University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
Troy
Cajuns Spilt On Sunday With Troy
4/25/2010 4:17:00 PM | Softball
TROY, Ala. - After grabbing a 5-0 win to start the day, Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns softball team battled back and forth with Troy before falling, 5-4, on Sunday afternoon.
The loss in game two snaps a 10-game winning streak for the Cajuns who now sit at 33-15 overall and 14-4 in the Sun Belt. Troy is 24-25 on the year and 10-11 in the league.
GAME ONE
A bases-loaded, fielder's choice by Lana Bowers scored the Cajuns' first run. Back-to-back walks reloaded the bases and scored Gabriele Bridges before a passed ball scored Bowers for a 3-0 lead in the first inning.
Over the next three innings, UL was unable to post a hit. Only three runners would reach base on two walks and a hit by pitch.
Troy looked to cut into the Cajuns' lead in the bottom of the fourth. The Trojans had runners on first and third with no outs, but Brittany Cuevas and crew forced two foul outs and a ground out to get out of the jam.
A two-out, bases-load single up the middle by Nerissa Myers tacked on the Cajuns' fourth run in the fifth inning.
The Trojans' bats refused to quit in the sixth inning. Two hits put runners on first and second with no outs. But UL's defense held fast, forcing three fly outs to go into the seventh with a 4-0 lead.
A solo home run by Bowers added an insurance run in the top of the seventh. It was the senior's seventh of the season.
Cuevas collected her sixth shutout of the season with the win. She allowed six hits, struck out four and walked none to improve to 16-6 this season.
Bowers led UL at the plate with two hits, two runs and two RBI.
The Cajuns will step out of conference play for the last time on Tuesday against Grambling. First pitch of the doubleheader is scheduled to start at 4 p.m. CT.
GAME TWO
Game two started off just like the first with the Cajuns loading up the bases. But no runs scored as UL left them loaded in the first frame.
Troy grabbed their first lead of the weekend in bottom of the second. With Trojans on the corners, Hayden Gann hit a sacrifice fly to center to take a 1-0 lead.
UL erased the deficit in the next at bat, leading off the third inning with three straight singles. Vallie Gaspard drew the Cajuns even at 1-1 on a RBI-single by Christi Orgeron. Bridges followed suit with a two-RBI single of her own.
The score swung back in favor of the Trojans on a three-run home run by Nikki Hollet.
The Cajuns started to make a move at the beginning of the fifth inning. With no outs, three singles by Melissa Verde, Orgeron and Bridges loaded up the bases. Troy grabbed two outs but not before an RBI-fielder's choice by Britni Soria tied the contest, 4-4.
With two outs in the sixth, Hollet came through for the Trojans again, hitting a solo homer to grab a 5-4 lead.
In their final at bat, the Cajuns put the tying run on third after a one-out single by Bridges. A walk from Bowers, loaded the bases with one out still showing. But two pop-outs left the runners stranded.
The Cajuns left nine runners on base, five in scoring position.
Verde, Orgeron and Bridges each had three hits a piece at the plate.
Donna Bourgeois was the pitcher of record falling to 17-9 after pitching six innings. She struck out six, walked none and allowed five runs. Four runs were earned.
