KIA event challenges Lady Cajuns of Louisiana
<blockquote><p align=justify>LAFAYETTE — Louisiana’s Lady Cajuns softball team left Wednesday for the 2003 KIA Klassic, which runs today through Sunday at Cal State-Fullerton in Fullerton, Calif.
The Cajuns (14-2) will face their toughest challenges of the young season in their ninth straight appearance in the KIA Klassic, one of the most prestigious regular-season events in college softball.
This year’s Klassic features nine teams ranked in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Top 25 poll — six of which are in the Top 10.
Louisiana’s first appearance in 1994 produced a tournament championship.
The tournament gets under way with pool play today. Louisiana is a member of Pool D and is paired with No. 2 Arizona (26-2), No. 16 Florida State (18-7) and Long Beach State (9-12).
Both Arizona and FSU made it to the semifinals of the 2002 Women’s College World Series, with Arizona advancing to the title game.
Once pool play is over on Friday the teams will be paired in brackets according to their finish in pool play.
The Lady Cajuns will play at 1 p.m. (CST) today against Long Beach State (9-12), and will also match up with the second-ranked Wildcats at 5 p.m. (CST).
Louisiana and Arizona are meeting each other in pool play for the third straight season. The Lady Cajuns will conclude pool play on Friday at 11 a.m. (CST) against FSU.
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Staff Reports
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Bracket play will begin on Friday at 7 p.m. (CST). Depending on where Louisiana finishes in pool play, they may not play until Saturday at 11 a.m. (CST). The teams will be seeded 1-4 in each pool based on their record after round robin play.
The Lady Cajuns of Louisiana will face Long Beach State for the first time in the KIA Klassic and it will be the first meeting between the two teams since March 3, 1996 when they met at the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Columbus, Ga. The Lady Cajuns won that game 4-1. in the only other meeting between the two teams.
Louisiana will face Arizona in the KIA Klassic for the third straight season. The two teams have split a pair of meetings in the tournament with Louisiana claiming a 4-3 win in the 2001 event — a win which handed the eventual national champion its first loss of the season.
UA got the better of Louisiana in last season’s tournament meeting claiming a 1-0 win on March 16, 2002 in the opening round on bracket play.
This will be the 11th meeting all-time between the Lady Cajuns of Louisiana and Wildcats. UA swept a three-game set in Tucson, Ariz., last March 22-24. Louisiana is 1-4 versus Arizona under coach Stefni Lotief. Arizona has won the last four outings between the two teams.
The Lady Cajuns and Lady Seminoles of Florida State are meeting for the 16th time all-time and the second in the KIA Klassic. Louisiana defeated FSU 12-3 in the opening game of the 1994 KIA Klassic (called the PONY Invitational back then). The two teams met last in the 2000 NFCA Leadoff Classic in a game which the Lady Cajuns won 9-1 on March 5, 2000.
Louisiana will put its season-high seven-game winning streak on the line Thursday against LBSU. The Lady Cajuns have won 12 of their last 13 games and barring a two-out error in the bottom of the sixth against Tulsa at the ULM Mardi Gras Classic and a comeback by Notre Dame could be undefeated at this point of the season.
The Lady Cajuns have launched 33 home runs this season in 16 games and have hit 26 in the last nine outings. Each member of the starting lineup has at least one homer and seven of the nine starters have hit at least three home runs.
True freshman Danyele Gomez leads the team with a .408 clip and has seven home runs and 21 RBI to her credit. The Metairie native has hit four home runs and driven in 12 runs in the last four games. She leads all Lady Cajuns with 20 hits — half of which have been for extra bases (7 HR, 3 2B). Gomez’s .898 slugging percentage is tops on the team as well.
Senior third baseman Becky McMurtry is slowly returning to the form which made her an All-American last season. The Lady Cajuns two-hole hitter has seen her batting average climb to .372 and she is coming off of a nine-game home stand in which she belted five home runs and hit .455.
McMurtry has been a well disciplined hitter this season, drawing 11 walks to just three strikeouts. Her on-base percentage is a team-best .534.
In the pitching circle the Lady Cajuns are led by sophomore Brooke Mitchell, who has tossed two no-hitters this season and is limiting the opposition to a .122 batting average. She leads the team with 74 strikeouts in 51 2/3 innings of work. Mitchell has allowed just one hit in her last 11 innings in the circle and has surrendered just 21 hits this season.
Louisiana is outscoring its opponents 105-27 and is averaging 6.5 runs per outing. Louisiana has been able to jump out quickly on teams this season and has outscored its opponents 57-10 in the first three innings. The Lady Cajuns have scored 9 runs in the first inning in the last four games.
The Lady Cajuns have hit at least three home runs in one game seven times this season and have registered 11 hits four different times.
Louisiana has taken advantage of a balanced offensive attack as well. Six players have tallied double digit hits and five have double digits in the RBI department.
The KIA Klassic will be the Lady Cajuns final action on the diamond until a single game with Alabama on Thursday, March 27 at 7 p.m. at Lady Cajun Park.-->
Softball splits pair in KIA
<blockquote><p align=justify>FULLERTON, Calif. — Senior Becky McMurtry hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth inning to help propel Louisiana to a 3-0 win over No. 16 Florida State Friday in the final game of pool play for both teams in the 2003 KIA Klassic hosted by Cal State Fullerton.
Later Friday, Oklahoma’s Erin Evans hit a bloop single to left field in the bottom of the sixth to break up Brooke Mitchell’s no-hitter.
Evans then stole second, advanced to third on a passed ball and scored on a Leah Gulla sacrifice fly as sixth-ranked Oklahoma (24-3) escaped with a narrow 1-0 win over the Cajuns (15-5).
The loss in the first game of bracket play drops Louisiana into the consolation bracket at 3 p.m. (CST) today against the loser of Hawaii and Fresno State’s bracket game. It will be the Lady Cajuns’ final game in the tournament.
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OU advances in championship bracket play to face the FSU-Hawaii winner.
McMurtry’s home run ended a scoreless duel in the first game between Lady Cajuns starter Michael Parrott and FSU starter Casey Hunter, who had kept the runs off the scoreboard for the first 4 1/2 innings of play and had stranded 13 runners combined.
Jill Robertson led off Louisiana's half of the fifth with a leadoff walk — her second of three walks in the ball game. McMurtry stepped up to the plate and lifted a line drive home run over the right center field wall for the game-winning runs and a 2-0 lead.
It was McMurtry’s sixth home run of the season and increased her season RBI total to 16.
After McMurtry’s game-winning shot, center fielder Tiffany Grayson drew a walk and moved to second when freshman right fielder Danyele Gomez reached on a fielding error.
Two batters later, freshman second baseman Brittany Bryant singled to center field to score Grayson from second and push the lead to 3-0.
Mitchell looked impressive in the circle against the Sooners, carrying the no-hit bid into the sixth inning as only three baserunners took the paths for OU.
The Sooners scored the decisive run in the bottom of the sixth on Evans leadoff single. She then advanced to second and moved to third base on a passed ball.
Mitchell got pinch hitter Katie Overton to strike out swinging for the first out of the inning. The Lady Cajuns had a chance to record the second out, but an error put runners on the corners and Gulla followed with her high fly.
Bryant booted a grounder from Kelli Braitsch and the Sooners had runners on the corner with one out instead of two.
Gulla then followed with a high, towering sacrifice fly to deep left field to score Evans with the game-winning run.
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Lady Cajun Softball adds Louisiana Tech to Schedule
<blockquote><p align=justify> LAFAYETTE — Louisiana softball coach Stefni Lotief announced Friday that a doubleheader with Louisiana Tech on Monday has been added to the team’s schedule.
The Lady Cajuns (15-5) will travel to Ruston on Monday for a 4 p.m. doubleheader with the Lady Techsters at the Lady Techsters Softball Complex located on the La. Tech campus.
It will be the Lady Cajuns first action in 10 days. They have been off since Friday, March 14 following the KIA Klassic.
Following Monday’s games, Louisiana will return home to begin a 16-game homestand. The stretch, which will conclude the Lady Cajuns 2003 home schedule and run through April 17, begins on Thursday, March 27 at 7 p.m. in a single game against SEC-member Alabama. <center><p><a href="http://www.theadvertiser.com/sports/html/0CF4293B-4CDD-4A3C-AA7A-50A84737C31A.shtml">The rest of the story</a>
Lady Cajuns host Alabama Crimson Tide
<blockquote><p align=justify>LAFAYETTE — The 25th-ranked Louisiana Lady Cajuns will open their season-long 16-game homestand today at Lady Cajun Park in a 7 p.m. single-game softball showdown against No. 16 Alabama.
The game will be carried live on SportsRadio ESPN 1420-KPEL AM in the La. area. Jay Walker and Steve Peloquin will call of the action live from Lady Cajun Park beginning at 6:45 p.m.
The Lady Cajuns (15-5) enter the game fresh off of their first ranking of the 2003 season and will be playing their first contest in 13 days.
Louisiana last played on Friday, March 14 at the KIA Klassic against then-No. 6 Oklahoma, falling 1-0 on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the sixth.
The Lady Cajuns are 10-1 at home this season, including 7 straight, and have taken 110 of the last 122 dating back to 1999. The Cajuns are 58-8 (.879) at home under coach Stefni Lotief.
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Dan McDonald
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Louisiana has lost three of its last four tilts, but two of those three were to Top 10 teams (No. 2 Arizona and No. 6 Oklahoma) and the third loss came on a two-out rally by Long Beach State in the bottom of the seventh.
Alabama (25-10) will bring a season-high six-game winning streak into the game and is coming off of a weekend SEC sweep of Kentucky. The Tide has won 11 of its last 12 outings since a season-high four-game losing streak Feb. 28-March 2 in the Crimson Classic.
The Crimson Tide is coached by former Cajuns assistant coach Pat Murphy (1990-94) and former All-American Alyson Habetz (1990-95) — both in their fifth season with the Crimson Tide softball program.
This will be the second meeting all-time between the two teams and first since Feb. 22, 1997 when the two squads met in the 11th Annual Louisiana Classics. Louisiana won 3-0 as then-senior pitcher Jennifer Clendenin tossed a complete-game two-hit shutout of the Tide.
Louisiana is 1-2 against ranked opponents this season and ended a 9-game losing streak to ranked teams with a 3-0 win over then-No.16 Florida State at the KIA Klassic. Alabama is the first ranked team to visit Lady Cajun Park since the 2001 season when Louisiana State faced the Cajuns in an April 18 twinbill.
GAME NOTE — Scott native Lacy Prejean, a former Carencro High star, is a senior catcher for the Tide and is currently hitting .257 with four home runs, four doubles and 18 RBI. She began the season on an eight-game hitting streak.
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Lady Cajuns stifle Alabama, 2-0
<blockquote><p align=justify>LAFAYETTE — Hits and runs were at a premium Thursday night at Lady Cajun Park, and Brooke Mitchell made sure Louisiana didn't need much of either one.
Mitchell limited No. 16 Alabama to one hit and struck out seven as the Lady Cajuns scored a 2-0 victory to improve to 16-5 on the season.
The Crimson Tide, which used three pitchers in anticipation of its weekend series at SEC rival LSU, dropped to 25-11 despite allowing just four hits by the home team.
“I think our kids looked at it as a great opportunity at home,” coach Stefni Lotief said of her No. 25 Lady Cajuns. “They wanted to go out and have fun. They were loose, and I knew they were going to play every pitch.
“Brooke was just phenomenal. She and (catcher) Joy (Webre) work so well together. She was in total control of the game.”
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Bruce Brown
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The Tide got as far as second base only once, when leadoff hitter Jackie Wilkins walked to begin the game and stole second base. After a strikeout, Mitchell also walked Jackie McClain.
But third baseman Becky McMurtry fielded a Stephanie Van Brakle grounder, stepped on third to force Wilkins and threw to first for the inning-ending double play.
After that, Alabama's Jennifer Reach beat out an infield single in the fifth for the only hit by the visitors.
“The team really played great defense behind Brooke,” Lotief said. “I think that double play in the first set the tone.”
“It's awesome when you get defensive help like that,” Mitchell said. “I was struggling early, but they had my back every time. I knew that would continue throughout the game.”
Mitchell, who improved to 7-4, pitches some of her best games against highly-ranked foes.
“I try not to,” she said. “I try to take the same approach every game. I knew their No. 3 hitter (McClain) could really hit. I wanted to keep the ball low and change speeds a lot.”
The game ended with a line drive out to Cajun shortstop Jill Robertson by Carencro High product Lacy Prejean of Bama, as Mitchell bore down to close it out.
“I was trying to stay focused,” Mitchell said. “I didn't want to get too excited.”
That was left to the season-high 728 fans on hand.
As well as Mitchell pitched, the Cajuns still needed runs, and they got one each in the second and sixth innings.
Webre had a one-out infield single against Van Brakle in the second, gained two bases on a pair of wild pitches, and scored on a double to center field by freshman Lauren Castle.
That would probably have been enough for Mitchell, but the Cajuns got an insurance run just the same.
McMurtry ripped a leadoff double up the left field line off Erin Wright and yielded to pinch runner Tiffany Hebert. Tiffany Grayson walked and Danyele Gomez moved Hebert up with a sinking fly ball to right field.
Webre plated Hebert with a double to left center to end the scoring.
The Cajuns, who host Prairie View A&M today in an 11 a.m. doubleheader, have had trouble getting games in lately.
“We've had trouble with the weather,” Lotief said, “and our conference only has five teams. We get a late (conference) start. I hope the Sun Belt can continue to grow and we can have more opportunities on weekends.”
When the Lady Cajuns (11-1 at home) do get the chance to play, they usually know what to do.
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Ragin Cajuns Womens Softball team plays tonight
I'm going to the next home game
Pitching Gems Highlight Cajuns Sweep of ULM
<blockquote><p align=justify>LAFAYETTE – Sophomore pitcher Brooke Mitchell recorded her third straight one-hitter and redshirt freshman Afton Thoms notched her first career no-hitter, and the third no-no for the Cajuns staff this season, as Louisiana-Lafayette cruised to a 5-1, 9-0 (5 innings) softball doubleheader sweep of in-state rival UL Monroe here Wednesday evening at Lady Cajun Park.
With the sweep, the Cajuns (20-5) increased their home winning streak to 12 games and their overall win streak to five games.
The Cajuns also moved within one win of 400 all-time at Lady Cajun Park. In 18-plus seasons, UL Lafayette has posted a 399-69 (.853) record in their beloved confines. The Ragin’ Cajuns are 63-8 at Lady Cajun Park under head coach Stefni Lotief and have won 115 of the last 127 games played here since 1999.
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In game one, Mitchell (8-4, 0.97 ERA,109 K) was solid in the circle once more. The Pasadena, Texas native allowed just one hit – an infield single in the first inning by ULM’s Anna Hancock. After that Mitchell cruised up-and-down the Indians lineup, not allowing a baserunner until a walk in the sixth inning issued to Lindsay Schafer.
The Cajuns struck first on a Danyele Gomez double to right field that scored Tiffany Grayson who had walked the batter before.
Gomez struck again in the fourth inning as she led off the inning with her team-leading 10th home run of the season to make it 2-0. Gomez is now just two home runs shy of tying the school’s freshman record for home runs set by Alana Addison in 1999.
UL Monroe head coach Rosemary Holloway decided to make a pitching change in the Cajuns half of the fifth. After seeing what transpired after the change, she probably wished she had stuck with her starter Ashley Bellew (5-10).
Sarah Freeman entered the game in relief of Bellew in the circle only to surrender three runs on three hits before she was pulled in favor of Bellew.
Freeman retired Crystal George to lead off the fifth with a popup to shortstop. Trouble met Freeman after she issued a free pass to leadoff hitter Jill Robertson.
The first to make Freeman pay was senior All-American third baseman Becky McMurtry. The North Platte, Neb., native and two-time All-American lifted a home run over the left field wall and into the bleachers for a 4-0 lead. It was McMurtry’s eighth home run of the season.
The Cajuns weren’t done just yet. On the next at bat, junior center fielder Tiffany Grayson ripped a high home run into the trees in left center field for her fourth home run of the season to increase UL Lafayette’s lead to 5-0. Freeman was then pulled in favor of Bellew.
UL Monroe received its lone run of the game on a sacrifice fly by Connie Coleman. The run was unearned as there was an error earlier in the inning and the sacrifice fly came with one out.
Gomez ended game one 3-for-3 with a single, double, home run and two runs batted in. McMurtry also had two RBI and Grayson scored two runs.
Mitchell picked up the win as she fanned 10 batters and walked just two. The sophomore moved over 100 strikeouts for the season and now needs just 27 more for 300 in her brief career. The win was her team-best eighth of the season.
Louisiana-Lafayette’s three home runs moved its season total to 41. The Cajuns have hit 36 home runs which is four shy of tying the Lady Cajun Park single-season record of 40 set in 2001.
In game two, the Cajuns capitalized on the mistakes of the Indians for the five-inning mercy rule rout. It also helped that Thoms was in total control tossing the no-hitter – the Cajuns third of the season.
UL Lafayette exploded for four runs in the opening frame. The Cajuns got the four runs off of four hits. RBI hits from Grayson, Joy Webre and Brittany Bryant added with a Webre score on a steal attempt at second by Lauren Castle gave the Cajuns the early 4-0 lead.
The game got away from the Indians in the third inning as they committed three errors in the inning alone which led to four Cajuns runs that increased the margin to 8-0.
Gomez led off by reaching first on a throwing error by the shortstop. Webre then singled through the left side and Bryant reached on a fielding error by second baseman Lindsay Schafer to load the bases with no outs.
Gomez crossed home plate on the very next play as Castle lifted a fly ball to right field that was dropped by ULM’s Coleman to make it 5-0.
Summar Lapeyrouse then hit a hard liner that glanced off the glove of shortstop Courtney Tuggle and into left field to score Webre and Bryant for a 7-0 lead and still no outs recorded by the Indians.
Freeman took the place of starter Kate Schaper. Schaper got a grounder from pinch hitter Leslie Pierce which forced Lapeyrouse at second and advanced pinch runner Natalie Hamby over to third. Hamby would later score on a deep sacrifice fly by McMurtry for an 8-0 lead.
The Cajuns would load the bases once more in the fourth inning and pushed across one more run as an error was committed by ULM third baseman Ashley Palma with two outs allowing Webre to score another unearned run and make it 9-0.
Thoms complete her first-ever no-hitter when she retired the side in the top of the fifth inning. Loren Dixon fouled out to McMurtry in front of the Cajuns dugout to record the final out on a memorable night for Thoms.
Thoms, a Baton Rouge native, struck out four and walked just one as she earned her sixth career victory in the circle.
Webre ended game two 2-for-2 with three runs scored and one run batted in. McMurtry was 1-for-1 with a run and an RBI as she ended the twinbill 2-for-3 with three runs batted in.
UL Lafayette will return to action Saturday as it begins defense of its back-to-back Sun Belt Conference regular season championships in a 2 p.m. doubleheader versus Middle Tennessee (17-10) at Lady Cajun Park. The twinbill is the opener of a four-game set which concludes Sunday at Noon with another doubleheader.
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Cajuns Dominate Blue Raiders, Record 400th Win All-Time at Lady Cajun Park
<blockquote><p align=justify>LOUISIANA La. – The 25th-ranked Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns softball team opened defense of its back-to-back Sun Belt Conference regular season championships with a 12-4 (6 innings), 5-0 sweep of Middle Tennessee’s Blue Raiders here Saturday afternoon at Lady Cajun Park on the opening day of the Sun Belt softball season.
No. 25 Louisiana (22-5, 2-0 Sun Belt) exploded for seven runs in the opening frame of the first game and then rode the arm of sophomore ace pitcher Brooke Mitchell to the shutout win in the nightcap. Mitchell picked up both wins for the Cajuns in the circle as the Cajuns extended their overall winning streak to seven games, tying a season-high, and extended their home win streak to 14 straight.
The Cajuns 12-4 win in game one was the 400th win all-time at Lady Cajun Park since the facility opened in 1985. Louisiana is 401-69 (.853) in its beloved confines and 65-8 under coach Stefni Lotief. Since the 1999 season, the Cajuns have won 117 of the last 129 games played at the park.
With the sweep, the Cajuns swept their 10th straight doubleheader dating back to last season’s split with UL Monroe on April 24. The Cajuns have swept 16 of their last 17 doubleheaders overall and have now swept eight straight Sun Belt twinbills.
Louisiana has now won 16 straight Sun Belt games dating back to last season while the Blue Raiders (17-12, 0-2 Sun Belt) saw their five-game SBC win streak halted.
Louisiana now leads the all-time series 14-0 and improves to 36-2 all-time in Sun Belt play (17-1 at Lady Cajun Park).
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The two teams will conclude the four-game set Sunday in an 11 a.m. twinbill. The start time has been moved from the original starting time on Noon because of a chance of rain in the late afternoon.
In game one the Cajuns ran away with the win thanks in part to a seven run first inning. Louisiana scored the runs on just two hits as the Blue Raiders hit four batters and walked two in the inning. The Raiders used two pitchers in the inning but could not avoid the damage.
MT had taken the lead in the top of the first on a sacrifice fly by Dani DeCamino. DeCamino’s sacrifice scored Kristina Hieb who was hit by a pitch from Cajuns starter Brooke Mitchell. She was moved over to third base on a double over the head of Cajuns center fielder Gomez by Cortney Mitchell.
Starting pitcher Valerie Swanson, who was charged with the loss, opened the Cajuns half of the first inning by hitting Jill Robertson and Becky McMurtry. MT head coach Cindy Connelley pulled Swanson in favor of Tiffany Childress after Swanson was having trouble finding the strike zone.
Danyele Gomez greeted Childress with a double to left center that brought home the Cajuns first run of the game, scoring Robertson to tie the game at 1-1.
After Gomez’s double, Childress’ woes continued. After getting Joy Webre to ground out she issued back-to-back walks to Brittany Bryant and Lauren Castle which loaded the bases and scored one more run on Castle’s walk to make it 2-1. After issuing the walk to Castle, Swanson was re-entered into the game for Childress.
Swanson would then hit designated player Leslie Pierce to force in another run and give the Cajuns a 3-1 lead. Childress was greeted by a Summar Lapeyrouse grounder to short, but the throw to home plate was not in time as Bryant scored the Cajuns fourth run of the inning.
Swanson appeared to be out of trouble when she got a grounder from Crystal George which forced Castle at home plate. However, a fielding error on an infield pop up by Robertson allowed Lapeyrouse and Pierce to score and make it 6-1 Cajuns and the inning was still alive.
Louisiana scored one more on a RBI infield single from Gomez. Swanson finally retired the side when she induced a grounder to shortstop by Webre. In the first inning, the Cajuns sent 13 batters to the plate.
Louisiana added another run in the third inning. Robertson led off the inning with a double to left center and was brought home on an RBI single from Gomez to make it 8-1.
MT struck back in the fifth inning with a two-run home run off of Cajuns reliever Michael Parrott. Parrott, who took over for Mitchell in the fourth inning ran into trouble in the fifth.
Cortney Mitchell collected her second hit of the day for the Raiders when she deposited a homer into the left field bleachers to trim the lead to 8-3.
Louisiana responded with a run of its own in the bottom half of the fifth. Gomez led off the inning with her fourth hit of the game and second double of the game. Gomez advanced to third on a single to right field by Tiffany Hebert and then scored on a Castle grounder to second base to make it 9-3.
MT loaded the bases in the sixth inning and score once more on a infield single RBI by Kip Phillips.
Louisiana ended the game early with three runs in the bottom of the sixth.
The Cajuns got back-to-back singles from Summar Lapeyrouse and Crystal George to lead off the inning. That was followed by a Robertson walk to load the bases. After MT changed pitchers, McMurtry would single up the middle to score Lapeyrouse and George and increase the lead to 11-4.
Gomez ended the game with a grounder to shortstop that allowed Robertson to score the game-ending run.
Gomez ended the game 4-for-5 with two doubles and four RBI. Robertson scored three runs. McMurtry was 1-for-3 with two RBI while Castle was 2-for-3 with two RBI.
Brooke Mitchell earned the win going three innings and fanning four while surrendering just one hit. Swanson absorbed the loss for the Blue Raiders falling to 1-2 on the season. Swanson went 4 2/3 allowing eight runs (seven earned).
In game two, the Cajuns struck for two runs in the first inning and that was really all that they would need as Brooke Mitchell remained untouchable. Mitchell surrendered just one hit – a bloop single to shallow left field that Crystal George was unable to get to in time.
Jill Robertson, who ended the second game with two home runs, led off the Cajuns half of the first with a solo shot to that banged off of the left field foul pole for a quick 1-0 lead. It was Robertson’s sixth home run of the season and her first since a three-run home run in game two against Southern Mississippi on March 9.
Louisiana added one more run in the inning when Bryant and McMurtry pulled off a double-steal to make it 2-0.
Louisiana moved the lead to 3-0 in the third inning when Joy Webre picked up the first of two sacrifice flies in the game, scoring Robertson who led off the inning with an infield single.
Louisiana’s final two runs of the game came in the fifth inning. Robertson drove a liner over the left center field wall for her second home run of the game to make it 4-0. It was Robertson’s seventh home run of the season and her third hit of the evening.
Webre’s second sacrifice fly of the evening ended the scoring and made it 5-0 Louisiana.
Afton Thoms pitched the seventh for the Cajuns allowing just an infield single and getting out of trouble when McMurtry picked up a grounder her way, stepped on third base and fired over to Lapeyrouse for the 5-3 double play.
Mitchell picked up her second win of the twinbill and improved to 10-4 on the season. It was her fourth straight win and the fifth straight appearance in which she surrendered just one hit. Mitchell improves to 10-0 all-time in Sun Belt play.
Robertson was 3-for-3 with two homers, two RBI and three runs scored. The Acadiana HS product ended the day with six runs scored. McMurtry was 2-for-2 with two runs scored.
Stayc Preator suffered the loss for MT and fell to 10-5 overall. Preator gave up five runs, all of which were earned, and struck out eight while allowing six hits.
In other Sun Belt action Saturday, Florida International (24-19, 2-0 Sun Belt) swept a doubleheader from New Mexico State (7-38, 0-2 Sun Belt) by scores of 13-2 and 2-1.-->
Cajuns Complete Four-Game Sweep of MT, Extend Win Streak to Nine
<blockquote><p align=justify>LOUISIANA La. – The 25th-ranked Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns softball team completed its four-game sweep of Middle Tennessee here Sunday afternoon by taking both ends of the doubleheader from the Blue Raiders 10-0 and 6-3 at Lady Cajun Park the Sun Belt Conference series finale between the two teams.
With the four-game sweep, No. 25 Louisiana (24-5, 4-0 Sun Belt) extended its season-high winning streak to nine games and swept a doubleheader for the 11th straight time.
The Cajuns also extended their SBC winning streak to 18 games and improve to 38-2 all-time in league play since it began in 2001.
Once again the Cajuns offense came alive in the early stages of the game and a solid pitching effort from Brooke Mitchell stifled the Blue Raiders (17-14, 0-4 Sun Belt).
The Cajuns scored 11 runs in the first three innings of both games of the twinbill combined and Mitchell delivered two more one-hit outings.
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In game one, Louisiana used a six-run third inning to break open a 1-0 game after 2 ½ innings of play. Louisiana had taken the lead in the bottom of the first when Joy Webre lined a double down the left field line that plated senior All-American third baseman Becky McMurtry with the first run of the game. McMurtry reached base on a double of her own two batters earlier.
Louisiana’s fireworks in the third inning came on five hits.
Jill Robertson began the inning with a single to left field and was followed by a McMurtry walk. Danyele Gomez would single to center field to load the bases with no outs.
After a Webre strikeout, freshman and Beaumont, Texas, native Brittany Bryant delivered a 2-RBI single through a hole in the left side of the infield that scored Robertson and McMurtry for a 3-0 lead and advanced Gomez to second.
A Lauren Castle grounder advanced Gomez and Bryant over one base. Leslie Pierce then drew a walk to load the bases once more for the Cajuns.
Summar Lapeyrouse made it 5-0 when she placed a single down the left field line that scored Gomez and Bryant.
Lapeyrouse and Pierce would cross home plate and make it 7-0 Cajuns when Crystal George followed with a 2-RBI double.
The Ragin’ Cajuns would ice the game in the fourth inning on the bat of Bryant. Bryant drilled her sixth home run of the season to right center field for three RBI and a 10-0 advantage.
Afton Thoms pitched the fifth inning to close out the game and collect a combined shutout with Mitchell and induce the mercy rule. It was the Cajuns 14th shutout of the season and the 10th mercy-rule win of the season.
Bryant ended game one 2-for-3 with a home run and five RBI. Seven other batters collected at least one hit as the Cajuns had all but one batter pick up a hit.
McMurtry was 1-for-1 with a double, three runs scored, one walk and one hit-by-pitch. The North Platte, Neb., native extended her season-high hitting streak to 10 games.
Mitchell went four innings striking out three, allowing just one hit and walking just one batter. It was her third win of the weekend series.
MT’s lone hit of the game came on a bloop single to right field by Leah Grothause in the third inning.
Senior Stayc Preator suffered her second loss of the weekend as she allowed seven runs (all earned) on eight hits in 2 2/3 innings of work.
In game two, Louisiana jumped out to a 5-0 lead after four innings before the Blue Raiders made a comeback attempt in the fifth inning with three runs.
The Cajuns struck for two in the first inning on a 2-RBI double by Danyele Gomez.
Louisiana would push across two more in the third inning aided by two MT errors. Bryant had a sacrifice fly and Lauren Castle reached base on a throwing error by MT pitcher Muriel Ledbetter allowing another run to score.
MT threatened in the fifth as Cajuns starter Afton Thoms began to lose control.
The Raiders loaded the bases with no outs as pinch hitter Brandy Davis single to right, Kip Phillips reached on a bunt single and Ledbetter drew a walk.
Cortney Mitchell lifted a sacrifice fly to right field that plated Davis with the first run and cut the lead to 5-1.
Louisiana had shutout the Raiders for 16 consecutive innings before Mitchell’s sacrifice.
Two more runs would cross the plate as Phillips scored on a wild pitch and Megan Cherinka drilled a double off of the center field wall to bring home Ledbetter and cut the lead to 5-3.
The Cajuns made the pitching switch immediately, pulling Thoms in favor of Brooke Mitchell. She would earn the save, her second of the season, as she finished the final 2 2/3 innings of the game allowing just one hit.
Louisiana added an insurance run in the sixth inning on a sacrifice bunt RBI by Summar Lapeyrouse that scored Brittany Bryant with her third run of the doubleheader.
Thoms collected her seventh win of the season and improved to 7-1 while earning her first-ever Sun Belt Conference victory.
Becky McMurtry had an RBI single in the fourth inning for her only hit of game two – extending her season-high hitting streak to 11 games. Her career best was a 15-game streak set last season during the month of April.
McMurtry’s current streak began against then-No. 16 Florida State on March 14 at the KIA Klassic.
McMurtry ended the weekend 5-for-9 with seven runs scored, two doubles and three RBI. She increased her season batting average to .421 and her team-leading runs scored total to 32.
Mitchell ended the weekend 3-0 with a save and a 0.45 ERA. She held the Raiders to just four hits in 15 2/3 innings of action. MT hit a mere .083 against Mitchell in the series. She also fanned 16 batters.
With the sweep, the Cajuns improve to 19-1 at home this season and extended their Lady Cajun Park win streak to 16 games dating back to an 8-5 loss to Notre Dame on Feb. 28 in the 17th Annual Louisiana Classics.
Louisiana also picked up four key wins versus Midwest Region teams. The Cajuns are now 10-1 against fellow Midwest Region teams and have 19 straight games versus Midwest teams remaining this season.
Louisiana will be back in action on Saturday, April 12 when New Mexico State comes to town for a four-game Sun Belt series. Saturday and Sunday’s twinbills will begin at 1 p.m.
The Cajuns will not play a game the entire week and will be off until Saturday’s games with the Aggies.-->
