University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
Southern Mississippi
Gomez and Mitchell Pace Cajuns Sweep of USM
3/9/2004 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Sunday, March 9, 2003
LAFAYETTE – Danyele Gomez continued her breakout freshman campaign, blasting three home runs and driving in nine runs and Brooke Mitchell tossed her first career no-hitter as Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns softball team cruised to a 4-0, 13-5 doubleheader sweep of Southern Mississippi here Sunday at Lady Cajun Park.
Gomez
was 3-for-3 with two home runs and six RBI in the second
game of the afternoon twinbill to pace the Cajuns
offense which belted five home runs in that game. The
Metairie native ended the afternoon 4-for-6 with nine
RBI and three home runs. She now has six homers this
season and 18 runs batted in and raised her team-leading
season batting average to .413.
UL Lafayette as a team concluded the day with seven home runs to run its season total to 29 home runs through 14 games for an average of 2.1 home runs per game. The Ragin' Cajuns have hit 22 home runs in their last seven outings. Louisiana-Lafayette is now on pace to hit 103 home runs which would easily shatter the school record of 76 set last season.
With the sweep the Ragin' Cajuns move to 12-2 on the season and tied their season high five-game win streak. UL Lafayette has won 10 of its last 11 and will conclude its current nine-game homestand Monday, March 10 at 3 p.m. against Boston University in a doubleheader. It will be the first meeting ever between the Cajuns and BU.
UL
Lafayette took game one of the twin bill behind the arm
of sophomore pitcher Brooke Mitchell (Pasadena,
Texas; Deer Park HS) and the bats of Danyele Gomez
and Becky McMurtry. Mitchell tossed her first
career no-hitter and Gomez and McMurtry each homered as
the Ragin' Cajuns posted a 4-0 victory over USM.
The Ragin' Cajuns jumped on the board early, plating three runs with one out in the first inning. After a Jill Robertson groundout, All-American third baseman Becky McMurtry (North Platte, Neb.; North Platte Senior HS) collected the Cajuns first hit of the afternoon with a double to the outfield wall in right center field. It was McMurtry's fifth double of the season and 28th as a Cajun.
Junior center fielder Tiffany Grayson (Spring, Texas; Spring HS) then drew a walk on the next at bat to give the Cajuns runners on first and second.
Freshman right fielder Danyele Gomez (Metairie, La.; Cabrini HS) brought home Louisiana-Lafayette's first runs of the afternoon with her fourth home run of the season. Gomez lifted a liner over the right center field wall off of USM starter Jessica Holaway for a 3-0 lead. Gomez increased her season RBI total to 12 with the three-run shot.
Holaway (3-8) settled down after the first inning allowing just two hits the rest of the way. One of those two hits was a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth inning from McMurtry that gave the Cajuns the final 4-0 margin. It was McMurtry's fifth home run of the season and in the last six games.
UL Lafayette would threaten to open up the game in the second inning. After Summar Lapeyrouse (Lafayette; Lafayette HS) grounded out to open the inning, Crystal George (Lafayette; St. Thomas More HS) hit a hard liner to third base for an infield single. The Cajuns would have runners on first and second after Robertson was hit by a pitch from Holaway.
USM escaped further damage in that inning as McMurtry fouled out to Golden Eagles first baseman Tammy Edwards and Grayson filed out to left field.
Mitchell (5-2, 1.06 ERA) was never threatened in her no-hit bid. She struck out five hitters and walked three and faced just one over the minimum. USM had a baserunner in the second inning with one out after a, but second baseman Ashley Davis lined into a double play to end the inning.
“The defense played solid and backed me up,” Mitchell said. “I never even noticed that there were no hits on the scoreboard until the final out was recording. I just took it one pitch at a time.”
“It was great to see Brooke (Mitchell) get back into the form in which she began the season with,” said head coach Stefni Lotief. “I thought she was mentally prepared for this game and as a result she went out there and helped us set the momentum for the afternoon.”
McMurtry ended the game 2-for-3 with two of the four Cajuns hits and scored two runs. Gomez was 1-for-3 with three runs batted in.
In game two, the Ragin' Cajuns rallied from a 3-0, first inning deficit to take a 13-5 five-inning, mercy-rule win over the Golden Eagles and sweep the doubleheader. It marks the second straight season that Louisiana-Lafayette has swept USM in a doubleheader and increased its series lead over the Golden Eagles to 32-3.
USM took a 3-0 lead in its first at bat when Sarah Boyd, the team's leading hitter, hit a three-run home run to right center field. Those were the first three earned runs scored this season off of pitcher Michael Parrott (Houston; Northshore HS). Parrott was then replaced by redshirt freshman Afton Thoms in the second inning.
The Cajuns would answer the Eagles challenge in their half of the first. Gomez hit a two-out, 2-run home run that bounced off of the scoreboard in right field. That was followed by a Joy Webre (Denham Springs, La.; Denham Springs HS) walk and an RBI triple by Brittany Bryant (Beaumont, Texas; West Brook HS) to score Webre and tie the game 3-3.
“They jumped on us early, but the girls fought back and responded to the challenge with three runs in the first (inning),” said head coach Stefni Lotief. “As a coach, that's when you know that your team is going to come back and fight from behind and answer the call.
“That's what championship teams are made of,” Lotief added. “This team is very special and they all can contribute - whether it be on the field or at the plate or in practices. We have a team concept of doing things and its that effort which makes us better day-in-and-day out. It's all about teamwork and not individualism.”
The Cajuns continued their response to USM's three-run first by taking the lead for good in the bottom of the third inning. Grayson led off with a triple and was brought home on a Gomez single and UL Lafayette led 4-3.
The Cajuns would push across two more runs when Webre skied a towering home run shot to the left field bleachers that put the Cajuns up 6-3. That home run chased USM starting pitcher Danielle Hatfield (1-1).
UL Lafayette struck for four more runs in the fourth inning to take a 10-3 lead. George led off the inning with a solo home run to left center between the light pole and the bleachers. It was George's first home run of the season.
After a McMurtry walk and Grayson double, Gomez went yard once more with her second home run of the game to push the lead to seven runs after four complete.
USM added two runs in the fifth inning when Ashley Brenan scored on a throwing error by Webre attempting to gun down Diane Hammes going for second base. Hammes rounded third on the next at bat when Auriel Jenkins doubled to right field over Natalie Hamby and the Cajuns lead was trimmed to 10-5
Robertson would jolt her fifth home run of the season in the Cajuns half of the fifth, a three-run job which put Louisiana-Lafayette on top 13-5 and ended the game in five innings by virtue of the eight-run rule after five innings. There were no outs when Robertson smashed her homer to left center field off of USM reliever Danielle Wymer.
Leslie Pierce and Crystal George both walked before Robertson stepped up to the plate and hit her game-ending three-run bomb.
“There were some hitters who did an astounding job out there today and some struggled,” Lotief said. “Tomorrow (against Boston University at 3 p.m.) we will see if those who did fare well today will come out and be ready to fight and compete.”
Grayson ended the second game 2-for-3 with a triple and a double while scoring two runs.
Thoms picks up the win in relief of Parrott and moves to 3-0 on the season. She went four innings and struck out six batters while allowing just four hits and two runs. Hatfield was saddled with the loss for the Eagles – her first loss of the season. Hatfield allowed six runs on seven hits in two innings.
-- Ragin' Cajuns --
