Lady Cajuns complete Saturday SWEEP of NMSU

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UL   Presley Askew Field   NMSU 8   Mercy RULES Lady Cajuns dominate in 5 innings   0

1 2 3 4 5 R H E Lady Cajuns 0 3 1 3 1 8 9 1 Lady Aggies 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 2

#8 Louisiana hits five home runs en route to 8-0 run-rule win

LAS CRUCES, N.M. - No. 8 Louisiana-Lafayette unleashed the lumber in the second game of its Sun Belt Conference-opening series with New Mexico State, crushing five home runs in posting an 8-0 run-rule win over the host-Aggies here Saturday afternoon at Presley Askew Field.

The Lady Cajuns got two RBI apiece from Ashley Evans and Joy Webre and ended the game win nine hits to earn the doubleheader sweep.

Brooke Mitchell and Heather Bobbitt combined for the five-hit shutout of the Aggies.

Mitchell tossed three innings, striking out five NMSU batters and allowing just two hits to pick up the win and improve to 28-3 on the season. Bobbitt pitched the final two innings and struck out four.

Five different players combined for the home runs as the Cajuns increased their season total to 59.

The win helped the Cajuns (34-4, 2-0 Sun Belt) complete the twinbill sweep. Earlier in the day, Mitchell fanned eight over five innings and the offense pounded out 10 hits in a 7-2 victory.

Louisiana extended its winning streak to six games and improved to 15-0 all-time versus New Mexico State.

A change in wind direction in the second inning worked in the Cajuns advantage as UL opened up a 3-0 lead. The wind shifted at the start of the inning, blowing straight out the park after coming in the first inning and much of the first game of the doubleheader.

Louisiana got back-to-back-to-back home runs with two outs in the second inning. Joy Webre, Lacey Bertucci and Tiffany Hebert each homered as the Cajuns grabbed the early lead.

Rain began to fall in the middle of the inning forcing a 1:40 rain delay.

The time off didn't seem to phase Mitchell who struck out the side in the Aggies half of the second inning.

NMSU starter Jennifer Bride ran into trouble in the third inning walking two Cajun batters. Webre made her pay, lifting a double over Veronica Owens in center field scoring Ashley Evans from second for a 4-0 lead.

Mitchell sat down the Aggies in order once more in the third. She would later be relieved by Heather Bobbitt in the fourth inning.

An error by NMSU shortstop Rose Tirre with two outs in the fourth led to three more runs by Louisiana. Danyele Gomez hit a high pop-up into shallow left field that Tirre dropped after tracking it down to keep the inning alive.

Tirre's error allowed Hillary Guidry to round third for the first of three unearned runs by the Cajuns in the inning. On the next at bat after the error, Evans crushed an offering from Bride and sent it deep over the left field wall for two more runs that made it 7-0.

The Cajuns were able to close out the game before regulation thanks in part to a Leslie Pierce solo home run to left center. Pierce's homer, the Cajuns fifth of the game, pushed the lead to eight runs and invoked the mercy rule.

The two teams will conclude the four-game Sun Belt series Sunday with a doubleheader slated for 1 p.m. (CT).

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Lady Cajuns roll over NMSU, record softball sweep

It was business as usual, with a new twist thrown in, as Louisiana swept its season-opening softball doubleheader 7-2, 8-0 over New Mexico State on Saturday in Las Cruces.

Junior All-American Brooke Mitchell was her usual powerful self, picking up both wins to improve to 28-3. She worked eight shutout innings, allowing three hits and striking out 13, with freshman Heather Bobbitt finishing up both games.

“Any time you can get a young pitcher some experience at the next level, it’s a good thing,” said UL coach Stefni Whitton, whose team improved to 34-4 overall.

“Heather had the opportunity to go in in conference play, feel some pressure and feel some relief. For her to get some innings in was huge.”

Also big was the hitting of shortstop Tiffany Hebert and Ashley Evans.

Hebert went 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBI, while Evans (2-for-6) cracked homers in both contests and drove in four in her first action since getting injured at the March 18-21 Kia Klassic.

“Tiffany never takes a pitch off,” Lotief said. “She’s always studying the pitcher, every single pitch.

“And, how nice for Ashley. What a comeback. She’s done everything she could to come back, and she’s still not 100 percent.

“Ashley has been swinging the bat good all year. One of her home runs was a mammoth shot on top of the batting cages. That’s incredible to me.”

The Cajuns and NMSU (9-32) meet again at noon today for two more games, weather permitting.

Saturday’s second game was delayed by rain in the third inning, and when play resumed the Cajuns slammed three straight home runs with a new wind at their backs to complete a rain-shortened, run-rule victory.

“They’re not used to rain around here,” Lotief said. “They had what we would consider a light rain, and now they’re an inch and a half over their average for the month . which is zero.

“We’re lucky it’s usually so dry around here, because the field took a lot of water and the crew did a good job getting it ready to play again.”

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Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com