singles by LSU outfielder Chris Sciambra and Texas A&M product Jace Statum started the scoring, capped off by a two-run homerun by Kyle Cedotal. Acadiana broke out to score five total in the seventh, narrowing the gap to 11-5 and scooping up some much needed momentum in the process.
Cane Cutters' relief pitcher Kaleb Fontenot would come to continue the positive vibes. The hurler would punch out five Generals in just 1.2 innings to keep the game within reach. The deficit would turn out to be too much with only two frames remaining. Victoria would go on to add one more for insurance and punch their ticket 2013 Texas Collegiate League Championship series to face the Brazos Valley Bombers with a 12-5 win.
The loss in Victoria brings the Cane Cutters' 2013 season to an end, and although they were not able to advance, this summer was still a special one. Acadiana finished with a final record of 32-28, setting a new franchise record for wins in a season that was good enough to propel them to second in the overall in the Texas Collegiate League standings. Acadiana saw two of its own placed on the All-TCL team, as well as Mitchell Nau being named the TCL Player of the Year, the highest award given by the league. The team would like to thank their fans, sponsors, partners, and host families for their overwhelming support this summer.