#4 Louisiana-Lafayette 1, #1 Cal State Fullerton 0
FULLERTON, Calif. Going into the NCAA Regionals the Louisianas Ragin Cajuns softball coaching staff said it would take a couple of breaks in the Cajuns favor to go along with solid pitching and defense in order to reach the teams ultimate goal of another trip to the Womens College World Series.
No. 21 UL Lafayette received its first break, or bounce in their favor, here Friday afternoon as a high fly ball was misplayed and landed just inches inside the left field foul line to allow the Cajuns to score the eventual game-winning run in a 1-0 win over top seed Cal State Fullerton here at the Titan Softball Complex in the first game of the winners bracket in NCAA Regional No. 6.
The two-out fielding error provided the fourth-seeded Cajuns (45-8) with the one run that sophomore ace pitcher and 2003 Sun Belt Conference Pitcher of the Year Brooke Mitchell would need as she handcuffed the host-Titans to just two hits and tossed her second straight complete-game shutout and third in her last four outings.
"I guess the biggest thing is just 'Wow.'," said Cajuns head coach Stefni Lotief on one of the biggest wins of her head coaching career. "I think that was an awesome game played well by both teams. An inch here, an inch there; this is a game of inches and thank god today the inches went our way."
Mitchell (24-6) fanned 12 of the 23 batters that she faced and in the process became the single-season strikeout record holder with her eighth strikeout of the game which just so happened to be at the expense of CSF power-hitter, Big West Conference Player of the Year and Olympian Jenny Topping who entered the game with a .438 batting average.
Mitchell increased her season strikeout total to 261 which eclipses the old record of 256 set by Cheryl Longeway during the 1995 season a season in which the Cajuns advanced to the WCWS.
Mitchell has now gone 14 innings in the eight-team tournament and has surrendered just two hits and struck out 18 batters and walked none.
With the win the Cajuns move to 2-0 in NCAA Regional play for the first time since the 1999 season when then-USL marched its way to Sunday play unscathed.
Louisiana-Lafayette will now play No. 2 seed Oklahoma State, a 2-1 winner of Oregon Friday.
After going hitless in the top of the first the Cajuns finally broke through in the top of the second when Brittany Bryant ripped a one-out double to left center field. Two batters later, after Bryant advanced to third on a passed ball, Summar Lapeyrouse then hit a fly ball to left field that was misplayed by CSF left fielder Julie Watson allowing Bryant to score.
Should the Cajuns win they would advance to Sundays championship game at 3 p.m. (CDT). A loss Saturday would send the Cajuns into an elimination game at 6 p.m. (CDT).
Courtesy of UL Lafayette Media Relations