RUSTON, La.-Holly Tankersley (Kirbyville, Texas) broke a scoreless tie in the top of the third inning with her 49th career home run as Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns cruised to an opening shutout, 6-0, at the Louisiana Tech Invitational.

Tankersley finished the day 1-for-3, but made the one hit count. She belted a three-run shot over the right field fence that proved to be the difference in the game. Tankersley led the Cajuns squad with three RBI, while also scoring a run.

In the circle, Donna Bourgeois (Lafayette, La.) earned her first collegiate victory. The true freshman scattered six hits on the afternoon, but fanned seven batters in her debut. She allowed just one walk on the morning and did not allow a batter to get past second base.

The Warhawks threatened in the first inning, but a defensive stand by the Cajuns ended the hazard. The leadoff batter reached on a single, but was eliminated by a fielder’s choice. A single to left field gave ULM runners at first and second. The next batter hit a shot to third base. Melissa Verde (Beaumont, Texas) stepped on the bag for the force out and quickly threw to first base to complete the double play and end the inning.

The score remained knotted until the third inning. The Ragin’ Cajuns started the inning with a slap single by junior Karli Hubbard (Lafayette, La.). Freshman Katie Smith (Ruston, La.) followed with a drag bunt for a single to give the Cajuns their first two hits of the game. After a fly ball to left field, Tankersley broke the scoreless tie with her first home run of the season and the 49th of her career.

Leading 3-0, the Cajuns added a run in the top of the fourth inning. Vanessa Soto (San Diego, Calif.) reached base on a fielding error by the Warhawks. Gabriele Bridges (Lafitte, La.) singled through the left side of the infield to give the Cajuns a pair of runners. Brooke Brodhead (Lafayette, La.) lined a ball off of the pitcher’s shin to advance the runners to second and third. Hubbard grounded out to third base to plate the runner and increase the Cajuns’ lead to 4-0.

Verde leadoff the fifth inning with a walk and Tankersley followed with a base on balls giving UL a pair or baserunners. A two-out single by Soto extended UL’s lead to 5-0.

The Cajuns added another run in the top of the seventh. With runners on first and second, Verde doubled off of the right field wall to plate the lead runner and extend the UL advantage to six runs.

The Ragin’ Cajuns will continue the Louisiana Tech Invitational at approximately 1:15 p.m. against tournament-host Louisiana Tech.


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