Lady Cajuns Win Two vs Grambling

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UL - Louisiana’s Lady Cajuns softball team made short work of in-state opponent Grambling, claiming both games. In game one, the Cajuns won via the mercy rule 8-0 in five innings, before claiming a 6-0 victory in the nightcap. The Cajuns got a perfect effort in the first game from starting pitcher Brittany Cuevas (Brazoria, Texas). She tossed her first career perfect game en route to an 8-0 mercy-rule by over Grambling. Cuevas (4-2) tossed 5.0 innings, allowing no base runners in the game. She recorded 11 strikeouts in the game, retiring all 15 batters she faced. For the Cajuns, the perfect game was the second of the season. Ashley Brignac (River Ridge, La.) tossed a perfect game in the first game of a doubleheader against IUPUI on Mar. 11. In game two, Donna Bourgeois (Lafayette, La.) kept the Tigers off of the scoreboard in game two, tossing a two-hit shutout of her own. Bourgeois fanned 10 batters during her seven innings of work allowing just a pair of singles and a walk. At one point, the freshman hurler retired 10 consecutive batters, including four consecutive Ks. Offensively, the Cajuns were led by Karli Hubbard (Lafayette, La.). The junior centerfielder finished the night 5-for-7 with a bunt double and three runs scored. Brooke Brodhead (Lafayette, La.), Vanessa Soto (San Diego, Calif.) and Holly Tankersley (Kirbyville, Texas) each added extra bases hits. The trio each belted triples, while Tankersley also added a double. Each of the threesome had multiple RBI with Tankersley leading the charge with four on the night, while Soto added three and Brodhead chipped in a pair. In the second game, Soto led off the second inning with a walk and was pinch run for by Courtney Trahan (Maurice, La.). Trahan collected her fifth steal of the season to move to second. She came around to score on a Lana Bowers (Crosby, Texas) double to left centerfield. Bowers moved over to third on a ground ball and an interference call on a ground ball by Vallie Gaspard (Maurice, La.) scored Bowers from third. Leading 5-0, the Cajuns added an insurance run in the third inning. Tankersley led off the inning with her third triple of the season and came into score the final run of the game on a Soto sacrifice fly. GAME ONE RECAP The Cajuns jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Karli Hubbard (Lafayette, La.) singled to third base to get things started for UL. She stole second base to give the Cajuns a runner in scoring position. A sacrifice bunt by Katie Smith (Ruston, La.) moved Hubbard to third. Holly Tankersley (Kirbyville, Texas) plated the runner with a sacrifice fly. Louisiana added three runs in the bottom of the third inning. Vallie Gaspard (Maurice, La.) led off the inning with a single to third base. She stole second base and moved to third on a Hubbard single to centerfield. Hubbard stole second and the Tigers threw to third to hold Gaspard, but the throw got away from the GSU third baseman allowing Hubbard to reach third and Gaspard to score. Smith followed with a single to first base and moved to second on a second Grambling error of the inning. Brooke Brodhead (Lafayette, La.) singled through the left side of the infield to score Hubbard from third. Vanessa Soto (San Diego, Calif.) hit her team-leading third sacrifice fly of the season to plate Smith for the final run of the inning, giving UL a 4-0 edge after three innings. The Cajuns increased their lead to 8-0 after a four-run fourth inning. Brignac pinch hit and reached base on a fielding error. She moved to second on a Gaspard single back to the pitcher. Hubbard loaded the bases with a bunt single. Jessica Dupont (Alexandria, La.) pinch hit and drew an RBI base on balls to score Brignac. Tankersley cleared the bases with a three-RBI double to right field, giving UL an 8-0 lead which they would not relinquish. Following the double dip with the Tigers, the Cajuns will head to Hattiesburg, Miss. for a single game against Southern Miss, before heading down to Miami for a three-game Sun Belt Conference series against Florida International. RaginCajuns.com Chris Whitehead

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It's been an interesting season for Brittany Cuevas, reflected by her past four starts for the UL softball team. A 1-0 loss in nine innings against the U.S. Olympic Team. It took former NCAA players of the year Monica Abbott (Tennessee) and Cat Osterman (Texas) to outlast the Cajuns' star sophomore, who only allowed four hits. A 2-0 loss against No. 7 Arizona, scattering five hits and giving up a single run in the second and fifth innings. A surprising no-decision against Western Kentucky when Cuevas gave up two home runs and was limited to three innings in Sun Belt Conference play. Tuesday's perfect game for UL to open a doubleheader against overmatched Grambling at Lamson Park. The line in the 8-0 run-rule victory was awesome: five innings, no hits, no walks, only four balls put in play, 11 strikeouts. And that led to the obvious question: Which of these things is not like the other? The rest of the story Bob Heist bheist@theadvertiser.com