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Looking back on UL's recent 4-6 cross-country road trip, Cajun softball coach Michael Lotief knows there are plenty of lessons yet to be learned by his young team.
"We went out and got our nose bloodied and went out and got our nose bloodied again," said Lotief, who shares coaching duties with wife Stefni. "We're young, so we're still learning how to keep going when we go through stretches like that."
Ranked 19th nationally, the Cajuns (23-10) hit the road again for a non-conference game at 6 tonight against Southern Miss (18-19) in Hattiesburg, Miss. In the previous meeting between the teams UL took a 3-2 win in an 11-inning marathon at the Louisiana Classics Tournament on Feb. 24.
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Joshua Parrott
jparrott@theadvertiser.com
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Ashley Brignac went the distance for the Cajuns in the win, striking out 12 in 11 innings. The freshman, now 14-6 with a 1.55 ERA this year, is expected to get the start tonight against Southern Miss.
The Cajuns enter the game on a positive note, sweeping Tuesday's home doubleheader from Grambling to improve to 10-0 this year at Lamson Park.
Brittany Cuevas (4-2) threw a gem in Game 1, firing five perfect innings in an 8-0 run-rule win. The sophomore struck out the first five batters she faced and 11 of the first 13.
The perfect game was the second of the season for the Cajuns and first since Ashley Brignac silenced IUPUI on March 11.
All-American candidate Holly Tankersley delivered all the offense the Cajun needed with four RBIs. Karli Hubbard went 3-for-3 and scored three runs. Vallie Gaspard went 2-for-2 with two runs scored.
Teurlings Catholic grad Donna Bourgeois (5-2) continued UL's dominance on the mound in Game 2, tossing a two-hitter in a 6-0 win. The freshman struck out 10 in the nightcap.
Hubbard and Katie Smith both finished 2-for-4, and Vanessa Soto added two RBIs. Tankersley, Soto and Brooke Brodhead all hit triples in the win for the Cajuns, who had lost six of eight going into the doubleheader.
Tuesday's offensive effort was encouraging for a UL team that had struggled at the plate since sophomore third baseman Melissa Verde suffered a season-ending knee injury on March 20.
The Cajuns had struggled in their previous seven games since losing Verde to a torn ACL, going 2-5 and averaging four runs and 7.7 hits. In 24 games this year with Verde the team averaged 7.1 runs and 8.4 hits.
Not to be ignored is that fact the Cajuns played without Verde in losses to top-ranked Arizona State, then-No. 7 and defending national champion Arizona and No. 5 Michigan.
Following tonight's game and this weekend's three-game Sun Belt series at Florida International, the Cajuns return to the comforts of home after playing all but 10 games on the road this year. They then play seven straight games and 13 of their final 18 regular-season contests at Lamson Park.
Not included in that stretch is an April 19 exhibition game in Sulphur against the USA Olympic Team, which edged the Cajuns, 1-0, in nine innings on March 20 in Fullerton, Calif.
Closing the regular season at home should provide a boost for a young UL team. The Cajuns have only four seniors and one junior listed on their 25-player roster, including a pitching staff led by two freshmen and one sophomore.
At 3-2 in Sun Belt play, the Cajuns are currently fourth in the conference standings. FIU is second at 6-2, a half-game behind first-place Florida Atlantic.
"We're just hoping to move forward from here on out," Soto said in an interview on ragincajuns.com. "We still have a lot of opportunities to do some great things this season."
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