The Acadiana Cane Cutters kept their first-inning magic alive on Wednesday night, plating five runs in the opening inning and never looking back in a 5-0 shutout win over the Seguin River Monsters in Game 2.

The Cutters are now 11-5 this season when scoring in the first inning and have won four straight and six of their last seven. The win lifts Acadiana above .500 at 19-18 overall, and their magic number to clinch a playoff spot drops to four over the Lake Charles Gumbeaux Gators.

Hunter Gambel was dominant on the mound, tossing six shutout innings while striking out eight and allowing just one baserunner — a single in the fourth. The bullpen locked it down behind him, as Hayden Toal and Gavin LeBlanc combined for three scoreless innings to preserve the shutout.

Acadiana batted around in the first inning with a balanced offensive attack. In his first game back since July 9 due to a leg injury, Colton Harrison starred with a 3-for-4 night, collecting an RBI and scoring once. The bottom of the order came through as well — each of the 7-8-9 hitters (Latulas, Maldonado Jr., and Marshall) drove in a run, and all nine Cutters hitters reached base.

Acadiana now hits the road for a two-game series against the Victoria Generals on July 17 and 18. First pitch both nights is set for 7:00 p.m. on TCL TV. The Cutters return home on Saturday night.