University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
McNeese
Denham's One-Hit Shutout Turns the Tables as McNeese Pulls Off the Upset
2/28/2005 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Sunday, Feb. 29, 2004
Denham's only hit allowed was a screaming line drive up the middle from Holly Tankersley in the top half of the fourth.
The threat was erased when Danyele Gomez grounded into a fielder's choice forcing out Tankersley at second. From there on, Denham would retire the next 10 Cajun batters in succession.
The Cowgirls game-clinching hit came in their half of the fourth when Beth Jordan double into the left field gap allowing Nicole Edlund, who led off the inning with a bloop infield single that landed between the pitching circle and second baseman Brittany Bryant, to round the bases for the lone score of the contest.
Despite the loss, Louisiana-Lafayette still claimed the championship of the tournament thanks to a 5-1 round-robin record. McNeese State, which extended its win streak to four games, ended with a 4-2 record and a second place finish.
With the win, McNeese State (8-13) ended a 35-game losing streak against the Cajuns (20-2). The last MSU win prior to Sunday's was a 4-3 decision on March 19, 1994 in Lake Charles.
The loss snapped the Cajuns season-high, 18-game win streak which dated back to a 10-0 win over UL Monroe on Feb. 8. The streak was tied for the longest under head coach Stefni Lotief and third-longest in program history.
True freshman
Heather Bobbitt (3-1) took the hard-luck loss for the
Cajuns. The Vidor, Texas, native has a solid outing, as
she scattered four hits and struck out four over six
innings.
Bobbitt (right) started in place of staff ace Brooke Mitchell who received much-deserved rest after tossing 29 innings in four appearances during the week and logging her 100th inning of the season Saturday in the win over Nevada.
Nicole Edlund picked up two of the Cowgirls four hits and scored the winning run. Jordan was 1-for-2 with the lone hit the game-winning double in the fourth.
Denham induced 11 groundouts from the Cajuns hitters - a figure which included the heart of the lineup in the seventh inning. Tankersely grounded out to Jordan for the first out and Gomez grounded back to Denham for the second out.
A fly out off the bat of Joy Webre was caught by Rachael Phillips for the final out.
Earlier in the
day, Louisiana-Lafayette extended its win streak to 18
games with a 12-0 run-rule rout of Texas Southern in
five innings.
The Cajuns pounded out 15 hits, eight of them for extra bases, and freshman Holly Tankersley (left) tossed five innings of two-hit softball striking out three as she improved her record to 3-0.
Everyone who went to the plate picked up at least one hit for the Cajuns.
Danyele Gomez
(left) led
the charge going 2-for-3 with a two-run home run and an
RBI double. She increased her team-leading RBI total to
24 with the performance.
Michelle Bergeaux's first career home run, a three-run blast over the right center field wall, was the highlight of a four-run third inning for the Ragin' Cajuns which increased their lead to 9-0.
The home run ball was the talk of the fourth inning as Louisiana-Lafayette went yard twice. Joy Webre led off the inning with a solo shot and Lacey Bertucci put the finishing touches on the rout with a towering homer over the scoreboard in left field.
The Cajuns will take the rest of the week off for much needed rest after playing 22 games over a four week span in February. Louisiana-Lafayette's next outing takes place on Friday, March 5 at 10:30 a.m. (CT) against Connecticut in the opening round of the Florida State Seminole Challenge.
-- Ragin' Cajuns --
