The Book: 2003 Softball

[Cajun1997]

It is on ESPN Kudos to Lady Cajun Jill Robertson, they did a "spotlight interview" on her and she got in 2 University of Louisiana references!

[1stTake]

I found it I went there an hour ago I don't know what happened

[Cajun1997]

Cajuns 2 runs 1 hit 0 errors
Longhorns 1 run 2 hits 0 errors

1 out, gutsy performance by pitcher Brooke Mitchell.

[Cajun1997]

, 2 run homer by Texas Amber Hall.

[1stTake]

she is hurting

[1stTake]

Texas is lucky they didn't have to face her best stuff.

[Cajun1997]

good game Ladies, we are proud you

[Turbine]

3-2

She was good, she just wasn't great. Brooke Mitchell, the one we all know, the the 4 no-hitter Brooke, would not have lost to the Texas Longhorns.

End of my short but true story.

[NewsCopy]

Powerful Texas rallies past Cajuns

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — For a brief, exhilerating moment on Thursday, Louisiana’s Lady Cajuns had the No. 3 team in the country on the ropes at the Women’s College World Series.

They got a mammoth two-run home run from freshman Danyele Gomez in the first inning against Texas star Cat Osterman and turned their fate over to their own sophomore ace Brooke Mitchell.

But Mitchell was tagged for a solo home run in the fourth inning by Tamara Poppe and former high school teammate Amber Hall delivered a two-run shot in the sixth as the Longhorns came back for a 3-2 victory.

The loss puts the Cajuns of coach Stefni Lotief into the losers’ bracket, but undaunted.

“I think we’ll react good,” Gomez said. “We’re going to come back strong and ready to play. It’s a learning thing for us. We’ll fight and come back.”

The Cajuns play at 3 p.m. Saturday against California/UCLA loser. Cal led 2-1 in the fifth at press time.

Gomez made her first experience on the CWS stage as smooth as her collegiate debut earlier this season, when her initial two at-bats resulted in a grand slam home run and a solo shot.

The rest of the story
Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com

[NewsCopy]

Lady Cajuns go, but not quietly

OKLAHOMA CITY — There was no missing the Ragin’ Cajuns on Thursday at ASA Hall of Fame

Stadium. First of all, there were the fans — 200-300 or so red-clad backers screaming their support for Louisiana. Then, there were the Lady Cajuns themselves, who obviously came here to play ball and not just to enjoy the scene at the Women’s College World Series. Those fans erupted in the first inning when freshman Danyele Gomez ripped Texas pitcher Cat Osterman for a two-run home run that rocked Longhorns supporters back on their heels. But in the end, it was Osterman and the Longhorns who rallied for a 3-2 victory in the first round of play.

“This is a community-based program,” coach Stefni Lotief said. “The fans really take the players under their wing and support them. And, it’s like they’re part of our family.

“They did a great job tonight. They were Cajuns; they were loud.”

The rest of the story

Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com

[NewsCopy]

UT pitcher Cat Osterman retires final 20 batters after Danyele Gomez two-run home run ends Osterman's scoreless innings streak at 65

OKLAHOMA CITY - Texas pitcher Cat Osterman retired the final 20 batters of the game and the Longhorns offense came through with two home runs in the fourth and sixth innings as UT rallied back from a 2-0 deficit to defeat 21st-ranked Louisiana 3-2 here in the opening round of the Women's College World Series at the ASA Don E. Porter Hall of Fame Stadium.

With the loss, Louisiana (47-10) falls into the loser's
bracket of the WCWS and will have Friday off before facing the loser of the UCLA-Cal game at 3 p.m. Saturday afternoon in an elimination game. Third-ranked Texas advances to the winner's bracket where the Horns will face Cal in a 7 p.m. game Friday night.

Louisiana's return to the Women's College World Series and fourth appearance got off with a loud bang in the top of the first. True freshman Danyele Gomez ripped a towering home run over the left field wall that landed near the base of the aluminum baseball wall beyond the regulation softball wall.

Gomez's home run scored junior shortstop Jill Robertson who had reached on a throwing error by UT third baseman Wynter Turner.

It was her 20th home run of the season, which extended the single-season school record and gave Louisiana the early 2-0 lead off of Osterman.

Gomez is no stranger to debut home runs.

Her collegiate debut was a grand slam in the season opener against Louisiana Tech while her NCAA Regional 6 debut was a solo shot against San Diego State.

Gomez's home run ended Osterman's streak of 65 consecutive innings without a run allowed and was her first run and home run allowed since April 22 against Texas A&M.

After that, the USA Softball Player of the Year single-handedly shut down the Ragin' Cajuns offense by promptly retiring the final 20 UL batters that came to the plate.

In the meantime, the Texas offense patiently chipped away at the Cajuns 2-0 lead.

Cajuns starting pitcher Brooke Mitchell (26-8) kept the Horns off of the scoreboard until the bottom of the fourth. She had worked her way out of a bases loaded jam in the second inning and retired the Longhorns in the third inning.

But in the fourth inning, UT finally broke through when Tamara Poppe deposited a Mitchell pitch over the wall in left center field to lead off the fourth inning.

With the Cajuns up top 2-1 in the bottom of the sixth inning, Texas' Amber Hall launched a one-out, first-pitch home run over the right field wall to put the Longhorns on top for the first time in the game at 3-2.

For Hall it was her second game-winning home run of the season.

Osterman would retire the side in the top of the seventh by striking out Gomez, Joy Webre and Tiffany Grayson.

The loss was just the Cajuns third this season when scoring first. UL is now 44-3 when scoring first.

Osterman improved to 31-4 on the season and won her 15th straight start. For the Longhorns it was their 19th straight victory.

Osterman struck out 11 of the 23 Cajuns batters that she faced and surrendered just one hit - the Gomez home run.

Mitchell suffered the hard-luck loss for the Ragin' Cajuns as she fell to 26-8 on the season. The Pasadena, Texas, native walked six and struck out two.

Louisiana loses its WCWS opener for the second straight appearance. In 1996, the Cajuns fell to UCLA 2-0 and came back to win its second game 7-0 over Princeton.

Louisiana will return to action on Saturday at 3 p.m. against the loser of the UCLA-Cal game which began 30 minutes after the conclusion of the Cajuns and Longhorns matchup.
LOUISIANA SI

[NewsCopy]

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — This is all new for Louisiana’s Lady Cajuns.

On the other hand, the scenario is strangely different for the UCLA Bruins, too.

The Cajuns played well, and lost. The Bruins were sloppy, yet went 10 innings before losing.

One team will see a quick end to its Women’s College World Series experience when they meet at 3 p.m. today in an elimination game at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium.

Coach Stefni Lotief’s Cajuns fell to 47-10 on the season when Texas came back for a 3-2 victory Thursday night, then got Friday off before returning to action today.

As the No. 4 seed in Region 6, Louisiana is the lowest seed among the eight teams here. Defending national champion California, which outlasted UCLA 7-3 late Thursday night, was the No. 2 in Region 7.

Beyond that, the other six seeds were listed atop their regions and figured to be here.

But the Cajuns hardly buckled under the strain, leading No. 3 Texas 2-0 after three innings on a two-run Danyele Gomez home run and forcing the Longhorns to rally.

“I think it’s a credit to the mindset of this team that they stay focused,” Lotief said. “It’s about our team, and about being ready to play, not who’s in the other dugout.

The rest of the story

Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com

[NewsCopy]

OKLAHOMA CITY - Second-seeded UCLA used a three-run sixth inning and a one-hitter by pitcher Keira Goerl to cap off a 5-1 win over Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns softball team here Saturday afternoon in an elimination game at the 2003 Women's College World Series at the ASA Don E. Porter Hall of Fame Stadium.

With the loss, an outstanding season of accomplishment comes to a close for Louisiana at the place where only eight teams across the nation could claim of going to this season - Oklahoma City.

UL closes out its season with a 47-11 record and wraps up the fourth appearance in program history at the WCWS. The Cajuns also concluded the third season under head coach Stefni Lotief.

For seniors Summar Lapeyrouse, Becky McMurtry, Michael Parrott and Rachel Reese it marks the end of their collegiate playing days.

For the rest of the team, it provides a valuable learning experience for a run at the WCWS in 2004.

The Bruins jumped on the board in the first inning on a Claire Sua fielder's choice grounder that scored Caitlin Benyi who had reached on a one-out infield single and advanced over to third base on a single into right field by Tairia Mims.

UCLA (50-7) would extend its lead to 2-0 in the fourth inning on a Mims home run to left field over the portable bleachers just beyond the left field wall. It was Mims' second homer of the tournament and the 60th of her career. It was also the third home run off of Mitchell in the WCWS after she allowed just six home runs in 39 appearances prior to the tournament.

Louisiana broke through with its first hit of the game off of UCLA starting pitcher Keira Goerl in the bottom half of the fourth inning when catcher Joy Webre delivered an RBI single deep into the hole in right center field.

Webre's single scored senior All-American third baseman Becky McMurtry, but she was thrown out at second by Stephanie Ramos as she was trying to stretch it into a double and ended the Cajuns two-out threat.

The run scored by McMurtry was her 59th of the season which established a career-best for the North Platte, Neb., native.

McMurtry drew a one-out walk to give the Cajuns their first base runner of the game since Jill Robertson led off the bottom of the first inning by reaching on an error by UCLA shortstop Natasha Watley.

After a Gomez fly out, center fielder Tiffany Grayson reached base on Watley's second error of the game to keep the inning alive.

Watley's error set the stage for Webre's single, the Cajuns lone hit of the game, and a run which trimmed the Bruins lead to 2-1 after four complete.

UCLA would create some breathing room with three runs in the sixth inning highlighted by a two-run home run from Monique Mejia that turned a 2-1 advantage into a 4-1 UCLA lead.

The home run was Mejia's first of the WCWS and just the second of her career. It was the fourth homer allowed by Mitchell during the WCWS.

Watley provided the Bruins final run of the day when she drove a double into deep center field that scored Andrea Duran who had doubled the at bat before.

Watley's run-producing hit gave the Bruins a 5-1 lead and chased UL starting pitcher Brooke Mitchell.

Mitchell, playing with a biceps injury suffered on championship Sunday in Fullerton, Calif., gave her best shot in the circle and never gave up. The Pasadena, Texas, native was charged with five runs off of nine hits and her second straight loss.

Mitchell ended her sophomore campaign at 26-9 with a 1.11 ERA and 279 strikeouts. She ended the season as the school's all-time single-season strikeout leader.

Goerl collected the win for the Bruins and improved to 36-7. The right-hander struck out eight batters and allowed just one hit and one run (unearned run) in leading the Bruins into an elimination game against Washington in the final game on elimination Saturday at the WCWS.

LINE SCORE

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UCLA 5, Louisiana 1 (May 24, 2003 at Oklahoma City, Okla.)

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UCLA................ 101 003 0 - 5 9 2 (50-7)
Louisiana 000 100 0 - 1 1 1 (47-11)

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Pitchers: UCLA - Goerl. Louisiana - Mitchell; Thoms(6).
Win-Goerl(36-7) Loss-Mitchell(26-9) T-2:26 A-6520
HR UCLA - Mims; Mejia.
UL eliminated from 2003 WCWS
Cajuns end the season with a 47-11 record

[NewsCopy]

Louisiana ends 2003 season in the Top 10 for highest ranking under head coach Stefni Lotief and since 1996

LOUISIANA La. - A return to the Women's College World Series figured to be a huge plus for Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns softball team.

On Wednesday, the Ragin' Cajuns (47-11) found out just how much.

The National Fastpitch Coaches Association and USA Softball released their respective final Top 25 polls for the 2003 season and both found the Cajuns of head coach Stefni Lotief ranked in the Top 10.

The Lady Cajuns of Louisiana ended the season where many expected them to be - among the Top 8 in the country. The Cajuns checked in both polls at No. 8 for their final resting place until next season.

Louisiana No. 8 spot marks the highest finish ever by a Sun Belt school in the national rankings and is the highest finish since the 1996 season.

Louisiana also finished ranked in the final polls for the first time since 2001. Last season, the Cajuns were dropped out of the Top 25 following the NCAA Tournament.

In the USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches Association poll, the Lady Cajuns jumped 13 spots from No. 21.

Louisiana garnered 259 points and were only 13 points behind No. 7 Alabama. The Cajuns gained 148 points from the NFCA poll released before conference tournaments and the NCAA Tournament started.

The Lady Cajuns found themselves ranked higher than DePaul, Cal State Fullerton, Georgia, Michigan, Nebraska and in-state rival Louisiana State.

Louisiana entered the NFCA poll on March 24, after not being ranked in the preseason edition, and remained a member each week since a span of 10 weeks.

In the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 poll, the Cajuns made a 15-spot jump from No. 23 up to No. 8.

Louisiana, which had 71 points in the poll before NCAA Tournament play, gathered an additional 264 to reach 335 total points and finish eighth in the final poll.

The Cajuns joined the USA Softball poll on March 31 and remained ranked for the remainder of the season.

The Cajuns ended the 2003 season with a 47-11 record overall and a 13-3 Sun Belt Conference record.

The Cajuns made their fifth straight NCAA Tournament appearance since 1999 and 13th in the last 14 years. UL Lafayette's WCWS appearance was the first since 1996 and fourth in program history.

Louisiana also won its third straight Sun Belt Conference regular season title and fourth straight SBC Tournament championship as the Lady Cajuns remain the only champion that the league has ever known.

LOUISIANA SI

[NewsCopy]

FINAL 2003 SOFTBALL POLLS

Rank	Team	Record	Points	Last Week
1	UCLA (15)	54-7	375	2
2	California	49-20	354	9
3	Arizona	56-7	342	1
4	Texas	49-9	339	3
5	Oklahoma	47-14	309	5
6	Washington	47-16-1	305	8
7	Alabama	49-21	272	16
8	Louisiana	47-11	259	21
9	DePaul	48-7-1	234	4
10	Cal State Fullerton	41-15	221	6
11	Georgia	57-14	208	7
12	Michigan	44-16	185	14
13	Nebraska	39-17	182	11
14	Oklahoma State	39-15	162	13
15	Louisiana State	50-18	150	12
16	Oregon	37-19	135	18
17	Iowa	44-15	110	23
(tie)	Texas A&M	38-22	110	22
19	Florida State	46-11	106	10
20	Arizona State	32-25	81	15
21	South Carolina	39-19	77	20
22	Southern Illinois	39-14	76	24
23	Stanford	41-26	67	17
24	Michigan State	40-19	56	NR
25	South Florida	54-19	52	19