Lady Cajuns Finish on Top

<! Five Ragin' Cajun seniors completed a business-like swan song Sunday with a pair of 5-inning shutouts of Middle Tennessee to complete the softball regular season with style. ><blockquote><p align=justify>Five Ragin' Cajun seniors completed a business-like swan song Sunday with a pair of 5-inning shutouts of Middle Tennessee to complete the softball regular season with style.

The quintet of standouts could be back at Ragin' Cajun Park for NCAA Regional or Super Regional play, but if not they gave their fans something to remember with a near-perfect 4-0 weekend of Sun Belt Conference action.

Heather Bobbitt raised her record to 16-0 in the 9-0 opener with help from home runs by Ashley Evans and Brittany Bryant, while Ashley Kirchberg (5-1) fashioned a two-hitter in the 8-0 finale with Danyele Gomez stroking her 18th home run of the season.

The end result was four run-rule shutouts and a special sendoff for Brooke Mitchell, Jill Robertson, Joy Webre, Crystal George and Tiffany Hebert.

"It was a special day," coach Stefni Lotief said. "These are players I have the utmost respect for, both on and off the field, and they're going out in style. The only thing left is to take care of our business in postseason."

Now 47-8 on the season and finishing 19-1 in Sun Belt league play, the Cajuns next travel to Bowling Green, Ky. for the Sun Belt Tournament hosted by Western Kentucky.

They get a bye as the No. 1 seed, then play at 4 p.m. Thursday against the winner of an 11 a.m., first-round game between No. 4 New Mexico State and No. 5 North Texas.

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Bruce Brown
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Thanks to the solid jobs turned in by Bobbitt and Kirchberg, the Cajuns could afford to give senior All-American pitcher Brooke Mitchell the weekend off as she continues to mend from a lingering rib injury.

"We'll give her as much rest as we can next week," Lotief said. "She started a little different rehab protocal yesterday, and hopefully that will help.

"Obviously, Heather and Ashley have continued to work hard and have continued to get better. They both followed the game plan today and let the defense play behind them. They worked ahead in the count and didn't make a lot of mistakes."

Senior center fielder Jill Robertson spent the entire day on base, going 3-for-3 with a run in the first game and 2-for-3 with a pair of runs in Game Two. She reached on a fielder's choice on the one at-bat without a hit. Robertson increased her hitting streak to nine games.

"I'm really comfortable at the plate right now," Robertson said. "I'm seeing the ball well. I try to get on base so my teammates can bring me in."

Robertson, who missed what would have been her final campaign of 2004 with a knee injury, knew the Senior Day activities would be filled with emotion.

"It was great," she said. "It was everything I dreamed it would be. The fans were very supportive. We played hard, the pitchers really stepped up and our defense played behind them.

"I knew this day would come sooner or later. I've enjoyed every single second of playing softball here. I've had fun. But, it's not over yet."

Robertson is hoping the Cajuns can return to the Women's College World Series, where they finished the 2003 season. That's where the Cajuns' focus is now.
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