UL Softball Sweeps Doubleheader From Georgia St.
The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns continue to roll in Sun Belt Conference softball play.
16th-ranked Louisiana swept a doubleheader from the Georgia St. Panthers at Bob Heck Field in Decatur, Georgia on Friday. winning the first game, 10-2, before taking the second game, 4-0..
With the triumphs, the Cajuns extended their Sun Belt Conference series win streak to 60, a school and Sun Belt Conference record, as well as the longest current conference win streak in the nation.
Louisiana has not dropped a conference series since the weekend of St. Patrick's Day in 2013.
The doubleheader sweep over Georgia St. also extended UL's current win streak to nine games.
In the first game, Louisiana got on the scoreboard first, scoring a run in the top half of the first inning, courtesy of a clutch two-out single by Jade Gortarez, scoring Ciara Bryan, which gave them a quick 1-0 lead.
The Cajuns added two more runs in the top half of the third inning when Gortarez smashed a two-run home run, her fifth of the season, which extended their lead to 3-0.
UL pushed across three more runs in the top half of the fourth inning, including a solo homer by Sophie Piskos, her first collegiate hit, to extend the edge to 6-0.
Louisiana put the game away in the top half of the fifth inning, scoring four more runs, including back-to-back-to-back homers by Justice Milz, Julie Rawls, and Melissa Mayeaux, to make it 10-0.
The Panthers scored their only two runs of the game on a two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth by Alyssa Brumelow, but it was far too little and far too little, as Louisiana cruised to the 10-2 five-inning mercy-rule triumph.
Louisiana, who outhit Georgia St.,13-4, was led at the plate by Gortarez, who homered and drove in three runs, while Milz, Rawls, and Piskos also homered.
In a losing cause for Georgia St., Brumelow homered
Summer Ellyson (8-4) recorded the win in the circle for the Cajuns, her 82nd career victory, allowing two runs on four hits over 4.1 innings.
Elle Doolittle (0-2) suffered the loss for the Panthers, allowing seven runs on ten hits over 5.0 innings.
In the second game, Louisiana jumped on top early, scoring two runs in the top half of the first inning, scoring two runs on one hit, including an RBI single off the bat of Milz, which gave them a 2-0 lead.
The Cajuns added to their lead in the top half of the second inning when Bryan drove home Frankie Izard with a run-scoring single, extending their advantage to 3-0.
Louisiana added an insurance run in the top half of the sixth inning when Rawls belted a solo homer, her fourth of the season, to make it 4-0.
That would be all UL would need, as they went on to the 4-0 win, along with the doubleheader sweep.
Louisiana, who outhit Georgia St., 6-1, was led at the plate byTalley, who collected two hits, and Rawls, who homered.
In a losing cause for Georgia St., Sophie Monney collected their only hit.
Kandra Lamb (11-2) recorded the win in the circle for the Cajuns, tossing a one-hit shutout while striking out eight.
Sophie Mooney (4-6) suffered the loss for the Panthers, allowing four runs on six hits over 7.0 innings.
With the two victories, Louisiana improved to 24-6, overall, and 10-1 in Sun Belt Conference play, while Georgia St. fell to 12-17, and 0-9, respectively.
The two teams wrap-up their three-game series with a single game on Saturday, with first pitch scheduled for noon.