The Book 2009 LAdy Cajuns Softball

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&nbsp; Two games into the season, UL sophomore pitcher Donna Bourgeois is in mid-season form.

So is Ole Miss junior pitcher Becky Nye.

Bourgeois set a new career high with 14 strikeouts - two days after her previous high of 13 - and held the Rebels scoreless for nine innings on Sunday.

But in the 10th inning, Bourgeois ran into a brick wall and some bad luck as the Rebels (2-1) scratched across four runs on an error, four singles and a walk to take the third game of the weekend series, 4-0, before 871 fans at Lamson Park.

<center><p><a href="http://www.theadvertiser.com/article/20090209/SPORTS/902090314/1006" target="_blank">The rest of the story</a>

Brady Aymond • baymond@theadvertiser.com • February 9, 2009
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It marked the first time in school history that Ole Miss has bested a team ranked in the top 10 in a three-game series.

While Bourgeois - who threw a one-hitter in UL's 7-0 win on Friday - was holding the Rebels' bats scoreless for 16 consecutive innings, Nye was matching her pitch-for-pitch.

A day after holding No. 6 UL (1-2) to two runs on six hits in a 4-2 victory, Nye (2-0) scattered five hits over 10 innings to blank the Cajuns.

"It's a very good lineup, one of the best I've ever pitched against," said Nye, who went 12-11 with a 2.07 ERA last season for the 26-28 Rebels. "I tried as hard as I could to try to get it around them, anywhere where they weren't goint to hit it - I didn't care what I was throwing.

"Thankfully, my changeup was working for me and everything just turned out great."

Nye went to her changeup often throughout the two games against the Cajuns. She struck out seven batters in two games, including four on Sunday.

"It's my favorite pitch. It's good that I can throw it in a 3-2 count or an 0-0 count," Nye said. "I can throw it whenever I want and that's good to be able to go to that. A lot of pitchers can't change speeds like that.

"I try to mix in curveballs and come in with my changeup. They have very good hitters, they hold back very well. It was very difficult to pitch to them."

Bourgeois allowed seven hits in 10 innings while walking four and striking out 14. She threw a career-high 201 pitches and her 10 innings pitched is also a new career high.

"I don't think she was tired," UL coach Michael Lotief said. "I don't know if she got physically tired. I thought she pitched well. She held their hitters scoreless for 16 innings."

The difference between Bourgeois' two starts was that the Cajuns spotted Bourgeois seven runs on Friday.

Since those seven runs, the Cajuns have managed only two runs on 11 hits.

"You don't fix problems like that by going to sleep," Lotief said. "We have a lot of work ahead of us. When a team exposes you, which the pitcher exposed us and the defense exposed some of the things we have to do, you don't go fix that in one night."

The lone runs came in the top of the 10th inning as Lisa Conchos reached on an error by Katie Smith to lead off.

It was Smith's second error of the day and the fourth by the Cajuns.

Amber Tramp and Ashley Dowdy followed with singles to load the bases for Aly Presswood. Presswood drew a walk to plate Conchos, then Cali Overbeck followed with a single to score pinch runner Courtnie Ghinaudo.

Bourgeois got the first out of the inning as she got Alise Doubt to ground back to the circle, and Bourgeois got the force at home.

Alyssa McGovern ripped another single, though, to score Presswood to make it 3-0. Lauren Grill then grounded into a fielder's choice to plate Overbeck with the Rebels' fourth run of the inning.

After stranding nine in Saturday's 4-2 loss, the Cajuns stranded eight more on Sunday.

UL had the bases loaded in the third and runners at first and third in the fifth, but couldn't push across a run.

"This team is searching for some leaders and searching for an identity," Lotief said. "It was a tough series. I give Ole Miss a lot of credit, they came in here and fought hard.

"Hopefully everybody comes in here and fights us, it's only going to make us better. We may not like it, but it's good, it's a good thing."

REBELS MAKE HISTORY
The victory Sunday gave the Ole Miss Rebels their first-ever series win over a top-10 ranked team in school history. The Rebels, who started softball in 1997, entered the weekend with a 6-65 record against top 10 teams.



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&nbsp; Ashley Brignac would have loved nothing more than to have thrown in the season-opening series against Ole Miss this past weekend.

Well, except to pitch in the Women's College World Series again.

And that long-term goal is the focus and main reason UL's star sophomore pitcher and the Ragin' Cajuns' coaching staff are taking their time easing her back onto the field.

<center><p><a href="http://www.theadvertiser.com/article/20090211/SPORTS/902110329/1006" target="_blank">The rest of the story</a>

Brady Aymond • baymond@theadvertiser.com • February 11, 2009
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Brignac suffered a tear in her labrum during the course of a record-breaking freshman season in 2008, and spent the entire summer and fall in rigorous physical therapy sessions to rehab the injury.

Throwing harder than last year and feeling better than she's ever felt, Brignac is eager to make her return, which could come as early as this weekend's Louisiana Classics tournament at Lamson Park.

"I'm feeling great right now," said Brignac, who earned Sun Belt Conference Pitcher of the Year honors last season. "I'm not really talking about pitching. The arm itself has never really had that much rest, so it's kind of a blessing for my body to have gone through that.

"You always have to look at the positive and that's the positive of giving it that rest. Now it feels loose, it feels great, it feels ready to go."

UL coach Stefni Lotief expects Brignac to get some work this weekend, but said the coaches knew going into the season it would be a slow process.

"The worst thing possibly that we could do is let her go through all of this strengthening and all of this rehab and go out and pitch her too soon or too many pitches too early," Lotief said. "She's still getting her bullpen work in and scrimmage work in. She's stuck with the plan; we do have a plan."

While surgery was discussed early last summer, it never came to that.

"Surgery is always there as the last option," Brignac said. "Of course, everyone is going to bring that up first. That's the last option for me and whatever you can do to prevent that in any situation, you'll try to do it.

"That's what the rehab was for and that's why me and my family, my coaches, we all got together and got me on the rehab program. Fortunately, with tons of prayers and tons of work, I've been able to get to this point."

Keeping Brignac off the field has been tough at times for UL co-head coaches Stefni and Michael Lotief, but the former John Curtis standout and Gatorade National Player of the Year said she understands the ramifications of coming back too soon.

"That's just my personality. Of course I want to play, but we know we're going to be smart about it," said Brignac, who in the preseason was named to the watch list for the national player of the year. "Every athlete wants to play in every game, you want to be a part of this team. I know and they know - we all know - there's a certain road we need to go to get to where we need to be."

Stefni Lotief said having sophomore Donna Bourgeois (17 IP, 2 ER, 27 Ks against Ole Miss) and junior Britany Cuevas (7 IP, 1 ER) allows UL to slowly transition Brignac back into the rotation.

"We're very fortunate that in Division I college softball that we have a staff," Lotief said. "I think when you're at this level, you understand that it takes more than one. The fatigue and the wear and tear can definitely break a pitcher down.

"To have Donna, who had an opportunity to develop last year, and to have Cuevas back in the circle is good."


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&nbsp; UL - The No. 19 Louisiana softball team is set to host the 23rd Annual Louisiana Classic on Friday through Sunday, Feb. 13-15 at Alfred and Helen Lamson Ragin’ Cajuns Softball Park.

The Lady Cajuns welcome five other teams to Lamson Park, including Lipscomb, Louisiana Tech, McNeese State, Nicholls State and Providence.

Louisiana will close out day one of the tournament with a game against Lipscomb at 5:30 p.m. UL will play a pair of games on day two, starting with a televised game against Louisiana Tech at 11:30 a.m. and finishing with a 4:30 p.m. game against Providence. On the final day of the tournament, the Ragin’ Cajuns will square off against Nicholls State and McNeese State at 12:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m., respectively.

Louisiana’s game with the Lady Techsters will be televised on My KLAF. The game is the first of three UL softball games to be televised by My KLAF this season. Chris Mycoskie will provide the play-by-play, while Dan McDonald will add color analysis.

The Lady Cajuns swept the 2008 tournament, defeating Mississippi Valley State and Southern Miss twice each for the crown.

The Ragin’ Cajuns placed Donna Bourgeois, Gabriele Bridges, Ashley Brignac, Brooke Brodhead and Katie Smith on the All-Tournament Team. Senior Holly Tankersley was named the Louisiana Classics Most Outstanding Player.

The Ragin’ Cajuns enter the weekend ranked No. 19 according to the USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll. UL is also ranked 19th in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll.

In the opening weekend, Louisiana recorded 31 strikeouts in 24.0 innings. The Lady Cajuns boasted a 0.88 ERA as a team, surrendering just three earned runs in three games.

Bourgeois was named the Sun Belt Conference Pitcher of the Week. She threw a pair of complete games against Ole Miss boasting a 0.82 ERA in 17.0 innings. Bourgeois set a personal best with 13 strikeouts on Friday and then topped that with a career-high 14 strikeouts on Sunday.

<b>Complete Schedule

Friday, Feb. 13 </b>
<li>10:00 a.m. – Lipscomb vs. McNeese State
<li>12:30 p.m. – Providence vs. Nicholls State
<li>3:00 p.m. – Louisiana Tech vs. McNeese State
<li>5:30 p.m. – Lipscomb vs. Louisiana

<b>Saturday, Feb. 14</b>
<li>9:00 a.m. – Lipscomb vs. Louisiana Tech
<li>11:30 a.m. – Louisiana Tech vs. Louisiana (TV – KLAF)
<li>2:00 p.m. – Nicholls State vs. Lipscomb
<li>4:30 p.m. – Providence vs. Louisiana
<li>7:00 p.m. – McNeese State vs. Providence

<b>Sunday, Feb. 15 </b>
<li>10:00 a.m. – Lipscomb vs. Providence
<li>12:30 p.m. – Nicholls State vs. Louisiana
<li>3:00 p.m. – Louisiana Tech vs. Nicholls State
<li>5:30 p.m. – McNeese State vs. Louisiana

<b> Scouting the Opposition</b>

Lipscomb was 29-26 overall in 2008 and 16-6 in the Atlantic Sun Conference. The Louisiana Classics Tournament will be the first games of the season for Lipscomb.

Louisiana Tech was 37-29 overall in 2008 and 7-10 in the WAC. The Lady Techsters captured the 2008 Western Athletic Conference tournament title and defeated Auburn twice in the NCAA Tournament.

McNeese State enters the weekend 0-6 after dropping a game to No. 2 Arizona State and four games in the Arizona State Kajikawa Classic. The Cowgirls fell to No. 21 LSU in Baton Rouge on Wednesday.

Nicholls State started the season 3-2 after participating in a tournament at Centenary. NSU enters the weekend 4-2 after upending Sun Belt Conference opponent South Alabama.

Providence was 25-25-2 overall in 2008 and 8-12 in the Big East Conference. The Louisiana Classics Tournament will be the first games of the season for Providence.

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I did a little research to see what we'll be up against. Looks like they have a pretty good pitcher A.Jacobson (despite being in A-Sun confrence, what's that?). She set NCAA record with five shutouts and beat #17 Georgia Tech, has 1.16 ERA in confrence games...should be a good game. Hope we work on hitting.

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Originally Posted by angellebertrand

_ I did a little research to see what we'll be up against. Looks like they have a pretty good pitcher A.Jacobson (despite being in A-Sun confrence, what's that?). She set NCAA record with five shutouts and beat #17 Georgia Tech, has 1.16 ERA in confrence games...should be a good game. Hope we work on hitting. _

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The A-Sun is the Atlantic Sun conference. Some of their members are Mercer, Jacksonville, Stetson and Campbell.

Alaina Jacobson is a transfer from Missouri, so she's not a typical A-Sun pitcher. She set the Lipscomb school record (during the NCAA era) with five shutouts last year. Jacobson went 9-1 in A-Sun games and 11-6 overall.

I think she'll be somewhat comparable to the pitcher from Ole Miss, maybe not quite as strong. If she has any kind of changeup close to as good as Nye from Ole Miss, the Cajuns could struggle. If not, I think the Cajuns will be OK.

My biggest interest tonight, after last weekend, is observing the demeanor and atmosphere in the dugout, and in the stands. Although dreaded by fans, it's great for the impartial observer. Another unexpected loss this early in the season will provide a far greater glimpse into the team psyche. It would also provided great insight into the depth's of each players psyche if the "fight or flee" mechanism triggered in only the second week of the season.

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Originally Posted by LSUConnMan

_ My biggest interest tonight, after last weekend, is observing the demeanor and atmosphere in the dugout, and in the stands. Although dreaded by fans, it's great for the impartial observer. Another unexpected loss this early in the season will provide a far greater glimpse into the team psyche. It would also provided great insight into the depth's of each players psyche if the "fight or flee" mechanism triggered in only the second week of the season. _

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If your taking photos this weekend, a few extra shots of #21 Donna Bourgeouis would be time well spent.

GEAUX UL!

Games got delayed due to weather. The release was saying the second game was scheduled for 1:30, even though the email came like 10 mins ago. Not sure how it will affect our game time.

Edit: says UL vs Lipscomb is at 6:30 now.

Edit again: Scott just said it may not start until 7:30 due to game 2 being in the 10th inning.

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Originally Posted by rgncjn12

_ If your taking photos this weekend, a few extra shots of #21 Donna Bourgeouis would be time well spent.

GEAUX UL! _

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Oh yeah!!!! She is def easy on the eyes

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Originally Posted by LSUConnMan

_ My biggest interest tonight, after last weekend, is observing the demeanor and atmosphere in the dugout, and in the stands. Although dreaded by fans, it's great for the impartial observer. Another unexpected loss this early in the season will provide a far greater glimpse into the team psyche. It would also provided great insight into the depth's of each players psyche if the "fight or flee" mechanism triggered in only the second week of the season. _

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I have no doubt that you'll find a fiesty, fun, energetic, positive dugout. Not once were they any different, even when down to their final out at the college world series. They will compete hard and they will have smiles. They are intense but loose. Bank on it!