Lady Cajuns Double Rout North Texas
DENTON, Texas-Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns softball team used double-digit hits in each game and solid pitching to come away with two victories against North Texas on Saturday afternoon at Lovelace Field in Denton, Texas. The Cajuns won game one 10-0 in regulation before claiming game two 11-2 in five innings.
Donna Bourgeois picked up a pair of wins, tossing both games for the Cajuns. She allowed just two runs – one earned – in 11.0 innings of work in the doubleheader. Bourgeois fanned 12 batters on the day, allowing just two runs.
Offensively, Christi Orgeron paced the Cajuns. In the doubleheader, she finished the day 3-for-5 (.600) with a home run, four runs scored, three RBI and two walks.
Orgeron was followed by Erikka Murphy, Gabriele Bridges and Lana Bowers. Murphy finished the double-dip 3-for-6 with two runs scored, an RBI and a sacrifice fly, while Bridges was 3-for-7 with three runs scored, five RBI and a home run. Bowers was 2-for-5 on the day with a home run.
GAME 1 RECAP
Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns softball team used a combined shutout by Bourgeois and Brittany Cuevas and the offense produced 10 runs on 11 hits as UL opened a twin bill with a 10-0 shutout.
Bourgeois worked the first six innings surrendering just a pair of hits, while striking out five. She officially faced one batter over the minimum and had a streak of 11 consecutive batters retired at one point.
Bourgeois gave way to Cuevas in the seventh inning. Cuevas pitched a perfect seventh inning striking out one of the three batters she faced.
Offensively, the Cajuns received a pair of hits from Bridges, Vallie Gaspard and Orgeron. Bridges had the only extra base hit of the game for the Cajuns, a two-run homer to straight away center field. Bridges finished the game with four RBI to lead the Cajuns.
The Cajuns were the first team to score as they plated two runs in the top of the second inning. Orgeron led off the inning. After working the count full, Orgeron looked to have grounded out to second base, but an illegal pitch call against North Texas’ pitcher put the redshirt freshman on first base with a walk. Bridges followed with her team-leading 13th home run of the season. Bridges lifted the second pitch she saw over the center field fence to give UL an early 2-0 lead.
Louisiana added a run in the top of the third inning. Melissa Verde and Codi Runyan drew back-to-back two-out walks to get things started for the Cajuns. Courtney Trahan entered the game to run for Verde. Orgeron followed with an infield single, but a fielding error by the Mean Green first baseman allowed Trahan to score easily from third. The Cajuns were unable to score another run, but led 3-0 after two and a half innings of play.
The Cajuns erupted for seven runs in the top of the seventh to put the game out of reach. Louisiana strung together four consecutive base hits, a walk and then four more base knocks, placing nine consecutive batters on base to give UL a 10-0 lead after six and a half innings of play.
GAME 2 RECAP
The Ragin’ Cajuns softball team completed the two-game sweep with an 11-2, five inning victory over the Mean Green.
In game two, the Cajuns tallied just seven hits, but benefited from seven North Texas walks to score 11 runs. Louisiana received home runs from Bowers and Orgeron in the second game. Orgeron’s home run tied the game at 2-2 and Bower’s dinger gave UL the lead which they would not relinquish.
Murphy had a pair of hits in game two, scoring a run. Verde, Orgeron and Bowers each drove in a pair of runs, while Gaspard, Orgeron and Kelly Cormier each had two runs scored each.
Bourgeois picked up her second win of the day and the 24th win of the season. The sophomore worked 5.0 innings scattering three hits, striking out seven batters. Bourgeois surrendered a pair of runs with only one earned run.
For the second game in a row, the Cajuns were the first team to score. Gaspard reached base and advanced to second base on a throwing error by the Mean Green. She moved to third on a wild pitch and came around to score on a ground out by UL.
North Texas took the lead in the bottom of the second inning. A leadoff walk and an error gave NT a pair of base runners with no outs. A sacrifice bunt moved the runners into scoring position. A shallow single to right field tied the score at 1-1 and left runners on the corners. A fielder’s choice allowed a second run to score and after two complete innings of play, the Cajuns saw themselves on the wrong side of a 2-1 score.
In the fourth inning, Louisiana tied the score on one swing of the bat by Orgeron. With two outs and a 2-2 count, Orgeron hit her sixth home run of the season, lifting the ball just over the right field fence to tie the score at two apiece.
Tied 2-2 entering the fifth inning, the Ragin’ Cajuns scored nine runs on six hits, six walks and a pair of sacrifice flies to claim an 11-2 victory in five innings. The inning was highlighted by Bowers’ go-ahead home run.
The Ragin’ Cajuns and Mean Green will conclude the three-game series with a single game on Sunday afternoon beginning at 12:00 p.m.
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