Saturday, May 21
Cajuns Championship Sunday Bound With Win Over Texas
LAFAYETTE – Paced by a 13-hit attack and Alex Stewart's steadiness in the pitching circle, No. 9 Ragin' Cajuns Softball defeated No. 25 Texas 9-1 in the winner's bracket final of the 2016 NCAA Softball Lafayette Regional at Lamson Park on Saturday in front of 1,709.
With the win, the Ragin' Cajuns (45-7) advanced to Championship Sunday of the regional tournament undefeated and now await the survivor of Saturday's elimination games to determine their opponent for Sunday's 3:30 p.m. championship game matchup.
"Our kids were not only just fighting a worthy opponent, they were grinding every pitch," Ragin' Cajuns Softball head coach Michael Lotief said. "What a great environment…our fans and this community are unbelievable. They fought with these kids every pitch and we're proud to represent them.
"We played a little better than we did yesterday," Lotief added. "Now we have to go get some rest and get this out of our heads because we know we're only halfway done. We need to keep our emotions intact and realize that we have to go back to war tomorrow."
Stewart scattered six hits over the first three innings, then kept the Longhorns (38-15) hitless during a key stretch of the game beginning in the fourth inning and lasting until a pair of hits with two outs in the seventh inning.
The 2016 Sun Belt Conference Pitcher of the Year did not yield a walk and extended her most recent string of consecutive scoreless innings pitched at Lamson Park to 31 innings before a two-out home run by Lindsey Stephens put Texas on the scoreboard in the seventh inning.
Senior and Lafayette area native Shellie Landry spearheaded the offense for Louisiana, finishing 3-for-5 at the plate with three RBI. Lexie Elkins went 2-for-5 with two RBI in collecting her first multiple-hit and multiple-RBI game since returning from her thumb injury.
The Ragin' Cajuns lit up the scoreboard in their first at bat. Haley Hayden led off with a single and later scored on a two-out, RBI single from Aleah Craighton.
Stewart held the momentum on the Ragin' Cajuns' side, posting a zero in the bottom of the first after being handed the lead.
A key defensive play executed by Landry, Elkins and Hayden, to retire Texas' Kelli Hanzel attempting to stretch a single into a double, held a Longhorns runner at third base in the second inning and prevented the visitors from forging a tie.
Landry followed up the key defensive play with a key moment at the plate in the top of the third inning. After a leadoff walk by Hayden, she rifled a line drive home run down the left field line to stretch the lead to 3-0. Landry's home run was the Ragin' Cajuns' 100th of the season marking the second straight season the club reached the century mark.
Tiarra Davis managed to hold the Longhorns' deficit at three runs through four complete innings, but the Ragin' Cajuns began to break free in the fifth inning.
A one-out single and patience at the plate which drew walks by Kelsey Vincent and Craighton loaded the bases in the fifth inning and DJ Sanders shoved an RBI single through the left side to extend the lead to 4-0.
Stewart, who was continuing to handcuff the Longhorns by holding them hitless since the third inning, was rewarded with ample insurance in the sixth inning.
Hayden reached on a one-out error and Landry followed with a single into right field. That set in motion a series of three runs pushed across by a double from Elkins who scored on a subsequent single from Vincent and the lead was stretched to 7-0.