University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
Long Island
Cajuns Win Citrus Classic Finale
3/6/2011 6:30:00 PM | Softball
The 17th ranked Ragin' Cajuns closed out the Citrus Classic with a 4-0 win over Long Island on Sunday at the ESPN Wide World of Sports.
Christina Hamilton (6-1) went the distance in the circle, shutting out the Blackbirds, giving up just four hits and striking out nine.
Gabriele Bridges went 3-for-3 with a walk on the day while Christi Orgeron extended her hitting streak to 20 games.
UL would get on the board first in the top of the fourth inning with one run to break up a scoreless game. Gabriele Bridges led off the inning with a double to left field. Pinch runner Natalie Fernandez then tagged up and advanced to third on a deep fly ball to center field off of Christi Orgeron's bat.
With one out and Fernandez standing at third base, Megan Granger delivered an RBI single to give the Cajuns a 1-0 lead.
The Cajuns would extend the lead with another run in the fifth inning. Katie Smith and Nerissa Myers led off the inning with singles, and Smith stole third base on a Cajuns' strikeout. With one down the Cajuns attempted a double steal, but Smith was thrown out at home while Myers advanced to second.
Bridges then delivered her second hit of the day, this one an RBI single that scored Myers and gave the Cajuns a 2-0 lead.
UL used a single and two walks to load the bases in the sixth inning, but they were unable to push across a run as the score remained 2-0.
The Cajuns extended the lead to 4-0 with two runs in the top of the seventh inning. Bridges led off the inning with a double to left center and came home when Orgeron hit a two-run home run to straight away center field. The bomb was Orgeron's fourth of the weekend and seventh of the season. It also extended her team best hitting streak to 20 games.
The Cajuns return to action next weekend when they travel to Denton, Texas to open Sun Belt Conference play at North Texas. The Cajuns and Mean Green are scheduled for a three-game series with two on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. and the finale on Sunday at 11:00 a.m.
-- Ragin' Cajuns --
