University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Cajuns Stretch Win Streak to Six Games With Sweep of Centenary
3/12/2005 12:00:00 AM | Softball
LAFAYETTE – The seventh-ranked Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns softball team extended its winning streak to six games with a pair of mercy rule wins over Centenary College here Saturday afternoon in a doubleheader at Ragin' Cajuns Softball Park.
The Cajuns (21-2) scored in every inning of game one en route to the 8-0 win in five innings. Brooke Mitchell and Ashley Kirchberg combined on a no-hitter of the Ladies. Mitchell pitched four innings striking out eight.
In game two, the Cajuns exploded for five runs on two outs in the third inning and capped off the scoring with a pair of runs in both the fourth and fifth innings for a 9-0 win in five innings. Kirchberg got the win as she tossed four innings of one-hit softball while striking six batters.
The sweep marked the 38th time in the last 42 doubleheaders that the Cajuns posted a twinbill sweep. Louisiana-Lafayette has now swept 57 of the 66 doubleheaders the team has competed in under co-head coaches Stefni and Michael Lotief since the 2001 season.
The Ladies would advance only one runner to second base in all 10 innings played. That occurred in the third inning of game one when Mitchell issued two walks with the last one putting runners on first and second with two outs.
Lacey Bertucci led the Cajuns offensive charge for the day as she hit two home runs and drove home four runs. She had a two-run home run in the fourth inning of game two which pushed the lead to 7-0.
The Cajuns offense produced 10 extra base hits clubbing five doubles, one triple and four home runs. As a team Louisiana-Lafayette ended the twinbill with a .409 average (18-for-44).
The two shutouts increased the Cajuns' pitching staff's season total to 15 shutouts through 23 games. The staff ERA was lowered to 0.67 while Mitchell's dropped to 0.28, Kirchberg's to 0.32 and Heather Bobbitt's to 2.74.
No. 7 Louisiana-Lafayette played its final home games until the much anticipated three-game series with No. 1 Arizona to be held over Easter weekend (March 25-27).
The Cajuns will be back in action next weekend at the KIA Klassic in Fullerton, Calif., beginning with a pair of games on Thursday, March 17 against Oklahoma and Syracuse. Pool play ends on Friday against Arizona State.
Game One
Jill Robertson led off the
Cajuns half of the first inning with a double that sailed
over Centenary's left fielder Katie Harwick. CC starter
Kristan Morton had trouble with her control - which
ultimately led to three walks – and threw two wild pitches
on the at bat to Danyele Gomez allowing Robertson to score
from second base without Gomez ever making contact.
Gomez would dump a single into left field and Brittany Bryant drew a walk, but Morton induced fly outs from Joy Webre and Lacey Bertucci to end the inning.
Centenary went down in order in its half of the second inning and Louisiana-Lafayette plated two more runs to start pulling away.
After allowing back-to-back doubles to Crystal George and Tiffany Hebert following a groundout by Ashley Evans, Morton continued to struggle with her control and as a result walked Robertson and Gomez back-to-back to force home George with the Cajuns second run of the game.
Bryant lofted a fly ball out to center field that allowed Hebert to tag for the sacrifice fly on the next at bat and the Cajuns led 3-0.
The Ladies' only threat in terms of baserunners to Mitchell came in the third inning. Lindsey Jones drew a leadoff walk. CC tried to sacrifice her over to second base, but Lory Kowaleksi's bunt was pounced on by Louisiana-Lafayette first baseman Evans who quickly flipped the ball to Bryant and second base for the force out.
After Amy Wiedeman struck out for the second out, Lauren Flowers drew the Ladies' second walk of the inning to put runners on first and second. Mitchell refocused herself and made quick work of Katie Harwick with another strikeout.
The Cajuns wasted no time in the bottom of the third inning taking advantage of a Centenary outfield that shifted over too much to the left.
Following a hit by pitch from Morton on a Lacey Bertucci at bat, relief pitcher Janis Kelley served up a triple to Tara Hamilton. Hamilton roped the ball deep into the right field corner that by the time CC right fielder Micah Rhodes got to it Bertucci had scored and Hamilton was on third with a stand-up three-bagger.
It was 5-0 before the Ladies could blink as a Kelley pitch was missed by catcher Kowaleski allowing Hamilton to score.
The Ragin' Cajuns finished off the scoring in the fourth inning getting home runs from Leslie Pierce and Bertucci. For Pierce, it was her first home run of the season. Bertucci increased her season total to eight.
Ashley Kirchberg worked a perfect fifth inning to complete the Cajuns no-hitter.
Morton was tagged with the loss as she fell to 3-6 on the season. She gave up four runs on four hits in two innings of action. Kelley also gave up four runs.
Louisiana-Lafayette 8, Centenary
College 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Centenary College... 000 00 - 0 0 0 (9-10)
Louisiana-Lafayette. 122 3X - 8 7 0 (20-2)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Pitchers: Centenary College - Morton; Kelley(3).
Louisiana-Lafayette - Mitchell; Kirchberg(5).
Win-Mitchell(16-2) Loss-Morton(3-6) T-1:37 A-0
HR UL - Pierce; Bertucci.
Morton faced 1 batter in the 3rd.
Game Two
Louisiana-Lafayette opted
to rest Brooke Mitchell for game two and give Kirchberg her
third start of the season. Centenary countered with its ace
in Jessica Ivins.
Kirchberg matched Ivins through two innings of scoreless softball before her teammates backed her up with five runs in the third inning.
The third inning featured five runs scored by Louisiana-Lafayette with two outs. Jill Robertson led off with a perfectly placed bunt single and Joy Webre fought off several pitches from Ivins before coaxing the two-out walk. That's where the game got out of control for Ivins and the Ladies.
Following Webre's two-out walk, Lacey Bertucci ripped a sharp line drive past CC shortstop Amy Wiedeman to score Robertson with the first run of the contest.
On the very next at bat Tara Hamilton ended all doubt and put the game out of reach when she hit a long fly ball that kept drifting leftward but caught the left field foul pole for a three-run home run that made it 4-0.
Ivins then walked Leslie Pierce, surrendered an infield single to Crystal George, a walk to Tiffany Hebert and walk to Robertson to push home the Cajuns' fifth run of the inning.
A Betucci two-run home run in the fourth inning and a Joy Webre two-out double in the fifth inning ended the game in five innings.
The Ladies had one baserunner the entire game – an infield single that was just out of the reach of Cajuns shortstop Hebert in the second inning. Following that hit, Kirchberg went on to retire the final six batters that she faced. Relief pitcher Heather Bobbitt worked a flawless fifth inning striking out two of the three batters that she faced.
George was 2-for-2 and Webre was 3-for-3 as Ragin' Cajuns who where perfect at the plate in the game. Bertucci joined the multiple-hit parade with a 2-for-3 outing and her ninth home run of the season.
Louisiana-Lafayette 9, Centenary
College 0
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Centenary College... 000 00 - 0 1 1 (9-11)
Louisiana-Lafayette. 005 22 - 9 11 0 (21-2)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Pitchers: Centenary College - Ivins. Louisiana-Lafayette -
Kirchberg; Bobbitt(5).
Win-Kirchberg(2-0) Loss-Ivins(6-3) T-1:50 A-395
HR UL - Bertucci; Hamilton.
-- Ragin' Cajuns --
