UL Softball Splits Pair In Louisiana Classics
The 8th-ranked Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns split a pair of games on Saturday, as they wrapped up their first weekend of play in the 34th Louisiana Classics at Yvette Girouard Field at Lamson Park.
Louisiana dropped their first game of the year, falling to the North Texas Mean Green, 2-1, in their first game of the day, before bouncing back to defeat the UTSA Roadrunners, 11-1, in 5-inning mercy-rule fashion, in their final game of the day.
With the split on Saturday, along with their two wins on Friday, the Cajuns moved to 3-1 on the young season.
In their first game, UL fell behind in the top half of the 4th inning, when North Texas scored an unearned run, courtesy of a Tayla Evans single, which drove home Lacy Gregory, giving the Mean Green a 1-0 lead.
The Cajuns tied things in the bottom half of the 4th, when Kaitlyn Alderink doubled with one out, before scoring on a one-out single by Alissa Dalton, to even the contest, 1-1.
The score stayed that way until the top half of the 7th, when North Texas scored on a pinch-hit home run by Kourtney Williams, giving them a 2-1 advantage.
Louisiana couldn't muster any traffic in the bottom half of the frame, as the Mean Green hung on for the 2-1 triumph.
North Texas, who outhit Louisiana, 5-4, was paced at the plate by Williams, who had the game-winning homer, while Dalton led UL in a losing cause, going 2-for-3 with a run batted in.
Hope Trautwein (1-1) recorded the win for North Texas, tossing 3.2 innings of scoreless relief, while Megan Kleist (1-1) was the tough-luck loser for the Cajuns, allowing only one earned run and striking out 11 batters, over 7 innings of work.
View the UL/North Texas boxscore.
In their second game of the day, Louisiana jumped out to a 3-0 lead over UTSA in the bottom half of the 3rd inning, courtesy of a two-out three-run homer off the bat of Julie Rawls, her first of the season, to give them a 3-0 advantage.
UL put the game away in the bottom half of the 5th inning, scoring 8 runs on four hits, with the highlight of the frame being a grand slam homer off the bat of Brittany Holland, her first of the season, to make it 11-0.
UTSA scored their only run of the contest in the top half of the 5th inning, when Riley Grunberg crushed a solo home run, to make it 11-1.
It wasn't nearly enough, however, as the Cajuns went on to the 11-1 victory, their second mercy-rule win over the Roadrunners in as many days.
Louisiana, who outhit UTSA, 7-1, was led at the plate by Rawls and Holland, who each homered and drove in four runs apiece.
Summer Ellyson (2-0) recorded the win in the circle for UL, allowing only one run on one hit, while fanning 8 over 4.2 innings of work, while freshman Erika Cortez (1-11) suffered the loss for the Roadrunners, allowing five runs on five hits over 3.2 innings pitched.
Louisiana returns to action on Tuesday evening, hosting Lamar in a non-conference tilt at 6 pm.