University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
UL Faces McNeese On Wednesday
4/13/2010 9:33:00 PM | Softball
GAME DAY CENTRAL
Opponent: McNeese State (23-20, 9-9 Southland)
When: April 14 - 6 p.m. CT
Where: Lake Charles, La.
Radio: None
Live Stats: www.ragincajuns.com
GAME DAY STORY LINES
- The Cajuns will play their last non-conference, road-game on Wednesday with a short trip down I-10 to Lake Charles, La. to face McNeese State.
- The two teams faced each other previously this season on March 11 in Lafayette. A three-run, walk-off home run by Christi Orgeron clinched the 9-1, run-rule win in five innings. But in the second game, the Cajuns were unable to capitalize on scoring opportunities allowing McNeese to steal a 3-1 win. UL would strand eight runners in the contest.
- Under Michael and Stefni Lotief, UL leads the all-time series, 31-3.
- After McNeese, the Cajuns will play 14 of 17 games at home.
Scouting the Opposition
The Cowgirls of McNeese State enter the game with a record of 23-20 and a 9-9 mark in the Southland Conference.
As a team, McNeese is batting .277.
Liz Morvant leads the team with .343 clip, five homers and 24 RBI. She also leads the team in steals (25-25).
Moly Guidry is second on the squad with a batting average of .326. She has belted a team-high 13 doubles and is 14-of-15 on steals.
Pitching for the Cowgirls sits at a team ERA of 3.09.
Megan Bond has made the mosts appearances en route to a 13-7 record and an ERA of 3.02. She has a team-high 165 strikeouts while limiting opponents to a .212 batting average.Last Meeting against McNeese (March 11, 2010)
A walk-off home run by Christi Orgeron gave No. 22 Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns softball team a 9-1 five-inning win in the first game of a double header against McNeese State at Lamson Park on Thursday evening.
But in the second game, the Cajuns were unable to capitalize on scoring opportunities allowing McNeese to steal a 3-1 win. UL would strand eight runners in the contest.
In the first game, Louisiana scattered nine hits with Orgeron and Nerissa Myers leading the way at the plate. Orgeron finished 2-for-3 with four RBI and one run scored. Myers was 3-for-3 with one run.
Brittany Cuevas grabbed the win, improving to 8-2 on the season. She allowed just two hits and one run while striking out two.
In game two, the Cajuns missed a golden opportunity in the bottom of the fifth inning. A leadoff walk and back-to-back singles loaded the bases with no outs. But a foul out, a strikeout and line out would end UL's chances.
Donna Bourgeios pitched all seven innings in the loss, striking out three and walking one.
Last Time Out... at FIU (April 10-11)
Mistakes and miscues proved to be too much for Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns softball team in game one before dropping a heartbreaker in extra innings as FIU was able to take two in a doubleheader on Saturday.
In game one, two errors accounted for four unearned runs in the Cajuns' 6-2 loss.
In game two, UL battled back in the top of the seventh inning to grab a 3-1 lead before a two-out home run by FIU's Ashley McClain sent the game into extra innings. In the bottom of the ninth frame, FIU's Brie Rojas hit a walk-off, RBI-single to steal the 4-3 win.
Freshman Sara Drahiem's solo home run in the sixth-inning sparked a five-run rally as Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns softball team was able to reclaim the lead for the second time on the afternoon in a 9-5 win over FIU. It was Drahiem's first career home run.
Drahiem finished the afternoon 1-for-4 with one RBI. Also instrumental in the Cajuns' win was Melissa Verde who was 3-for-4 with two doubles and four RBI. As a team on the day, the Cajuns were 3-for-4 with runners on third base.
Seeing Green
Melissa Verde had an exceptional weekend against FIU.
The senior infielder batted .583 with four doubles, six RBI and a .917 slugging percentage.
In the 9-4 win over FIU, Verde was 3-for-4 with two doubles and three RBI.
Bowers Power
Senior Lana Bowers proved vital to UL's two wins over Middle Tennessee.
On Tuesday, Bowers hit two solo homers, including the game-winner in the eighth inning to clinch a 2-1 win.
On Wednesday, trailing 1-4, Bowers belted a three-run shot to centerfield to tie the score at 4-4. The Cajuns would go on to win 10-4.
Bowers finished the series going 7-for-11 with a .636 batting average and six RBI. Four of her seven hits were for extra bases and led to a 1.545 slugging percentage.
Drumming By Drahiem
With the score tied at 4-4 and with two runners on, the right-hander ripped a shot up the middle for a two-out, two-RBI single. The game-winning hit highlighted a 3-for-3 day at the plate. She also recorded a RBI-double in the victory.
The freshman also showed up again for the Cajuns in the 9-4 win over FIU. Down 4-5 in the fifth inning, Drahiem hit her first career home run, sparking a rally as the Cajuns won the contest 9-5.
Bourgeois Earns LSWA Weekly Honor
After grabbing two wins against Western Kentucky this past weekend, Louisiana's Donna Bourgeois was selected as Louisiana Sports Writers Association [LSWA] Pitcher of the Week Thursday as voted upon by the state's sports information directors. Louisiana State's Rachel Mitchell was named LSWA Hitter of the Week.
The junior pitcher for the Cajuns grabbed two wins over WKU during UL's Sun Belt opening series. She posted an impressive 0.50 ERA and surrendered just three runs, one earned, in addition to limiting the Lady Toppers to a .161 hitting clip. The Lafayette native also compiled 10 strikeouts against one walk in over 14.0 innings of work.
In 2009, Bourgeois was named the LWSA Pitcher of the Year.
After making some defensive changes while trailing Middle Tennessee, 4-1, freshman catcher Sarah Drahiem made the most of the opportunity.
