Louisiana Softball Eliminated by ULM

(LAFAYETTE, La.) - The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns softball season came to a close Thursday at Yvette Girouard Field at Lamson Park, falling 3-0 to top-seeded ULM in the quarterfinal round of the 2026 Sun Belt Conference Softball Championship. With the loss, Louisiana's season ended with a record of 29-27 overall.

Pitchers Controlled the Early Innings

It was a pitching battle for four and a half innings, with neither side scoring and the Cajuns allowing just one hit through the first four. ULM pitcher Ashanti McDade was dominant throughout, allowing just four hits and no walks on 89 pitches while striking out two in a complete-game shutout, forcing 13 groundouts through the first four and a half innings alone.

ULM Takes the Lead in 5th Inning

The Warhawks broke through in the bottom of the fifth. ULM put runners on the corners on a leadoff infield single and a reached-on-error, then loaded the bases before Carys Platt beat a throw home on a fielder's choice for the game's first run. A sacrifice fly by Hollie Thomas made it 2-0. Louisiana put two runners on with two outs in the sixth but couldn't convert, and ULM added an insurance run in the bottom half when Meagan Brown drove a ground ball into center field to score Elle Carter from second.

Louisiana began the tournament with a 5-0 win over Troy on Wednesday, but couldn't carry the momentum into the quarterfinal.