BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Led by the bat of senior Melissa Verde and the arm of Donna Bourgeois, Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns softball team completed a three-game sweep of Western Kentucky on Sunday with a 6-2 win.

Verde finished the day 2-for-3 with two home runs, two runs scored and three RBI.

Bourgeois (9-7, 2-0 SBC) threw a complete-game, allowing just four hits. In seven innings of work, she struck out six and walked just one. WKU’s first hit came from the leadoff batter in the first inning. The next hit would not occur until the sixth inning with two outs.

The win gives the Cajuns a perfect 3-0 record to start Sun Belt play. Overall, UL has a record of 19-11.

Western Kentucky falls to 18-12 and 2-7 in the league.

Verde was the first Cajun to light up the scoreboard with a solo home run to right center field in the top of the first. It was the senior’s second of the season. When scoring first, UL is 15-3 on the year.

But one hit and a fielding error on Britni Soria in the bottom of the first frame allowed WKU to knot the game at 1-1.

However, Soria found redemption in the next inning. With Lana Bowers on third, Soria hit a shallow fly ball to left field that fell in no man’s land. Bowers crossed the plate to put the Cajuns back in front, 2-1.

UL’s lead continued to grow in the third inning. With one out, Erikka Murphy reached base on a single. In the very next at bat, Verde sent another shot over the right field wall for her second home run of the afternoon.

To stem the tide, WKU called for a pitching change, ending Dana Nathanson’s afternoon. Reliever Kim Wagner proceeded to load the bases full of Cajuns after a walk and back-to-back singles. But with two outs, the Cajuns were unable to extend the lead, hitting into a ground out to end the frame with a 4-1 lead.

UL’s offensive production then began to settle down over the next three innings. The Cajuns only recorded two hits and put four runners on base from the third inning to the sixth.

WKU made a late charge with a solo home run by Mallorie Sulaski.

But UL’s bats came back to life in the top of the seventh to secure the win. A sacrifice fly from Lana Bowers scored Paige Cormier from third and allowed Gabriele Bridges to move to third after reaching second on a base hit. Bridges then scored on a two-out, RBI-single from Nerissa Myers.


The Cajuns scattered 11 hits on the day with Bridges and Myers posting two hits along with Verde.

On Tuesday, the Cajuns will step out of conference play for a mid-week double header against Houston. First pitch against the Cougars is set for 4 p.m. CT. Earlier this season at the Houston Marriott Invitational, UL fell to Houston, 1-2, in eight innings.



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