University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Cajuns Tie Season-High for Hits, Cruise Past WKU to Even Series
4/30/2005 12:00:00 AM | Softball
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The 14th-ranked Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns softball team took out the frustration of its first Sun Belt Conference loss of the season by unleashing a season-high 17 base hits in the second game of a Saturday afternoon doubleheader here at WKU Softball Field.
The Ragin' Cajuns (41-8, 13-1 Sun Belt) scored in every inning except one (third inning) and pushed across 13 runs in posting a 13-5 win over Western Kentucky (28-19, 9-5 Sun Belt) that evened the four-game series between the two teams at 1-1 and pushed Louisiana-Lafayette's lead in the Sun Belt standings to four games heading into Sunday's finale.
The Ragin' Cajuns have the opportunity to clinch their fifth straight Sun Belt Conference regular season championship on Sunday as two wins would mathematically eliminate WKU from the title contention.
All but two of the 15 players that picked up a bat for Louisiana-Lafayette collected at least one hit led by a team-high three base hits from Jill Robertson. Robertson went 3-for-3 to end the day 4-for-6 and increase her team-leading batting average to .369.
Danyele Gomez posted a team-best four RBI in the contest to push her season total to 49. Desi Chatman, Lacey Bertucci and Joy Webre each added two RBI. Both Gomez and Bertucci homered to push their team-leading home run total to 14.
The win helped the Ragin' Cajuns avenge a 3-2 loss to WKU in Saturday's opener – a loss which snapped the program's school-and Sun Belt-record 33 game conference winning streak and was the first SBC loss since May 3, 2003.
Heather Bobbitt worked six innings striking out four and scattering six hits. The sophomore hurler from Vidor, Texas, improved to 13-0 on the season with the victory.
Robertson got things going for No. 14 Louisiana-Lafayette in the top of the first inning. The senior center fielder drilled a single up the middle for the first of three Cajuns hits during the opening frame. After Gomez struck out swinging for the first out, Robertson stole second base and was brought home on a Brittany Bryant single up the middle for a 1-0 lead.
Lacey Bertucci capped off the Ragin' Cajuns statement-making first inning when she clubbed a two-out home run over the left field wall to push the margin to 3-0. The home run increased Bertucci's season home run total to 14.
Louisiana-Lafayette added a single run in the second inning on a Robertson RBI single. WKU cut the lead to 4-2 in the bottom of the third inning on a two-RBI single from Shelly Floyd.
The Cajuns began to chip away at WKU relief pitcher Ashton Strode in the fourth inning as the squad tallied nine runs over the final four innings. The onslaught was jumpstarted by a two-out RBI single from Gomez after Tiffany Hebert and Robertson each drew two-out walks.
A two-run home run by Webre in the fifth inning moved the lead to 7-2 and a Gomez three-run home run off of the left field foul pole in the sixth inning made it 10-2. WKU avoided the run rule in the bottom half of the sixth inning as Stephanie Young powered a one-out home run over the center field wall.
Louisiana-Lafayette sent eight batters to the plate in the seventh inning to register the team's most runs scored this season in Sun Belt play. After Michelle Bergeaux struck out looking, the Cajuns picked up five consecutive base hits to bring home three more runs. It started with a Tara Hamilton pinch hit home run and ended five batters later with a Desi Chatman pinch hit double that scored the final two Cajuns runs of the contest.
Ashley Schwartz (4-8) was tagged with the loss for the Hilltoppers. She gave up five hits and four earned runs over 1 1/3 innings. Strode allowed nine earned runs off of 12 base hits in 5 2/3 innings of relief.
No. 14 Louisiana-Lafayette and Western Kentucky will wrap up their four-game series on Sunday, May 1 in a 12 p.m. doubleheader. Fans can track all of the action via LIVE STATS at www.louisiana.edu/softball.
Louisiana-Lafayette 13,
Western Kentucky 5 (Apr 30, 2005 at Bowling Green, Ky.)
(Game 2)
------------------------------------------------------------------
Louisiana-Lafayette. 310 123 3 - 13 17 2 (41-8, 13-1 SUN
BELT)
Western Kentucky.... 002 001 2 - 5 8 0 (28-19, 9-5 SUN BELT)
------------------------------------------------------------------
Pitchers: Louisiana-Lafayette - Bobbitt; Kirchberg(7).
Western Kentucky - Schwartz; Strode(2).
Win-Bobbitt(13-0) Loss-Schwartz(4-8) T-2:30 A-113
HR UL - Gomez; Bertucci; Webre; Hamilton.
HR WKU - Young, St.
-- Ragin' Cajuns --
