University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
McNeese State
Cajuns Open Season With Win
4/6/2007 5:00:00 AM | Softball
The game was the Ragin' Cajuns' first this weekend in the 21st Annual Louisiana Classics being held at Alfred and Helen Lamson Ragin' Cajuns Softball Park.
Meagan Godwin and Desi Chatman each homered and combined for five RBI to pace the UL efforts.
Freshman Brittany Cuevas ? the first true freshman pitcher to pitch since Holly Tankersley in 2004 ? had a sterling debut as she tossed four innings and struck out six Cowgirls batters.
The Ragin' Cajuns (1-0) won their season opener for the sixth straight season improving to 6-1 under co-head coaches Stefni and Michael Lotief in openers. It was the Cajuns' 23rd win in 24 meetings against McNeese in the Lotief Era.
UL rattled off three runs in the top of the first inning and didn't need a hit to do so.
Holly Tankersley was hit by pitch, Lacey Bertucci reached on a fielding error by shortstop Chelsea Jones then Codi Runyan walked and the Cajuns had the bases loaded only four batters into the game.
McNeese's Rachel Hodlik then issued a walk to Desi Chatman to score Tankersley with the first run. Bertucci then scored on a Hodlik wild pitch which was followed by a RBI groundout from Melissa Verde that gave the Cajuns a 3-0 edge.
Back-to-back singles from Karli Hubbard and Vallie Gaspard with no outs turned the lineup over to the top of the Cajuns order quickly in the second inning.
Godwin brought them home when she lofted a high fly into left center field that bounced off the top of the fence and beyond the wall for a three-run home run that staked the Cajuns to a 6-0 edge.
A one-out single from Bertucci was followed by a RBI double from Runyan that scored pinch runner Courtney Trahan upping the advantage to 7-0.
A Chatman solo home run with two outs in the fourth inning provided the eighth and final run that UL needed to envoke the mercy rule after five innings.
The Cowgirls never posed a threat to the Cajuns in any inning. Cuevas scattered three hits over the four innings and no McNeese baserunner got past second base.
Shari Sigur, a returning redshirt freshman from last season, entered in the pitching circle in the bottom of the fifth inning and pitched a scoreless frame to cap off the season-opening victory.
The Ragin' Cajuns continue play in the Louisiana Classics at
