Softball Sun Belt Conference

No. 1 UL Lafayette Hits Four Home Runs to Defeat No. 5 Georgia State

No. 1 UL Lafayette Hits Four Home Runs to Defeat No. 5 Georgia State

SAN MARCOS, Texas – UL Lafayette hit four home runs to defeat Georgia State 10-2 in the opener of day two of the 2015 Sun Belt Softball Championship at Bobcat Softball Stadium in San Marcos, Texas.

Ivie Drake started the game with a solo home run for Georgia State in the top of the first, but the Panthers could not hold the lead for long. Sun Belt Player of the Year Lexie Elkins hit a two run home run in the bottom half of the inning to give the Ragin' Cajuns a lead they would not relinquish.

The Ragin’ Cajuns extended their lead to 4-1 on Haley Hayden’s RBI single in the second and D.J. Sanders’ solo shot in the third. UL Lafayette then pushed its advantage to 7-1 in the fourth on Hayden’s two-run homer and Elkins’ RBI groundout.

GSU pulled a run back in the top of the fifth. Taylor Bradley and Morgan Brown opened the frame with back-to-back walks. Then after two pop-ups, Drake singled to drive in Bradley.

UL Lafayette then scored twice in the bottom of the fifth to go ahead 9-2 after five. Leandra Maly and Sanders started the threat with singles. Pinch hitter Sara Corbello walked to load the bases. Maly scored on a passed ball and then Landry worked a walk to reload the bases. Elkins followed with a walk of her own to score Sanders. After the Panthers went down in order in the top of the sixth, Kelsey Vincent ended the game with a lead-off, walk-off homer in the bottom of the frame to clinch the 10-2 win.

Drake was 2-for-3 at the plate with a run scored and two RBI. The home run was the 22nd of the year for the Sun Belt Freshman of the Year. Taylor Thorpe took the loss as she gave up three runs in 1.1 innings of work. Chelsea Stanfield gave up six earned runs while working the final 3.2 innings.

Jordan Wallace pushed her record to 16-4 with Thursday's win. She pitched six innings while only surrendering three hits and two runs while striking out nine. Elkins finished 1 for 3 with 4 RBIs while blasting her 28th home run of the year. Hayden was 2 for 4 with 3 RBIs while Sanders scored three runs on two hits.

UL Lafayette will face the winner of the second game of the day between No. 2 South Alabama and No. 6 UL Monroe. Georgia State will play the loser of that game in an elimination contest. The Ragin' Cajuns will play at 2 p.m. CT on Friday afternoon on ESPN3 while the Panthers will be in action at 11 a.m. on ESPN3.