Jennie Finch threw a pefect game against the Cajuns today, and had 10 Ks.
Bourgeious and Brignac combined for 6 IP, 4 Hits, and 3 Ks. The Cajuns gave up 2 Unearned Runs.
Final Score
UL 0
USA 2
Printable View
Jennie Finch threw a pefect game against the Cajuns today, and had 10 Ks.
Bourgeious and Brignac combined for 6 IP, 4 Hits, and 3 Ks. The Cajuns gave up 2 Unearned Runs.
Final Score
UL 0
USA 2
Just got back from the game and the cajun pitchers held their own. The score book said they gave up 4 hits but really it was 2. There were 2 plays that Broadhead did not make that she would tell anyone that she should have made and they were counted as errors. One was a little looper between 3rd and short that she plain dropped from her glove and the other was a routine ground ball that got under her glove.
Team USA got their 2 runs in the 5th inning. The first runner got on by a hit "really an error" and the next got a clean hit. We get the next 2 batters out without the runners advancing. The next batter hits a dribbler to Brignac and she makes the throw to 1st base and the umpire calls the batter out but then the ball gets by Bridges and goes up the right field line. This should have been the 3rd out of the inning but the 2 runners scored. There was some confusion on the play as the Cajuns did not get the ball in very quickly because the umpire made the out call.
UL pitching was great and we had a few K's. USA only really had 2 clean singles and there were no walks. Our defense did not play well as Broadhead made 2 errors that were called hits, Brignac and Bourgeous each miss played easy dribblers, and Bridges missed an easy one at first.
Our slap hitters had trouble making contact. They seemed to chase too bad balls (risers and balls in the dirt) and Finch had a nasty change-up that kept our other hitters off balance.
Holly T. was the only hitter to make good contact. She was 0-3 but put the ball in play every time with one line-drive and one hard hit grounder. All other hitters really struggled. Finch was awesome.
2-0 not bad but anyone watching this game would tell you this game could have easily went extra innings again. I am not sure we would have scored unless Tank hit a bomb.
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&SULPHUR - A year ago in this southwestern Louisiana town, Ashley Brignac was cementing a legacy and Donna Bourgeois was ... well ... doing the same. They were state champions - Brignac with Class 2A John Curtis and Bourgeois with 3A Teurlings Catholic. And each was later named the player of the year in their respective classification.
So how surreal was Saturday night for Brignac and Bourgeois to be back here pitching against the U.S. Olympic Team before the largest attended softball game in state history?
"It was another game, another team," Bourgeois said.
Huh?
But that's what Team USA coach Mike Candrea liked the most. No intimidation. No backing down. And if not for an error in the fifth inning, the Cajuns and the world's best team might still have been playing late into the Louisiana night because of Brignac and Bourgeois.
<center><p><a href="http://www.theadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080420/SPORTS/804200365/1006" target="_blank">The rest of the story</a>
Bob Heist
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Instead, the Olympic team beat UL, 2-0, before a standing-room-only crowd of 4,162 on the Bound 4 Beijing Tour's stop at McMurray Park.
"Young is good and can be an advantage," Candrea said of the freshmen pitching duo that shined on a night reserved for the stars of USA Softball. "But, boy, those two and Cuevas, who we saw in California ... We've seen a lot of young pitchers on this tour, and there's no one in the country with three better ones than them.
"That's a group that's going to be a lot of fun to watch develop. Look at what they did against us. I don't think I need to say much more."
While the win was the 22nd shutout for Team USA, now 25-1, and the second over UL, look at the numbers.
At the Judi Garman Classic in Fullerton, Calif., on March 20, an error beat the Cajuns 1-0 in the ninth inning. Cuevas allowed just four hits.
On Saturday, an error allowed Team USA to score both of its runs on the same play. Other than that, zilch.
In 16 total innings against UL, the Olympic team managed just eight hits and three unearned runs.
If you're keeping score, that 0.00 ERA is against a team that's outscored its opponents 268-9. Cuevas is 20 years old. Bourgeois turned 19 in February and Brignac is two weeks from the same age.
"That's amazing that three girls that age can go toe-to-toe with the Olympic team," said the face of softball in the U.S., Jennie Finch, who threw a perfect game at the Cajuns.
"But that's exciting as far as I'm concerned. That shows how our sport is on the rise. Those are some very talented girls - and the two we saw tonight; geez, they're just freshmen. I'm being honest, the way they pitched was amazing."
Bourgeois worked the even innings and was dominant.
Other than two errors she committed, Bourgeois was perfect, and didn't allow a ball out of the infield. And here's a quick fact: Bourgeois faced Crystal Bustos three times with one strikeout and a pair of groundouts against the world's most feared home run hitter.
"Yeah, she's very talented and can hit a home run every at-bat," said the Sun Belt Conference ERA leader. "But it's just one pitch at a time; who's batting isn't important."
Brignac wasn't as clean, allowing all four Team USA hits, though only one traveled more than 50 feet. The ace on the U.S. Junior World championship team last summer, allowed singles to Taira Flowers and Lovie Jung to open the fifth, and then fielded a one-out grounder that first baseman Gabriele Bridges couldn't handle the throw on.
Flowers and Jung scored on the play. Game over.
"They're experts at this game and when you make a mistake, it usually costs you," Brignac said. "But the way we played against them was awesome.
"Young or not, we can play the game. The world team, a college team - we're learning when we play our game, we can play with anyone."
So what now?
After seeing the performance by Brignac and Bourgeois, it's easy to understand why the Cajuns have a future that few programs own.
It's not by accident that of the 26 games Team USA has played getting ready for the Beijing Games, that no team has taken it into extra innings like the Cajuns did in California and only three other teams have held them to two or fewer runs.
UL's got a few kids that can pitch.
"I was just telling someone that if I were the AD at Louisiana-Lafayette right now and they didn't get to the College World Series, I'd fire the coach," Candrea said with a chuckle. "Well, just Mike, not Stefni."
"Coaching is about seeing young girls go out and reach their dreams," said Stefni Lotief, co-head coach of the Cajuns along with her husband Michael. "And while they are young pitchers, what I love is their mindset and work ethic.
"In two games against the best team in world for those three kids to do what they did is amazing. And when you have kids pitching like that and a support cast that believes in them ..."
"Let's put it this way," Lotief continued. "We love our future, and we love having those young pitchers to build our future around. And the best part about them is they love challenges - that's what makes them tick."
So on a night when softball made history in Louisiana, two kids with roots as deep as the bayou in this state made a statement. And the world's best took notice.
"It's amazing to me that those two kids were just here a year ago winning state championships in high school and then they're here tonight pitching like that against the Olympic team," said Finch. "I hope Louisiana is proud, because I know I am of how well they performed."
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Was it a "we must support all state teams" crowd pulling for the Cajuns or was there more support for Team USA? Just curious if folks who spout that line to us back it up when the shoe is on the other foot.Quote:
Originally Posted by J-Town Cajun
There was a good mix. I would say 10-20% of the crowd had on UL gear. But there was plenty of people who did not have on UL gear that was pulling for the cajuns. For the most part, the crowd was very pro * Finch but can you blame them, she is the best pitcher in the world, married to a local, and very hot. I think most people wanted to see a competitive game and they got it. I wish our slap hitters would have made better contact to test their defense and put some pressure on them. The crowd was very impressed with our pitchers. UL held their own.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hammer58