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BATON ROUGE - A rivalry spicier than a pot of gumbo added another chapter on Saturday.
Take a heaping of timely hitting by Melissa Verde, a touch of solid pitching by teammate Ashley Brignac and a dash of strong defense by second-seeded UL. That recipe helped the Ragin' Cajuns snap a five-game losing streak to top-seeded LSU with a 9-4 win in the championship bracket of the Baton Rouge Regional.
Verde sparked a five-run third inning with a grand slam off LSU starter Cody Trahan in a matchup of former travel ball teammates from east Texas. Her third career grand slam helped the Cajuns race out to a 9-0 lead before holding off a late LSU rally at Tiger Park.
<center><p><a href="http://www.theadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080518/SPORTS/805180364/1006" target="_blank">The rest of the story</a>
Joshua Parrott •
jparrott@theadvertiser.com • May 18, 2008
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"I was just real confident and had a 2-0 count," said Verde, who has played with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee for the past two months. "I was just looking for a good pitch to hit. And I got it."
The teams, which had not played each other since 15th-ranked LSU won the 2006 Baton Rouge Regional, meet again at 1 p.m. today in the championship bracket final. After eliminating No. 4 East Carolina, 9-1, in five innings on Saturday night, the Tigers need to beat the 16th-ranked Cajuns to force an elimination game for the region title at 4 p.m.
UL (48-12) sits one victory away from advancing to the Super Regionals. LSU (44-17) needs two victories today to extend its season.
"We came out here today really focused and attacking at the plate," UL co-coach Stefni Lotief said. "I'm really proud how the girls came out and performed today.
"The team exploded at the plate."
Verde got most of the attention with a game-high four RBIs, but the sophomore got plenty of help from her teammates. Holly Tankersley, the Sun Belt's player of the year, was hitless in three at-bats, but LSU transfer Vanessa Soto finished with three of UL's 12 hits. Gabriele Bridges and Brooke Brodhead logged two hits apiece. Bridges added three RBIs as four Cajuns drove in runs.
The run support gave Brignac some much-needed breathing room. The freshman fanned eight batters but walked five and threw 147 pitches. She allowed four runs and six hits - including two-run homers by Jessica Mouse and former St. Thomas More standout Quinlan Duhon.
But Brignac did enough to stay undefeated in four postseason starts and improve to 28-6 this year.
"We all go out there and try to win every pitch," Brignac said. "To know my team is behind me on defense and offense really helps me out."
The Cajuns got things offensively going in the bottom of the third. Vallie Gaspard led off by slapping a grounder to Trahan, whose throw to first base was dropped by second baseman Shannon Stein. After Soto doubled off the center field wall, Tankersley was intentionally walked.
Verde then stepped to the plate with the bases loaded. She emptied them with a blast to right for a 4-0 lead.
LSU coach Yvette Girouard, who coached the Cajuns from 1981-2000, was impressed with Verde's all-around play.
"She must have rehabbed it real well," Girouard said of Verde's injured left knee. "She not only hit the grand slam, but she also made some nice plays at third."
Brodhead added an RBI single later in the inning. Soto's RBI triple and Bridge's three-run double in the fourth off LSU reliever Tiffany Garcia extended UL's lead to 9-0.
But Lotief knew the game was far from over.
LSU rallied to make it interesting. Mouse ended Brignac's shutout in the top of the fifth with a two-run homer off the scoreboard in left center. Duhon trimmed it to 9-4 with a two-run shot in the sixth.
Mouse hit a shot to deep left in the top of the seventh, but Cajun outfielder Katie Smith reached over the wall to make the catch. Ashley Applegate and Dee Dee Henderson then reached on infield singles, but Brignac retired Shannon Stein and Rachel Mitchell to end the game.
Trahan dropped to 18-6 after giving up six runs and six hits in three innings.
"Early on, there was too much of the red team touching home plate," Girouard said. "It kind of fell apart in one inning, and that really hurt us. I'm proud of my kids. They battled back and made some adjustments on Brignac.
"But we have to make a few more plays."
Girouard said beating the Cajuns twice today will not be an easy task.
"They're a player on the national scene," she said. "They can compete in the SEC."
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