OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. - Louisiana’s Ragin' Cajuns picked up an extra-inning opening round upset victory No. 1 national seed Florida by a score of 3-2 on Thursday afternoon at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Okla.

The Lady Cajuns (52-13) trailed 2-0 before Vanessa Soto (San Diego, Calif.) had a two-RBI double off of the centerfield wall to tie the score at 2-2 in the fifth inning.

With the score deadlocked at 2-2 in the eighth inning, Holly Tankersley (Kirbyville, Texas) delivered the game-winning home run to the bleachers in centerfield. The home run put the Cajuns ahead 3-2 and the Cajuns’ defense secured the victory over the No. 1 team in the nation.

Ashley Brignac (River Ridge, La.) was masterful in the circle for the Cajuns in her Women’s College World Series debut. The freshman worked 8.0 innings scattering six hits. She surrendered just a pair of runs, while recording a career-high 15 strikeouts.

Florida’s ace Stacey Nelson tossed an impressive game of her own. She surrendered three runs on eight hits, fanning six batters in the game.

The Cajuns’ hitters amassed nine hits in the game including the double by Soto and the game-winning home run from Tankersley. Melissa Verde (Beaumont, Texas) collected a pair of hits in the contest including a double. Soto was the only other Cajun with multiple hits and she was responsible for driving in two of UL’s three runs.

The win propels the Cajuns into the next round in the winner’s bracket. The win marks the first WCWS for co-head coaches Michael and Stefni Lotief and the first World Series win for Louisiana since the Cajuns downed Princeton, 5-0, in the 1996 Series.

Florida was the first team to break the scoreless tie. In the second inning, Tiffany DeFelice led off the inning with a single to left centerfield. Brignac fanned the next two batters, but Corrie Brooks doubled down the left field line to score DeFelice from first base to give the Gators a 1-0 lead.

The Gators threatened in the third inning but came away with no runs after loading the bases. Brignac caught the first batter of the inning looking, but worked the count full and surrendered a walk to the next batter. A single down just over the head of Verde down the left field line gave UF a pair of base runners. Brignac followed with a strikeout, but surrendered a walk to load the bases. With the bases juiced, the freshman hurler fanned the final batter of the inning to end the threat and leave the score at 1-0.

The Cajuns got something going in the top of the fourth inning. Soto led off the inning with a single through the right side of the infield in between diving first and second basemen. Tankersley reached on a fielder’s choice, but the throw to retire Soto pulled the second baseman off the bag allowing both runners to reach safely. Courtney Trahan (Maurice, La.) entered the game to run for Soto and moved to third on a ground out. With runners on second and third and one out, the Cajuns were unable to plate any runs as a groundout and a fly ball ended the inning and the UL threat.

For the second time in the game, Florida used a double down the left field line to score a run. In the bottom of the fourth inning, Kristina Hilberth led off with an infield single. On a sacrifice bunt attempt, Verde fielded and alertly threw to second base to retire the lead runner. With a runner on first and one out, a ground out moved the base runner into scoring position. A second RBI double down the left field line gave the Gators a 2-0 advantage after four complete innings of play.

The Lady Cajuns tied the score at 2-2 in the top of the fifth inning. Karli Hubbard (Lafayette, La.) started things off for the Cajuns with a one-out single to third base. Following a strikeout, Vallie Gaspard (Maurice, La.) singled over the head of the Florida pitcher. With two runners on and two outs, Soto hit her team-leading 23rd double of the season off of the centerfield wall to plate Hubbard and Gaspard and knot the score at 2-2.

Louisiana threatened to take the lead in the top of the sixth inning. Verde doubled to left centerfield to get things started for the Cajuns. Kelly Cormier (Abbeville, La.) entered the game to pinch run. Cormier moved to third on a fly ball to centerfield. On the play, Cormier slid around a tag by Brooks to reach third safely, but actually passed the bag and had to crawl back to third to reach safely for the second time on the play. Despite her effort, she would go no further as a foul out ended the inning.

The Cajuns forced the game into extra innings – only the fourth extra inning game of the season for Louisiana. With one out, Tankersley drove a Nelson pitch into the stands in centerfield. The home run was the 22nd of the season for Tankersley on the year and the 70th of career. The solo shot became only the second home run allowed by Nelson this season.

With a 3-2 lead, Verde followed with a single to centerfield. A fielder’s choice left the Cajuns with Bowers on first and two outs. The Gators went to the bullpen and relieved Nelson for just the fourth time this season to go with their No. 2 pitcher Stephanie Brombacher. Gabriele Bridges (Lafitte, La.) singled to right field off of the new pitcher and moved to second on the throw to try to get Bowers out at third. The two runners would go no further as a strikeout ended the inning, but Tankersley’s shot gave the Cajuns a one-run edge heading into the bottom of the eighth.

Florida’s comeback in the final inning was short lived. The Gators’ DeFelice battled for 23 pitches before flying out to centerfield. Two popups to Brooke Brodhead (Lafayette, La.) over at short recorded the final two outs of the game, securing the victory for the Cajuns.

The Lady Cajuns will play Texas A&M Friday night at 6:00 p.m.

RaginCajuns.com

Chris Whitehead