University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
BOSTON UNIVERSITY (DH)
Cajuns Remain Hot, Dominate Boston University In Pair of Mercy-Rule Routs
3/10/2004 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Monday, March 10, 2003
LAFAYETTE – Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns softball team ran its season-high winning streak to seven games with a pair of 8-0 mercy-rule wins over Boston University here Monday afternoon at Lady Cajun Park in the final game of the Cajuns current nine-game homestand.
UL Lafayette (14-2) took advantage of the home run in the first game and capitalized on BU miscues and choice to work around hitters in the second game to take the doubleheader in the first-ever meeting between the two schools. The Cajuns won game one in six innings and game two in five.
The Ragin' Cajuns swept their seventh straight twinbill dating back to last season and have now won three straight games by the eight-run mercy rule. UL Lafayette has collected six run-rule wins out of 16 games this season and has outscored the opposition 105-27.
The Cajuns, who played their final home game until March 27 when Alabama comes to town, now head for Fullerton, Calif., for the 2003 Kia Klassic. Louisiana-Lafayette will leave on Wednesday and open play on Thursday at 1 p.m. (CST) against Long Beach State. Louisiana-Lafayette will also face 2002 World Series finalist Arizona and semifinalist Florida State in Pool D play before bracket play begins Fiday evening.
In game one, Brooke Mitchell and Michael Parrott combined for a one-hit shutout of the Terriers (0-5) – who were playing for the first time since Feb. 15. The Cajuns offense was guided by three home runs hit by Lauren Castle (Lafayette; Comeaux HS), Danyele Gomez (Metairie; Cabrini HS) and Joy Webre (Denham Springs; Denham Springs HS).
Gomez got the Ragin' Cajuns rolling in their half of the first when she laced a three-run home run off of the scoreboard in right field for a quick 3-0 lead. It was her team-leading seventh round tripper and her third three-run home run in the last two days (she hit two three-run homers against Southern Mississippi Sunday). The Cabrini High School standout has crushed four home runs in the last four games and driven in 21 runs. She has hit seven home runs which is five shy of the school record for homers by a freshman.
Webre made BU pitcher Tiffany Finateri pay for pitching around Gomez in the third inning. The Denham Springs native lifted a towering home run over the left field wall and into the bleachers and UL Lafayette lead 6-0. Both All-American Becky McMurtry and Gomez were on base after Finateri worked around them. It was Webre's fourth home run of the season which ties her single-season career high.
“They challenged our big hitters in the first game and we made them pay with some huge hits,” said head coach Stefni Lotief said. “Then they pitched around them later in the game and we made them pay once more as other hitters in the lineup stepped up and answered the call.”
“It's impressive to watch different girls in our lineup step up and come up with the big hits and rise to the occasion each game,” Lotief said. “Boston (University) is a good team, they were picked to win their conference and they won it last season. It was impressive for us to come out and run rule them in both games today and just totally dominate them in all facets of the game.”
The Cajuns added one more run in the fourth inning when McMurtry singled through the left side of the infield to score Summar Lapeyrouse. Louisiana-Lafayette's lead was 7-0 after four complete.
Freshman Lauren Castle ended the game early as she led off the Cajuns half of the sixth inning with a solo home run that sailed deep over the outfield fence in left center field. It was Castle's third home run of the season and the Cajuns third of the game. UL Lafayette has now hit three home runs in a game seven times in 15 games this season.
Mitchell picked up the win for the Cajuns improving her season record to 6-2. She fanned seven hitters and walked just one of the 14 batters she faced. It was the Cajuns seventh shutout of the season and Mitchell and Parrott's second combined shutout. Parrott tossed the final two innings allowing no hits and striking out two while lowering her season ERA to 0.77.
BU's lone hit of the first game was a hard liner to short that glanced off the glove of UL Lafayette shortstop Jill Robertson and into center field.
In game two, the Cajuns used a five-run third inning to break open a 1-0 game. The big hit of the inning was a huge grand slam by freshman Brittany Bryant that landed over the left field fence. Bryant's monster slam came after BU pitcher Erin McDonald pitched around Webre who had hit a three-run shot in the first game.
Bryant's blast gave the Cajuns a 6-0 lead after three complete and was UL Lafayette's fourth home run of the day giving them 33 for the season through 13 games. The Cajuns are on pace to blast 102 home runs this season which would easily shatter the school record of 76 set last season.
The Cajuns would push across two more runs in the bottom of the fourth when McMurtry scored on a wild pitch and then Gomez scored a passed ball after a Lauren Castle strikeout.
Senior pitcher Rachel Reese, who has been accepted into medical school, pitched the fifth inning to close out the second run-rule win of the day for the Cajuns.
Redshirt freshman Afton Thoms picked up her fourth win of the season and her first combined shutout. The Cajuns were limited to just three hits in the game, but BU pitchers issued nine walks as they worked around the Cajuns top hitters.
“It seemed as though they picked their poison,” Lotief said. “They either challenged our top hitters and they hit home runs off of them or they pitched around the top hitters and the ones behind them in the lineup made them pay.”
With the win in game two, UL Lafayette ran its season-high winning streak to seven straight games.
“This team is capable of doing great things when it's firing on all cylinders,” Lotief said. “We have shown that we will come out and challenge the pitchers and that we are capable of run-ruling anyone.
“The competition will be a lot tougher at the Kia Klassic,” Lotief mentioned. “But, this team is challenged by its own goals and standards and we won't play the game any differently. We will fight each pitch of the game and let the chips fall where they may.”
-- Ragin' Cajuns --
