UL Softball Downs Texas St., Extend Conference Series Win Streak
The Sun Belt Conference series win streak continues for the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns.
14th-ranked Louisiana captured the rubber game of a three-game, weekend, Sun Belt Conference series, defeating the Texas St. Bobcats, 8-0, in six-inning mercy-rule fashion, at Yvette Girouard Field at Lamson Park on Sunday afternoon.
The two teams split a doubleheader on Saturday, with Texas St. winning the first game, 5-1, before Louisiana captured the second game, 7-3.
With the triumph on Sunday, the Cajuns extended their Sun Belt Conference series win streak to 62, a school and Sun Belt Conference record, as well as the longest current conference win streak in the nation, with a win in the series finale on Sunday.
Louisiana has not dropped a conference series since the weekend of St. Patrick's Day in 2013.
Louisiana jumped on top early, scoring a run on one hit in the bottom half of the first inning when Ciara Bryan began the frame with a walk, before stealing second, and then scoring on a single off the bat of Kaitlyn Alderink, which gave them a 1-0 lead.
The score stayed that way until the bottom half of the sixth inning when the Cajuns put the game away, scoring seven runs on seven hits, including a two-run home run by Ciara Bryan, which gave them the 6-inning, 8-0, mercy-rule win.
Louisiana, who outhit Texas St., 9-1, was led at the plate by Bryan, who went 2-for-2, including a run scored and a homer, while Alderink collected two hits and a run batted in.
In a losing cause for Texas St., Hannah Earls collected their only hit.
Summer Ellyson (15-4) recorded the win in the circle for the Cajuns, tossing a 6-inning one-hit shutout.
For Ellyson, it was her tenth-consecutive victory, as well as her 89th career triumph.
Jessica Mullins (14-5) suffered the loss for the Bobcats, allowing three runs on four hits over 5.0 innings.
With the victory, Louisiana improved to 34-7, overall, and 16-2 in Sun Belt Conference play, while Texas St. dropped to 27-8, and 9-5, respectively.
The Cajuns return to the diamond on Tuesday afternoon when they play host to Louisiana Tech in a non-conference contest, with first pitch scheduled for 4 p.m.