<table bgcolor=#eaeaea> <td> <font color=#000000> <blockquote> <p align=justify>
For the second straight game Thursday, Middle Tennessee's softball team took better advantage of its opportunities than UL's 13th-ranked Ragin' Cajuns.
Because of that, the Cajuns are in a very unfamiliar position - looking up at the rest of the Sun Belt Conference.
Junior second baseman Ashley Cline's two-run homer off the left-field foul pole was the big hit in a three-run third inning, and pitcher Lindsey Vander Lugt made that stand up just enough for the Blue Raiders to take a 4-3 win over the Cajuns Thursday at Lamson Park.
Heading into Wednesday's Sun Belt doubleheader, MT had never won a game from UL in 29 previous tries. Now, with Wednesday's 5-3 second-game win, the Raiders became the first team in the league's seven-year softball history to take a series from the Cajuns (21-6, 1-2).
"It's huge for our program," said MT coach Leigh Podlesny. "Any time you beat a ranked team it's huge, but for it to be in your conference it's even more important. Even if the record hadn't been so much in their favor, it would still be a huge boost."
<center><p><a href="http://www.theadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070309/SPORTS/703090325/1006" target="_blank">The rest of the story</a>
Dan McDonald
dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com
<!--
The Cajun squad, which won 4-1 in Wednesday's opener, now finds itself in a hole in the standings and headed to play highly-regarded Florida Atlantic in a three-game series beginning Saturday in Boca Raton, Fla.
"We've got some things we have to fix," said UL co-head coach Michael Lotief, "and we don't have two weeks to do it. We've got to do it within the schedule, and those next guys want a piece of us, too."
Thursday's series finale was nearly a carbon copy of Wednesday's nightcap, with the Raiders (11-13, 2-1) using a big inning and a big hit for an early advantage. Both times, UL rallies down the stretch came up short.
UL pitcher Holly Tankersley (8-3) had given up two hits through three innings before Justine Cerda reached on Cajun third baseman Melissa Verde's error. A sacrifice bunt and a popup put Tankersley within an out of escaping, but Martha Davis blooped a hit just past the reach of second baseman Tara Hamilton for a 1-0 lead.
Cline followed with her second homer of the year, clanging it off the foul pole to make it 3-0.
"It was an inside pitch and it didn't break," Cline said. "I just hit it and ran. It gave us a big boost. This will show that we're capable of playing at this level."
UL cut the margin in the fourth on doubles by Verde and Lana Bowers, but Middle got an insurance run in the top of the seventh when Caitlin McLure's push bunt was out of Verde's reach and shortstop Codi Runyan watched the ball roll into left field, scoring Shelby Stiner from second for what turned out to be the winning run.
"When you're struggling, that run was like five," Lotief said.
UL scored two in the bottom of the seventh off Vander Lugt (7-9) on Desi Chatman's bases-loaded double. But with the tying run at third, Verde's hot ground ball was handled by Cerda at first base for the final out.
"We gave up the three-run inning and had to fight back," Lotief said. "We were one hit away from getting it done, but it wasn't the last inning that beat us. In the middle innings we lost all our energy and enthusiasm, and as young as we are we have to compete better every inning and every out."
-->
</td> </table>
