Lady Cajuns Bats Come to Life in Two Wins
The 19th ranked Ragin' Cajuns bounced back on their final day at the Judi Garman Classic, winning two contests. UL first dropped New Mexico, 8-4, then downed Long Beach 9-5 in their final game of the weekend in Fullerton, Calif.
The Cajuns bats came to life on Saturday as they scored 17 runs and pounded out 16 hits, including five home runs by four different players.
Ashley Brignac started both games for the Cajuns and picked up two wins with 22 strikeouts.
GAME ONE - Louisiana 8, New Mexico 4
The Ragin' Cajuns used a five-run sixth inning to take control of a back-and-worth contest as they downed New Mexico 8-4 in their first game of the night at the Judi Garman Classic in Fullerton, Calif.
Brignac (11-2) went the distance for the Cajuns, giving up four runs, two earned, with 13 strikeouts.
Gabriele Bridges had two hits, both home runs, for the Cajuns, adding up to three RBI. Nerissa Myers also had three RBI, all on one swing of the bat. The Cajuns as a team pounded out eight hits. The two home runs by Bridges marked the eighth multi-home run game of the season for a Cajun, and the fifth for Bridges.
The Lobos (12-12) would get on the board first with three runs in the fourth inning, starting with a solo home run by Stefanie Carramusa. Jessica Garcia then hit a single and advanced to second on a Cajun error. She would then score thanks to two illegal pitch calls to give New Mexico a 2-0 lead.
Danielle Castro, who reached first on the earlier error and advanced to third on the two illegal pitches, scored on an RBI single to make the score 3-0.
The Cajuns would get one run back in their half of the fourth inning. Gabriele Bridges led off the inning with her 14th home run of the season. The opposite field, solo shot lifted her into fourth place on the Cajuns career home runs list with 58 career long balls, and made the score 3-1.
Bridges struck again in the fifth inning, this time a two-run shot pulled the Cajuns even at 3-3. The blast scored Bridges and Katie Smith who had earlier singled.
The Lobos retook the lead in the sixth inning, thanks to three singles, the third of which barely got passed the outstretched glove of Megan Granger at third base. That third single scored one run and gave New Mexico a 4-3 lead.
UL would take control of the game in the bottom of the sixth inning with five runs to take an 8-4 lead. Paige Cormier and Erikka Murphy led off the inning with singles. Cormier scored when the Lobo's left fielder dropped a pop up off of Jennifer Martin's bat, tying the game at 4-4.
Murphy then beat out a throw to the plate on a fielder's choice by Sarah Draheim to put UL in front 5-4.
That score chased New Mexico starter Kari Gutierrez (5-5) for Kaela DeBroeck. She walked Brianna Cherry to start her outing, loading the bases. However, Smith reached on a fielder's choice in which two Cajuns where retired, leaving two Cajuns on base with two outs.
Nerissa Myers then added all the insurance runs that the Cajuns would need, hitting her first home run of the year, a three-run shot over the right field fence, giving the Cajuns an 8-4 lead.
Brignac struck out the side in the seventh to seal the victory.
GAME TWO - Louisiana 9, Long Beach State 5
The Cajuns used a lot of early offense, including a grand slam, to take their Judi Garman finale from Long Beach State, 9-5.
Brignac (12-2) picked up her second win of the day, giving up five runs, four earned, on eight hits with nine strikeouts.
The Cajuns posted eight hits in the contest, with Murphy getting two and six different players picking up one. Martin recorded four RBI for UL
The 49ers (17-10) pushed across the first run of the game in the second inning. Nalani St. Germain walked to lead off the inning and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. She scored on a two-out, RBI single by Caitrin DeBaun to give Long Beach a 1-0 lead.
UL pulled even in the bottom of the inning when Draheim hit a one-out, solo home run, her fourth home run of the season.
The Cajuns would break the game wide open, exploding for five runs in the third inning to make the score 6-1. Myers led off the inning with a single and moved to second base on a walk to Bridges. Christi Orgeron then drove in Myers with an RBI single to right center.
After a Cormier single loaded the bases, Martin hit her first career home run, a grand slam that gave the Cajuns a 6-1 lead. The four-run shot chased Brooke Turner (6-3) and brought on Taylor Petty, who retired the next three Cajuns to get the 49ers out of the jam.
Long Beach got one run back in the fourth inning when St. Germain hit her fifth home run of the year, a solo shot that made the score 6-2.
The 49ers would make it a game with three runs in the fifth inning. They led off the inning with two singles and put runners on the corners with a deep fly out to center field. Both runners then scored on a single coupled with a UL throwing error to make the score 6-4.
A wild pitch moved another runner to third base where a ground out allowed her to score and bring Long Beach State within one at 6-5.
The Cajuns would get some much needed insurance runs in the bottom of the inning, plating three runs, all with two outs, with just one hit, but five Long Beach walks and an error. Gabriele Bridges got the only RBI of the inning for UL when she drew a bases loaded walk after two runs had already scored.
Martin and Granger had previously scored when Erikka Murphy got an infield single and forced an errant throw thanks to her speed down the baseline. The two runs were unearned at the time, but the multiple walks turned them into earned runs on Petty's record.
The five walks chased Petty in favor of Erin Jones-Wesley who pitched the sixth inning for the 49ers
The Cajuns conclude the 2011 Judi Garman Classic with a 3-2 record. They return to action next week when they host Sun Belt foe Troy at Lamson Park on Saturday and Sunday.
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