University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics

Doubleheader Sweep Moves No. 13 Louisiana Softball Closer to Title
5/1/2021 6:44:00 PM | Softball
Ragin’ Cajuns are one win shy from capturing Sun Belt’s regular season championship
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With the two wins, and Troy's second loss of the weekend to Texas State, Louisiana (37-9, 18-2 Sun Belt) moved within one win of claiming the Sun Belt Conference's regular season title.
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The Ragin' Cajuns first attempt at capturing the title will come in Sunday's 10 a.m. (CDT) series finale with the Chanticleers (19-21, 7-13 Sun Belt) which will air on ESPN+ and SportsRadio ESPN 1420-AM.
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Talley posted a career-high five RBI in the twinbill opener, accounting for the scoring difference between the two squads. The highlight of her performance was a three-run home run in the fifth inning that broke open the game by stretching out the lead to 6-1.
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After working out of a bases-loaded situation in the first inning, Kandra Lamb was in control the remainder of the 4-1/3 innings she worked yielding just a solo home run in the fourth inning. Vanessa Foreman was extremely effective after closing out the fifth inning, allowing just a single run and hit in 2-1/3 innings of work.
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Bailey Curry, who reached base six times in the entire doubleheader, clubbed a two-run home run in her first plate appearance of Game 2 staking the Ragin' Cajuns out to a quick 2-0 lead.
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Summer Ellyson left little doubt that the lead would be preserved as she went on to carry a no-hitter into the fifth inning. Ellyson would allow only two hits and strike out six Chanticleers over 5-2/3 innings.
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A solo home run from Justice Milz in the fourth inning and a two-run home run from Jade Gortarez in the fifth inning made it 5-0 and assured Ellyson a generous comfort level in the back-end of the contest.
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Foreman shined in relief once again as she worked the final 1-1/3 innings and tossed scoreless softball to secure the combined three-hit shutout.
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The doubleheader sweep moved the Ragin' Cajuns within a win of realizing its first-ever weekend series sweep of Coastal Carolina in Conway.
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DIAMOND NOTES
- In addition to representing her personal career-high total, the five RBI by Kendall Talley are tied for the highest by a Ragin' Cajun in the 2021 season (Alissa Dalton at UTA, Julie Rawls at Georgia State).
- Kendall Talley increased her season RBI total to 18, moving her within one RBI of matching her personal single-season best total (19) set as a freshman at Lamar in 2018.
- Kaitlyn Alderink posted at least one base hit in both games to extend her hitting streak to 15 games. It's a new career-high streak for Alderink, surpassing her previous best of 13 games set as a freshman at Texas A&M back in 2016.
- Bailey Curry reached base all four plate appearances in Game 1 with a single and three walks, then followed up with a two-hit effort in Game 2. Curry was aboard the base path in six of the seven opportunities she had at the plate.
- Ciara Bryan's RBI single in the sixth inning of Game 2 was her 70th hit of the season. Bryan, who has had at least one base hit in 43 of the 46 games played, has reached the 70-hit mark for the first time in her collegiate career.
- The RBI collected by Julie Rawls in Game 1 allowed the senior from Hallsville, Texas to match her career-high total of 49 RBI. Rawls is now just one RBI shy of the first-ever, 50-RBI season of her collegiate career.
- Kandra Lamb improved to 9-1 in Sun Belt Conference play. She limited the opposition to three hits or less for the fifth time in seven starts in league play.
- Summer Ellyson earned the 91st win of her collegiate career moving her into a tie with Jordan Wallace for fourth place in program history.
- For the second consecutive start in Sun Belt play, Summer Ellyson pitched a shutout. Adding in the complete-game shutout of Texas State on April 18, Ellyson has held SBC foes scoreless and to just three hits in the 11-2/3 innings of work that span her last two league starts.
UP NEXT
No. 13 Louisiana and Coastal Carolina wrap up the three-game Sun Belt Conference series on Sunday (May 2) with first pitch from St. John Stadium in Conway, S.C., set for 10 a.m. (CDT).
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It will mark the Ragin' Cajuns first opportunity to claim the Sun Belt's regular season title. Live video coverage is available on ESPN+, and Ragin' Cajuns fans can also follow along on SportsRadio ESPN 1420-AM and at CajunStats.com.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Lamb, Kandra (15-4)
L: De Jesus, Iyanla (5-7)

Batting:
2B: Alderink, Kaitlyn 1
HR: Talley, Kendall 1
RBI: Rawls, Julie 1 ; Talley, Kendall 5
SH: Gortarez, Jade 1
SF: Talley, Kendall 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Bryan, Ciara 1 ; Alderink, Kaitlyn 1 ; Rawls, Julie 2 ; Curry, Bailey 1 ; Kean, Jenna 1 ; Talley, Kendall 1
SB: Bryan, Ciara 1 ; Alderink, Kaitlyn 1 ; Rawls, Julie 1 ; Kean, Jenna 1
CS: Talley, Kendall 1
HBP: Alderink, Kaitlyn 1 ; Mayeux, Melissa 1

Batting:
HR: Rosado, Kayla 1 ; Dean, Courtney 1
RBI: Rosado, Kayla 1 ; Dean, Courtney 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Rosado, Kayla 1 ; Dean, Courtney 1
HBP: Augur, Stavi 1





















