University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
Prairie View A&M
Cajuns Sweep Punchless Prairie View 10-1, 4-0
3/28/2004 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Friday, March 28, 2003
LAFAYETTE – The 25th-ranked Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns softball team ran its home winning streak to 10 games with a 10-1 (6 innings), 4-0 doubleheader sweep of Prairie View A&M here Friday afternoon at Lady Cajun Park.
Crystal George, Becky McMurtry, Jill Robertson and Joy Webre
each collected three hits as UL Lafayette outhit the
outmanned Panthers 20-8 for the day in the first-ever
meeting between the two schools. It was UL Lafayette's
second straight day of action – the Cajuns defeated No.
16 Alabama 2-0 Thursday night.
Louisiana-Lafayette wasted no time disposing the Panthers in the first game of the twinbill. The Cajuns racked up seven runs on eight hits in the first two innings – keyed by two-run home runs from McMurtry and Danyele Gomez and a 2-RBI double by Robertson.
That would be all the offense that senior pitcher Michael Parrott (6-0, 0.71 ERA) would need as she struck out a season-high eight hitters and allowed just four hits. The win was Parrott's 50th of her collegiate career (North Carolina and Louisiana-Lafayette). She also moved within 10 strikeouts of 400 in her career.
The Cajuns scored one run in the first inning on a Tiffany Grayson RBI single to left field. Grayson's single plated Robertson, who led off the first inning with a single through the left side, with her first of two runs in the game and gave 1-0 lead.
The flood gates opened on PVAMU starting pitcher Natalie Adamson in the bottom half of the second. Louisiana-Lafayette pushed across six runs in the inning off of four hits.
Freshman Leslie Pierce led off with a walk and was advanced to second on a grounder by Summar Lapyrouse. Lapeyrouse reached on a fielder's choice as Adamson elected to go for the force at second, but her throw was late.
Tiffany Hebert then grounded to second base advancing the runners to second and third. Robertson would plate both runners with a double placed down the left field line and the Cajuns led 3-0. It was Robertson's second double of the season and seventh extra-base hit.
McMurtry then launched a rocket shot that cleared the right field wall and landed in the tennis courts behind the field. The home run was the All-American third baseman's seventh of the season and increased Louisiana-Lafayette's lead to 5-0.
Gomez hit her team-leading ninth home run of the season two batters later to push the Cajuns lead to 7-0.
After three scoreless innings following the six-run second, freshman Brittany Bryant belted her fifth home run of the season in the sixth inning with a three-run home run to end the game with the count of 10-1. Bryant's blast into the left field bleachers came with no outs.
The run-rule win was the Cajuns seventh of the season. The three home runs increase the team total to 38 through 23 games.
Game two featured a pair of scoreless innings before the Cajuns scored the winning run.
A McMurtry RBI single in the third inning scored Lapeyrouse, with the winning run, who was pinch running for Pierce who led off the inning with a single through the left side.
The Cajuns would tack on two more runs in their next at bat. Webre began the Cajuns' half of the fourth with a double to left field. She was then brought home on a single into right field by George for a 2-0 lead. An unearned run by George, who moved to third on a passed ball, made it 3-0.
UL Lafayette's last run of the game was scored on a bloop single to shallow left center field by Lauren Castle. Castle scored pinch runner Tiffany Hebert who ran for George after she singled and advanced to second on a fielding error by PVAMU left fielder Kiksheina Woodson.
Afton Thoms picked up the win for the Cajuns. She improved to 5-1 on the season. Thoms fanned seven Panthers batters, allowed just four hits and walked none. The shutout was the first complete-game shutout of the redshirt freshman's young career and UL Lafayette's 11th of the season.
McMurtry ended game two 2-for-3 with an RBI and ended the twinbill 3-for-5 with one home run and three runs batted in. George was also 2-for-3 in game two and was also 3-for-5 on the afternoon with one RBI.
Webre was 3-for-6 with two doubles and raised her season batting average to .230. Robertson was also 3-for-6 with one double and two RBI.
The Cajuns will now enjoy the weekend off before returning to action on Wednesday, April 2 at 5 p.m. in a twinbill with in-state rival Louisiana-Monroe which will continue the current 16-game homestand.
Following the ULM twinbill, the Cajuns will begin defense of their back-to-back Sun Belt Conference regular season championships next Saturday and Sunday in a four-game set with Middle Tennessee at Lady Cajun Park.
-- Ragin' Cajuns --
