University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
NORTHWESTERN STATE
C
3/1/2004 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Saturday, March 1, 2003
Louisiana-Lafayette
vs. Northwestern State
LAFAYETTE
– Michael Parrott tossed 3 2/3 innings of scoreless
relief and Louisiana's Ragin' Cjauns softball team took
advantage of two
Northwestern
State
errors to take a 3-2 win over the Demons here Saturday
at Lady Cajun Park in game six of the 17th
Annual Louisiana Classics.
Parrott worked her way out of two bases-loaded jams to pick up her third win of the season and second in the tournament. She improves to 3-0 on the season and has yet to allow an earned run in 20 1/3 innings of work. Amanda Ortego (1-4) was saddled with the loss for NSU allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits in seven innings.
With the win, UL Lafayette moves to 2-1 in the weekend event and into a tie with McNeese State for first place. Northwestern State falls to 1-3 in tournament play and dropped its third straight after a 3-2 upset win over Notre Dame in the tournament opener on Friday.
The Cajuns took the early 1-0 lead in the second inning when freshman and Lafayette native Lauren Castle (Comeaux HS) ripped the first home run of her young career with a solo shot to left center field off of NSU starting pitcher Ortego.
Senior All-American third baseman Becky McMurtry put the Cajuns on the board once more in the third with a solo home run to left center. The home run was McMurtry's second of the season and in the tournament and gave UL Lafayette a 2-0 lead after 2 ˝ innings.
NSU pushed across its first run of the game its half of the third inning. Lindsey Danzy doubled to left field over a drawn in Cajuns outfield for the Demons first hit of the game of UL Lafayette starter Brooke Mitchell. Danzy was brought home on an RBI single to center field by Nicole Martin which cut the Cajuns lead to 2-1. The Cajuns avoided any further damage that inning as Martin was gunned down at second base by center fielder Tiffany Grayson for the final out of the inning.
The Demons would draw even the next inning when Cajuns catcher Joy Webre dropped an apparent third out allowing Ortego to score and tie the game at 2-2. UL Lafayette reliever Michael Parrott, who replaced Brooke Mitchell with one out, got Shay Hunt out on strikes and forced Lindsey Danzy to ground out to first to end the threat.
Louisiana-Lafayette would take the lead back for good in the top of the fifth. A two-out error by NSU third baseman Katrina Walker on a grounder to third by Joy Webre allowed Tiffany Grayson to score from second base.
Webre's grounder was picked up Walker who made a mental error by stepping on third base not realizing there was no force out on the play. Walker then hastily threw over to first base and misfired on the throw sending it sailing over first baseman Lindsay Leftwich's head allowing Grayson to round third and score and advance Webre to second.
Parrott would retire the Demons in order in the fifth and sixth innings and worked her way out of trouble after the Demons had loaded the bases in the seventh.
NSU's Krystle Nichols led off the bottom of the seventh and reached base on fielding error by McMurtry. McMutry came up to field a soft dribbler by Nichols and overran the ball allowing it to roll into left field. After Hunt flied out to center field, Danzy singled up the middle followed by a Sarina Nocak single through the left side and the Demons had the bases loaded with only one out.
Parrott would then get Nicole Martin to pop up to
Brittany Bryant at second base. McMurtry ended the game,
atoning for her error at the start of the inning, by
grabbing a grounder by Danzy and stepping on third base
for the final out.
Louisiana-Lafayette vs. Notre Dame
LAFAYETTE – Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns softball team received contributions from each spot in the lineup in posting a 5-3 win over Notre Dame in game 8 of the 17th Annual Louisiana Classics here at Lady Cajun Park.
Jill Robertson, Danyele Gomez and Brittany Bryant each were 2-for-4 and redshirt freshman Afton Thoms picked up the win in the circle as the Ragin' Cajuns (9-2) improved to 3-1 in tournament play and more importantly avenged an 8-5 loss to Notre Dame in 9 innings on Friday.
Notre Dame falls to 2-2 in tournament play and had its two-game winning streak snapped by the Ragin' Cajuns. On Friday, the Irish snapped UL Lafayette's 21-game Louisiana Classics winning streak. ND (5-6) must now win and hope for a Cajuns loss to McNeese State to have any shot at the tournament title.
After a scoreless first inning which saw the Cajuns strand one runner and the Irish strand three, Notre Dame cracked the runs column first when Nicole deFau hit a home run to left center for a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second.
It didn't take long for Louisiana-Lafayette to respond. The Ragin' Cajuns used the “long ball” to reclaim the lead for good. The Cajuns hit two homers in the third to take a 2-1 lead. UL Lafayette ended the game with three home runs and has hit 11 in four tournament games and 18 this season in 11 games.
Senior first baseman and Lafayette native Summar Lapeyrouse hit a monster home run to left field that was deposited over the bleachers and past the oak trees and the game was knotted 1-1. Fellow senior and All-American third baseman Becky McMurtry belted her third home run of the season and the tournament two batters later and the Cajuns were on top 2-1 after 2 ˝ innings of play.
Thoms retired the Irish in order in the bottom half of the third.
The Cajuns added to their lead in their next at bat, scoring two more runs in the fourth inning. After Gomez grounded out to third base to open the inning for Louisiana-Lafayette, catcher Joy Webre drew a walk. That was followed by a single to right center by Brittany Bryant.
Webre and Bryant were both advanced one base by a wild pitch from ND starting pitcher Heather Booth. Lauren Castle was the next batter for the Cajuns and she would draw another walk to load the bases right after Notre Dame head coach DeAnna Gumpf was tossed by home plate umpire Tony Terry for arguing balls and strikes.
After Castle's walk, Lapeyrouse was issued a free pass to score Webre and put the Cajuns up 3-1. The lead moved to 4-1 when sophomore left fielder Crystal George hit a single through the left side that played Bryant. George's hit chased Booth from the game and in came reliever Carrie Wisen. Wisen got Robertson to strike out looking to prevent any further damage.
The Irish had their chances in the final four innings but stranded six runners. ND pulled to within 4-2 in its half of the fourth when Andria Bledsoe scored. Bledsoe was on second and advance to third base when Liz Hartmann hit a single to center field. On the relay home, Webre picked up the ball and attempted to try to throw out Hartmann going to second. That's when Bledsoe took off from third and scored the Irish's second run of the game.
Robertson added an insurance run for the Cajuns in the sixth inning with a line drive home run over the outfield fence in left center field. It was Robertson's second dinger of the tournament and third of the season.
ND pulled closer in the seventh inning when Bledsoe hit a towering shot to dead center field to cut the lead to 5-3. It was Bledsoe's third home run of the tournament. Thoms would get Lisa Mattison to ground to Robertson for the final out.
Booth (4-3) who had stifled the Cajuns bats in Friday's come-from-behind win was roughed up for her first runs of the tournament. Booth allowed four Cajuns runs on five hits in 3 1/3 innings of work in the circle.
Lapeyrouse led all Cajuns with two RBI and she improved her tournament batting average to .417. Lapeyrouse is 5-for-12 with one home run, three doubles and three RBI.
-- Ragin' Cajuns --
