Photo of Kai Higginson and Lawrence Steed by Yamlak Tsega
Xavier University of Louisiana juniors Kai Higginson and Lawrence Steedtied the school’s second-era record for home runs in a game with two apiece Friday, but LSU-Alexandria defeated the Gold Rush 13-9 and 14-1 to complete a three-game sweep of a Red River Athletic Conference baseball series.
The Gold Rush (1-5 overall, 0-3 RRAC) will visit city rival Loyola at 5 p.m. Tuesday in a non-conference game at Segnette Field in suburban Marrero, La.
Higginson, a first baseman, homered in the third and fifth innings, and Steed, a catcher, homered in the second and sixth to become XULA’s fifth and sixth second-era players to hit two in a game. (XULA relaunched baseball in 2021 after no competition from 1961-2020, and no records from the first era have been found.)
It was the second time that the Gold Rush homered four times in a game. The other was against Tougaloo on Feb. 3, 2024.
LSUA (7-7, 3-0) rallied from 3-0, 4-1 and 9-7 deficits to win the first game. Peyton Marcantel’s three-run homer during a six-run sixth inning put the Generals ahead to stay.
Steed was 3-for-3 with three RBIs in the opener, Higginson had four RBIs, and Cohen Boyd had two hits and scored three times. Marcantel, who hit a bases-loaded triple in the fourth, had six RBIs.
In the second game — it was halted after 6 1/2 innings because of the 10-run rule — Jaxon Bernard had five RBIs, and William Vice and James Gay combined to allow one unearned run and strike out 11.
XULA second-era baseball players with 2 home runs in a game
• Lawrence Steed vs. LSU-Alexandria, Feb. 14, 2025
• Kai Higginson vs. LSU-Alexandria, Feb. 14, 2025
• Courtland Posey vs. Southwest (N.M.), March 17, 2023
• D’Aires Davis vs. Tougaloo, Feb. 5, 2023 [home]
• Mark Herron vs. Wiley, March 19, 2022
• Tristan Rodriguez vs. Tougaloo, March 12, 2021 [home]
