University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
Oklahoma State
Cajuns One Win Away From WCWS Appearance, Top OSU 1-0 to Advance to Championship Sunday
5/17/2004 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Saturday, May 17, 2003
FULLERTON,
Calif. – Junior shortstop Jill Robertson drove a one-out
double into deep right field in the top of the seventh
inning and later scored on a wild pitch with two outs as
the 21st-ranked Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns softball team
defeated No. 13 Oklahoma State 1-0 here Saturday
afternoon at the Titan Softball Complex in NCAA Regional
No. 6 action.
With the win, fourth-seeded UL Lafayette (46-8) moved within one win of reaching the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City for the first time in the Stefni Lotief era and first time ever since 1996 and advanced to championship Sunday for the 10th time in program history.
The Ragin' Cajuns will now face the winner of the Oklahoma State-Oregon elimination game, which followed right after the Cajuns 1-0 win over OSU, Sunday at 3 p.m. (CDT) with a trip to the WCWS on the line.
UL Lafayette would have to be beaten twice for either OSU or Oregon to advance to the WCWS.
UL Lafayette will be in the championship game of a regional for the second time under Lotief – the last time coming in 2001 when the Cajuns fell to arch-rival Louisiana State 2-1.
UL Lafayette will enter Sunday's play unbeaten in regional action for the first time since 1999 when the Cajuns were playing in Amherst, Mass. Louisiana-Lafayette would lose twice to California and fall short of a WCWS berth that year.
UL Lafayette will be seeking to exorcise the demons of 1994, 1997 and 1999 – all years in which the Cajuns needed to win just once to advance to the WCWS and lost twice.
The last time the Cajuns won a regional championship was in 1996 when then-USL downed in-state rival Nicholls State 2-1 on May 19, 1996 to advance to the WCWS for the third time in program history. That also happened to be the last time a Cajuns team swept through an NCAA Regional undefeated.
Saturday's
game saw another brilliant pitching performance from UL
Lafayette sophomore ace and 2003 Sun Belt Conference
Pitcher of the Year Brooke Mitchell.
The Pasadena, Texas, native struck out 10 batters and allowed just one hit over seven innings in picking up her third win of the tournament and her sixth complete-game one-hitter of the season.
Through 21 innings at the NCAA Regional No. 6 in Fullerton, Mitchell has fanned 28 batters, limited the opposition to just three hits (two Top 20 teams) and has held those opponents to a .045 batting average while walking none.
Mitchell faced only two batters over the minimum and allowed only two baserunners to the Cowgirls (39-14).
UL Lafayette stranded eight baserunners through the first six innings and was never able to get a lead runner for senior All-American third baseman Becky McMurtry to create damage.
All changed for the Cajuns in the top half of the seventh.
After Crystal George struck out looking, Robertson picked up her second hit of the tournament with a one-out double that just missed clearing the outfield fence for a home run.
Robertson motored her way around first for a stand-up double and a runner on base for McMurtry.
McMurtry did not bring Robertson home, but her grounder to OSU second baseman Calli Behmer advanced Robertson over to third with two outs.
That advancement by McMurtry would prove to be detrimental for the Cowgirls as on the next at bat OSU starting pitcher Lauren Bay issued a wild pitch that got past catcher Ryan Realmuto and rolled to the backstop allowing Robertson to race over home plate untouched with what proved to be the winning run.
Bay would get Danyele Gomez looking on strikes, but the damage was done and Mitchell was provided with the one run that she needed for another shutout victory.
Louisiana-Lafayette put its flawless defense to work in the bottom of the seventh to retire the side in order.
Mitchell threw out the first batter when she snagged a bouncing grounder off the bat of Megan Carey and threw to Summar Lapeyrouse at first for the first out of the Cowgirls seventh.
McMurtry,
who advanced Robertson into scoring position in the top
of the seventh, would then make a diving snag and get
her glove on a sinking line drive by Realmuto just
before the ball hit the ground for the second out.
And to put a perfect ending to the game, Robertson scooped up a grounder by Brooke Siebel and made the routine throw to her best friend – Lapeyrouse – standing over at first base to put the finishing touches on another picture perfect pitching performance by Mitchell.
The Cajuns had their chances early in the ball game stranding runners in the first, second and third innings. McMurtry hit her 16th double of the season, a well hit ball deep into the left field corner, with one out in the third but was stranded.
The Cowgirls never threatened as no one runner advanced past first base. Mitchell had a no-hitter through 3 2/3 innings until Carey lifted a single up the middle in the bottom of the fourth.
OSU's would not get another hit the rest of the game and their lone other baserunner was Crystal Lee who was hit by a pitch in the fifth inning with one out.
Mitchell picked up the win for the Cajuns and improved her season record to 25-6. Her 10 strikeouts extended her school single-season record to 271. The win was also her third over ranked team this season and the shutout was her 11th and third of a Top 20 team. Mitchell lowered her season ERA to 0.76.
Mitchell extended her streak of consecutive innings without allowing an earned run to 41 2/3 innings. The last time she allowed an earned run was on Saturday, May 3 at Western Kentucky.
Bay suffered the loss for OSU as she fell to 26-9 on the season. She surrendered five hits and struck out 10. The run scored on the wild pitch was an earned run charged to Bay.
UL Lafayette collected its ninth straight win overall and 31st in the last 34 games.
The shutout was the Cajuns 27th as a team and third straight. The three consecutive shutouts in NCAA Regional play is also a new school record.
UL Lafayette has never gone through a regional without allowing a single run.
The Cajuns improved to 4-2 this season against ranked teams and won their fourth straight over such foes.
UL Lafayette will see its third straight ranked opponent Sunday as OSU is ranked 13th and Oregon 18th.
Sunday's championship game will begin at 3 p.m. (CDT) and should a second game be necessary it would begin at approximately 5:30 p.m. (CDT).
Louisiana-Lafayette needs just one win to clinch its fourth trip to the Women's College World Series in program history and first since 1996.
-- Ragin' Cajuns --
