HOUSTON, Texas-Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns softball team advanced to their first College World Series in five years, as they claimed the game three against the No. 8 national seed Houston Cougars by a final score of 4-0 at the Cougar Softball Complex.
The World Series appearance marks the fifth time in school history the Cajuns advanced to softball's pinnacle. The appearance will mark the second time under co-head coaches Michael and Stefni Lotief that the Cajuns have advanced to the WCWS and the first time since Louisiana made it in the 2003 season.
The Cajuns collected 10 hits in the contest including home runs from seniors Vanessa Soto (San Diego, Calif.) and Holly Tankersley (Kirbyville, Texas).
UL got a complete game shutout performance in the circle from true freshman Ashley Brignac (River Ridge, La.). The win was Brignac's 30t)h of the season and the sixth over a ranked opponent this year. Brignac finished the game with just four strikeouts, but relied on quality defense behind her. She surrendered just a pair of hits in the game and scattered three walks over seven innings.
For the second straight game, Soto put the Cajuns on the scoreboard in the first inning with a solo home run. The homer marked the third consecutive game that the Cajuns took the lead over Houston with a solo home run. Melissa Verde (Beaumont, Texas) hit a solo shot in the second inning of game one to put the Cajuns on the board.
The Cajuns threatened in the bottom of the fourth. Gabriele Bridges (Lafitte, La.) and Brooke Brodhead (Lafayette, La.) each had Texas-League singles into the outfield just past the infield to give the Cajuns a pair of base runners. A sacrifice bunt by Karli Hubbard (Lafayette, La.) moved both runners into scoring position. However, the runners would go no further as batter interference and a groundout ended the inning leaving the score 1-0 in favor of UL.
Louisiana extended their lead to three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Soto led off the inning with a single down the left field line just over the head of the Cougar third base man. Tankersley followed with her 21st home run of the season and second bomb of the day. Twenty-one home runs by Tankersley tied the senior's personal best, which she set in her rookie campaign in 2004.
The Cajuns loaded the bases in the bottom of the sixth inning. Slappers Hubbard, Katie Smith (Ruston, La.) and Vallie Gaspard (Maurice, La.) led off the inning with back-to-back-to-back singles to load the bases for UL. Two consecutive fielder's choices eliminated the runner at home, leaving the bases loaded with two outs. Verde drew an RBI walk on four straight pitches to increase the Cajuns' edge to 4-0. The run in the sixth inning marked the first run of the game that did not come courtesy of a home run.
The four-run lead would hold as Brignac retired the side in order in the seventh.
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