Leads Hold as Cajuns and Bears Split Twinbill
WACO, Texas – Both the No. 4-ranked Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns softball team and No. 19 Baylor made leads that they attained stand and split a doubleheader on Tuesday evening at Getterman Stadium.
Baylor (27-7) picked up two runs in the third inning of Game 1 on a double from Shelby Friudenberg and Heather Stearns protected the 2-0 lead as the Bears triumphed in the opener.
Louisiana (26-3) used a two-out grand slam in the fifth inning of Game 2 to end a scoreless duel between Alex Stewart and Kendall Potts, then Stewart stranded the tying run in the sixth and seventh as the Ragin' Cajuns won the nightcap 4-3.
No. 4 Louisiana returns to Lamson Park this weekend for a Sun Belt Conference series vs. Texas State scheduled for Saturday-Sunday, April 2-3. The Ragin' Cajuns and Bobcats will play a 2 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday and 1 p.m. single game on Sunday.
Stearns and Stewart set the tone in the opener by each working a quick 1-2-3 frame in the first inning. Stearns wound up facing the minimum the first time through the Cajuns lineup.
BU got a leadoff single in the second inning, but Stewart induced back-to-back fly outs followed by a lineout to strand the runner and keep the contest scoreless.
For the second straight inning the Bears' leadoff batter would reach after Robin Landrith opened the bottom of the third with a single up the middle. This time the hosts would capitalize.
Kyla Walker followed with a single to left field, then with one out Ari Hawkins laid down a bunt single to load the bases. Friudenberg followed with a bloop double into right field – just out of the reach of Haley Hayden diving for the ball – which plated two runs giving BU an early 2-0 lead.
Stearns made the lead stand for the Bears with assistance from her defense in the fourth inning. Hayden led off with a double and was thrown out from center field by Jessie Scroggins attempting to score on a single by Lexie Elkins.
Stewart matched her in the circle, tossing zeroes over BU's final three at bats.
A pinch hit single by Taylor Terrio in the sixth and leadoff single by Elkins in the seventh gave Louisiana traffic late in the contest. Each time, Stearns escaped and closed by retiring three straight, two by strikeout, in the seventh.
The loss marked the first defeat of the season for Stewart, bringing her undefeated start to a close at 12 games.
The string of scoreless frames that closed out Game 1 continued through the first four innings of the nightcap as Stewart and Baylor's Kendall Potts took turns hanging zeroes on the scoreboard.
The Ragin' Cajuns, who had a near miss at scoring in the second inning after runners reached second and third with one out, ended the scoreless duel in the fifth inning on the two-out grand slam by Vincent.
The Bears picked up two runs in the bottom of the fifth on a bases-loaded single and sacrifice fly. With runners at second and third base, Stewart struck out Friudenberg swinging to end the threat and leave the tying run in scoring position.
Stewart went back to the strikeout to protect the lead in the sixth inning. The Bears scratched a run on a misplayed grounder by Hayden trimming the Cajuns lead to 4-3. After the tying run moved to third base on the miscue, she fanned Walker for the final out to strand the tying run in scoring position once again.
----------
Trojans Take Two from Kennesaw State
TROY, Alabama – The Troy softball team bounced back on Tuesday night at the Troy Softball Complex taking a doubleheader from Kennesaw State, winning 6-2 in game one and 8-2 in game two.
TROY 6, KENNESAW STATE 2
Troy (23-10) defeated Kennesaw State, 6-2, to start the day. Erica Davis led the way at the plate with two hits and two RBIs. Kate Benton, Hannah Day, Amanda Winters and Khadija Neely all contributed with a hit each.
The Trojans got on the board first with two runs in the third inning when Day blasted her 14th home run of the season over the left center wall and scored Davis, upping Day's nation-leading RBI total.
Troy would add four more runs in the fourth. Davis singled through the right side to bring Carli Kayler and Leah Brundidge around for the first two runs of the inning. Benton capitalized on a throwing error by the catcher to score the third run and Winters hit a sacrifice fly to score Davis for the final run of the inning, making the score 6-1.
Senior Ashley Rainey (12-8) picked up her 12th win of the season in the circle tossing 4.1 innings and giving up only two runs. Meg Willis came in relief out of the bullpen and didn't let a run cross the plate.
Kennesaw State (20-13) came out swinging and had 10 hits in the first game but could only push two runs across the plate. The Owl's first run came in the fourth off the bat of Kara Chambers when she tripled to right center and scored Taylor Denton. Troy helped the Owls get their final run of the game on a fielding error in the fifth inning.
Monica Vickery (3-5) took the loss for the Owls giving up six runs on six hits.
TROY 8, KENNESAW STATE 2
Freshman Claire Graves (5-1) went the distance and pitched a phenomenal game to pick up her fifth win of the season, tossing her first career complete game. She didn't give up a hit until the sixth inning and gave up only three on the night.
Benton, Stephanie Snyder and Kayler all had two-hit games and led the Trojans offensively. Davis, Day, Heather Johnston and Neely all had one each.
Troy jumped to an early 2-0 lead in the first when Davis doubled to right field and brought Benton around for the first run. Day came up to bat next and singled through the right side to push Davis across the plate.
The Trojans added single runs in the second and fifth innings and plated four more in the sixth. Day reached on a fielder's choice that brought Kayler around for the score, moving Day to 52 RBI. Winters was up next and grounded out to first, but still pushed speedy Benton across the plate. Neely got her first hit of the game with a single to left center that scored Jordan Gray and Day to clinch the 8-2 victory.
Kennesaw State didn't have an answer for Graves' pitching until the sixth and seventh innings. Taylor Denton hit a sacrifice fly to bring Kate Cannington around for the Owls' first run of the game. The final run came off the bat of Megan Veringa when she singled to center field and scored Lauren Bennett.
Jenna Kniss (0-2) suffered the loss in the circle for the Owls. She gave up six runs on eight hits and walked five batters.
The Trojans will be back in action this weekend when they travel to Columbia, S.C., to take on SEC opponent South Carolina for a pair of games. The first game will be on Saturday with a 2 p.m. CT start time and the final game will be Sunday starting at 12 p.m. CT
----------
ULM Bests Huskies in 11-6 Slugfest
HOUSTON – The ULM softball squad was powered by three homers in an 11-6 victory over Houston Baptist Tuesday at Husky Field.
Freshman Sydney McKay ignited the ULM (17-16) offense with a two-RBI single in the top of the third which scored junior Rochelle Roberts and senior Faith Bohack.
After the Huskies (10-16) scratched a run in the bottom half, the Warhawks struck for three more in the next half inning. Freshman pinch runner Victoria Pederson scored on a throwing error from Husky catcher Caitlin Gunn and Roberts hit a sacrifice fly down the left-field line that scored junior Sidney Coy who advanced to third on Gunn’s error. Bohack followed that up with a solo homer, her sixth of the season, to right center which extended ULM’s lead to 5-1.
Senior Amye Barre and junior Vanessa Garcia during the Warhawks’ six-run fifth. Roberts followed Coy’s single with an RBI double off of the fence in left-center field. Roberts then advanced to third on a passed ball and scored on a Husky throwing error to make it 10-1. Bohack also scored later in the inning on a passed ball which extended ULM’s advantage to 11-1.
While the Warhawks had a prime opportunity to finish after five innings, HBU had other ideas as a Shay Orsak RBI single and Laci Belovsky grand slam extending the game as the Huskies pulled within five at 11-6. Sophomore Paige Porter retired the next five batters and after back-to-back hits forced Brooke Bushman to fly out which ended the game.
Bohack led the Warhawks offensively with three hits while Coy and Roberts had two each. Junior Melanie Coyne (11-12) earned the win after allowing three runs (all earned) on five hits thru four innings, striking out four batters in the process. Porter earned the first save of her career after effectively pitching for three innings.
The Warhawks will finish their Texas road swing tomorrow at Sam Houston State with a 3 p.m. doubleheader.