University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
Notre Dame
Cajuns Split on Day One at Judi Garman
3/18/2011 4:30:00 AM | Softball
The 19th ranked Ragin' Cajuns split a pair of games on their first day of action at the Judi Garman Classic on the campus of Cal State Fullerton. UL (22-4) defeated Notre Dame, 5-1, in game one before falling to No.7 Arizona in game two.
GAME ONE
The Cajuns got the day started off in fine fashion, downing the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 5-1 to open their portion of the Judi Garman Classic in Fullerton, Calif. Ashley Brignac (10-1) went the distance for UL, giving up one run on six hits with seven strikeouts.
Christi Orgeron went 3-for-3 at the plate with three RBI, extending her streak of consecutive games reaching base to 25. Gabriele Bridges and Nerissa Myers each had two hits. Orgeron and Paige Cormier posted one home run apiece.
Notre Dame (15-4) would get on the board first in third inning with a single score thanks in large part to two illegal pitches. After Brignac thought she had struck out Kasey O'Connor, an illegal pitch was called that kept her at-bat alive and she eventually walked.
Another illegal pitch moved O'Connor to second and she advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt. A single through the left side with two outs then plate O'Connor and gave the Irish a 1-0 lead after three innings of play.
The lead was short lived as the Cajuns jumped ahead in the top of the fourth. Gabriele Bridges led off the inning with a double, and was followed by Christi Orgeron. Orgeron proceeded to lift her 11th homer of the season over the right center field wall, scoring herself and pinch runner Brianna Cherry to give UL a 2-1 lead.
Paige Cormier extended the lead with her first career home run, a solo shot over the left field fence to give UL a 3-1 lead. The bomb chased Notre Dame starter Jody Valdivia (5-4) after just 3.2 innings pitched.
The Cajuns plated two more runs in the fifth inning to extend their lead to 5-1. Nerissa Myers hit a one-out single but was erased when she left first base early on a steal attempt. Three straight singles by Erikka Murphy, Bridges and Orgeron would then score the two runs, both with two outs.
The Irish would threaten the sixth inning thanks to two singles to lead off the inning, however Brignac would work out of the jam with no harm done, and the Cajuns carried their 5-1 lead to the seventh inning.
GAME TWO
The Cajuns fell in the nightcap of the doubleheader to No.7 Arizona 10-2 at the Judi Garman Classic.
Shelbee Rodgers (6-2) got the start for the Cajuns going 2.0 innings. Myers, Bridges and Orgeron each had one hit for the Cajuns.
The seventh ranked Wildcats (24-5) would get on the board first with three runs in the bottom of the first inning thanks to a Lini Koria three-run home run.
Arizona would add three more runs in the second inning thanks to three singles and a double, extending their lead to 6-0.
The Wildcats extended their lead to 10 runs in the third inning thanks to four runs on four hits. In the inning Allie Chenault came in to relieve Rodgers after 2.0 innings of work.
Bridges put the Cajuns on the board in the fourth inning with a lead-off home run over the center field fence on Field 2 at Anderson Family Field. The shot gave Bridges 57 for her career, tying her with Alana Addison for the fourth most in UL history.
Orgeron followed the Bridges bomb with a triple, and scored thanks to an RBI from Cormier to make the score 10-2.
Chenault threw two innings in relief and gave just two runs on three hits.
The Cajuns are set to return to the diamond in Fullerton on Friday when they take on No.6/5 Arizona State at 9:30 p.m. CT. The availability of live stats for the Cajuns' game against the Sun Devils is still yet to be determined. Check back with RaginCajuns.com closer to game time for availability. Check the softball schedule page for the live stats icon approximately 30 minutes before first pitch.
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