University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
No. 18 Oregon
Cajuns Will Be Dancing In Oklahoma City, UL Lafayette Advances To Fourth WCWS
5/18/2004 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Sunday, May 18, 2003
No. 21 Louisiana-Lafayette (47-9) will be headed to the WCWS in Oklahoma City for the first time under head coach Stefni Lotief and the first time since 1996 when then-USL finished fifth.
It will be the fourth appearance ever for the storied program adding to appearances in 1993, 1995 and 1996.
It will also be the first appearance ever for a team affiliated with the Sun Belt Conference.
UL Lafayette will face No. 3 national seed University of Texas (47-7) on Thursday, May 22, 2003, in the opening round of the WCWS at the ASA Hall of Fame Softball Stadium in Oklahoma City.
“It's a real good feeling,” said Cajuns head coach Stefni Lotief. “This has been a great year for these young ladies, and what a special group of young ladies to come together and find a way to always win."
With Sunday's second game win the Cajuns also made history marking the first time that a Cajuns team had gone into championship Sunday undefeated and come away with a berth to the WCWS. UL Lafayette's 6-4 win was its first in an if necessary game in four attempts.
With their backs up against the wall after a 9-2 loss in the first game of the day and the removal of ace pitcher Brooke Mitchell with what appeared to be arm ailments in game one casting doubts in their minds, the Cajuns team seemed to be energized with the return of Mitchell to the circle and wasted no time in making a statement in game two.
"I didn't have to get them pumped up for the second game,” Lotief remarked. “They we're totally ready to go. It doesn't come from us (coaching staff), it comes from within themselves."
Lafayette native and Acadiana High School product Jill Robertson got the Cajuns going with a solo home run deep over the center field wall for a quick 1-0 lead. The home run was Robertson's first of the tournament and 11th of the season.
After a McMurtry fly out, freshman Danyele Gomez reached base on a fielding error by Oregon second baseman Erin Goodell. Catcher Joy Webre made the Ducks pay when she ripped a one-out double into the left center field gap that scored Gomez from first for a 2-0 lead.
After Oregon starting pitcher Amy Harris issued a walk to Brittany Bryant, UO head coach Kathy Arendsen opted for the pitching change and went with reliever and cleanup hitter Andrea Vidlund.
On the very next at bat, junior center fielder Tiffany Grayson made Arendsen and Vidlund pay when she crushed a home run over the right field fence, her second three-run home run of the tournament, for a 5-0 lead.
That cushion proved to be enough for Mitchell who allowed four runs and hung on at the end by striking out Janell Bergstrom swinging on a 0-2 count that sent the Cajuns dugout into an ecstatic celebration.
Mitchell, who was removed after just 1/3 of an inning in the first game with what appeared to be arm ailments, got the win in game two tossing a complete game for arguably the biggest win of her young career to this point.
It was a gutsy and determined Mitchell who fought all seven innings, scattered 10 hits and four runs for her fourth win in the tournament and never wavered in confidence after Oregon's Lynsey Haij lifted a home run to right field that cut the Cajuns lead to 6-4 in the top of the seventh.
Mitchell completed the second game throwing all seven innings and striking out four batters – the last of which clinched the Cajuns WCWS berth.
For her efforts throughout the tournament Mitchell was voted the Most Outstanding Player. The Pasadena, Texas, native threw 28 1/3 innings over four days, made five starts, struck out 32 batters and surrendered just 13 hits.
Grayson finished the game 2-for-2 with two home runs and four RBI. The Spring, Texas, native ripped her second homer of the day, and third of the tournament, off of Vidlund in the bottom of the third with two outs to give the Cajuns a 6-2 lead.
“Tiffany (Grayson) comes ready to play and it seems like the bigger the game, the bigger she plays.” Lotief said. “For her, I think she had an outstanding tournament, two home runs in this game and she made some great defensive plays earlier in the tournament that really helped propel this team."
Harris suffered the loss for the Ducks (37-19) lasting just 1/3 of an inning before being relieved by Vidlund. Harris surrendered two hits and four runs (three earned) and fell to 17-14 on the season as Oregon's season came to an end.
The three home runs hit by the Cajuns broke the school record for home runs in a season set just last season. UL Lafayette has now hit 78 home runs this season after setting the mark in 2002 with 76.
UL Lafayette will return to action on Thursday, May 22 when the Cajuns open WCWS play at 6:30 p.m. against the No. 3 national seed University of Texas Longhorns (47-7) at the ASA Hall of Fame Softball Stadium.
EARLIER IN THE DAY…
Oregon's Andrea Vidlund was 4-for-4 at the plate with a pair of home runs and five runs batted in to pace the Ducks offense to a 9-2 victory over Louisiana-Lafayette and force a second game for a berth in the Women's College World Series on Saturday at the Titan Softball Complex.
Louisiana-Lafayette falls to 46-9 overall while Oregon improved to 37-18 overall. The two teams will meet in a second game at approximately 4:05 p.m. PDT.
Oregon capitalized on Louisiana-Lafayette's first loss of the day when ace pitcher Brookw Mitchell left the game after just three batters due to injury. Mitchell hit Oregon's Amber Hutchison to lead off the game, got Lynsey Haij on the sacrifice attempt and surrendered her first walk of the regional to Beth Boskovich to put two on base before leaving.
Afton Thoms, making her first-ever postseason appearance, was brought in to relieve Mitchell and face Vidlund, who sent the first pitch she saw from Thoms over the left field fence for a 3-0 Ducks lead.
Oregon added another run in the second when, with two outs, Hutchison singled and was driven home on an RBI single by Haij, extending the advantage to 4-0.
Crystal George got the Ragin' Cajuns on the board in their half of the second inning with an RBI single to right, scoring Lauren Castle, who singled with one out earlier in the frame, cutting the deficit to 4-1.
The Ducks threatened in the third, loading the bases with two outs and plating a run when an attempted pickoff throw sailed past the third baseman and into left field, scoring Vidlund for the 5-1 lead.
Oregon opened the floodgates in the fourth with Vidlund's second home run of the day, a two-run shot to left for the 7-1 advantage and added another pair in the fifth on another error by the Ragin' Cajuns' defense and an RBI fielder's choice by Haij.
Louisiana-Lafayette scored its second run of the game on an RBI double by George in the fourth.
Amy Harris (16-14) earned the win in relief, throwing 3 1/3 innings of two-hit ball with a walk and nine strikeouts. Anissa Meashintubby started and allowed an earned run on four hits in 3 2/3 innings.
Mitchell (25-7) suffered the loss, responsible for two runs before leaving with a walk.
-- Ragin' Cajuns --
