WACO, Texas - It took three months, a rain out and a six and a half hour weather delay, but the #21 University of Louisiana softball team took the field against No. 13 Northwestern and the result was worth the wait as the Lady Cajuns claimed a 3-2 victory over the top-seeded Wildcats, eliminating them from the 2009 NCAA Waco Regional.

The Ragin’ Cajuns and Wildcats were originally scheduled to play in the NFCA Leadoff Classic on Feb. 27, but inclement weather delayed Northwestern’s flight from Chicago and torrential rain\snow ended the Leadoff Classic early with the two teams failing to meet. Weather played a factor in the two teams meeting at the Regional as heavy rain postponed the start time from 4:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.

Donna Bourgeois picked up her 30th win of the season, tossing a complete game. The sophomore scattered six hits in 7.0 innings of work without allowing an extra base hit. Bourgeois fanned five batters in the contest and did not allow an earned run.

With the win, Bourgeois became the third different Ragin’ Cajuns pitcher to record 30 or more wins over the last three seasons. Brittany Cuevas set a freshman record with 31 wins in her rookie campaign in 2007 and Ashley Brignac duplicated the feat in 2008 with 31 wins of her own.

The Cajuns were the first to score a run as they took a 1-0 lead after one inning of play. Vallie Gaspard led off the inning with a walk. A wild pitch moved her to second base and with one out Melissa Verde walked to give UL a pair of base runners. Codi Runyan followed with a walk – the third of the inning. Christi Orgeron hit a ball to second base and the fielder opted to go home with the throw. Gaspard slid under the tag and gave the Cajuns the quick 1-0 advantage.

Louisiana added a run in the second inning. Kelly Cormier and Katie Smith led off the inning with back-to-back walks. A ground ball moved the duo into scoring position. A wild pitch scored Cormier from third and gave the designated home team a 2-0 advantage.

Northwestern cut the UL lead in half with an unearned run in the top of the fourth inning. The Wildcats’ leadoff batter reached base on a fielding error by the Cajuns. A single and a second error by Louisiana moved the lead runner to third base. A bloop single into shallow center field scored the runner. The Cajuns were able to halt the Northwestern threat with the lead, 2-1.

The Ragin’ Cajuns increased their lead back to two with a run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Smith walked to lead off the inning and moved to second base on a Gaspard sacrifice bunt. A wild pitch moved Smith to third base and Verde’s team-leading fifth sacrifice fly of the season scored the runner and gave UL a 3-1 advantage.

The Wildcats cut the lead back to just one with an unearned run in the top of the fifth inning. With one out, Bourgeois surrendered a walk for the first base runner of the inning. A single gave Northwestern runners on first and second with one out. The next batter beat out a ground ball, but a fielding error by the Cajuns allowed the lead runner to score and cut the UL lead to 3-2.

Louisiana kept Northwestern off of the scoreboard in the final two innings of play to secure the victory.

The Ragin’ Cajuns will continue play in the NCAA Waco Regional as they take on Texas State in an elimination game on Sunday afternoon at 12:30 p.m.


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