Productive Afternoon Leads Louisiana to Victory in Coastal Series Finale

CONWAY, S.C. – The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Softball team's offense pieced together several productive innings and Mallory Wheeler delivered a commanding relief performance resulting in a 9-5 win over Coastal Carolina on Sunday, March 30 at St. John Stadium in Conway, South Carolina.

Wheeler (5.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K) brought the Chanticleers offense to a halt after the hosts had answered Louisiana's tallies in the first and third inning to forge a 4-all tie. She would allow only one runner to advance past second base the entire relief stint.

With Wheeler quieting the Chanticleers (28-8, 5-4 SBC), the offense scored in three of the last four innings to assure the win for Louisiana (17-17, 4-5 SBC) that averted the series sweep.

Laney Credeur's triple in the fourth inning led to her scoring on a passed ball as the Cajuns quickly regained momentum back and took a 5-4 lead. The instant offense kept the Chants on their heels as it immediately followed the three straight batters Wheeler retired to start her relief effort.

A double play ball induced by Wheeler prevented any type of response from Coastal in the bottom of the fourth, then the offense went right back to work in the fifth inning with Maddie Hayden doubling home Erin Ardoin and scoring on Mia Liscano's grounder to stretch the lead to 7-4.

Coastal got a run back in the sixth inning on Maddy Jennings' solo home run, then Hayden (2-for-3, 2 doubles, RBI) was there to trigger a response in the seventh inning to provide additional breathing room for Wheeler.

A leadoff double by Hayden was followed by an infield single from Liscano and that was followed by a stolen base attempt which led to an errant throw to score Hayden from third. Sam Roe (2-for-4, HR, 3 RBI) later delivered an RBI single and the Cajuns posted their fourth crooked number of the afternoon increasing the lead to 9-5.

Wheeler punctuated her pivotal relief effort with a strikeout swinging of Coastal slugger Delaney Keith with two runners on base and a double play ball for the final outs.

Louisiana was essentially one step ahead of Coastal the entire game and never trailed. Roe opened the scoring with a two-run home run in the first inning and in the third inning it was Emily Smith (1-for-3, HR, 2 RBI) launching a two-run home run to break a 2-2 tie.

Keith answered Smith's home run with one of her own to create another tie, then the Cajuns countered with Wheeler to throw off the Chants' bats. Wheeler set the tone immediately striking out two of the three she faced in the third to stop any possible forward momentum by Coastal.

Roe delivered her fifth multiple-hit game in SBC play and finished with a game-high three RBI. She's now batting .464 with three home runs and 14 RBI in conference play. Roe reached base for the 11th consecutive game.

Smith homered for the second straight day and continued her torment of Sun Belt pitching. Since debuting last weekend vs. ULM at Lamson Park, Smith is batting 11-of-19 (.579) with four home runs and 11 RBI in SBC games. Smith extended her season-best hitting streak to eight games.

Credeur (2-for-3, double, triple) made it back-to-back multiple-hit games and four straight games in SBC play with at least one hit. She finished the weekend series batting .455 (5-of-11) with four of the five hits going for extra bases (two doubles, triple, home run).

Hayden, who recorded her 14th multiple-hit game overall, and Liscano both finished tied with Credeur and Smith for the team lead with five hits in the series.

UL avoided its first SBC series sweep since April 2011 (at FAU) and brought its record back to the .500 mark.

UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
The Ragin' Cajuns will make a brief stop back at Lamson Park on Wednesday, April 2 for a midweek game with Louisiana Tech. The contest, which is Louisiana's last home midweek game, begins at 6:00 p.m.

UL and LA Tech will be opening a midweek home-and-home series. The Ragin' Cajuns return the Bulldogs visit on Tuesday, April 8 when the two teams meet in Ruston.

Live coverage is available on ESPN+, the Ragin' Cajuns Radio Network (The Goat 103.3 FM/1420 AM and Varsity Sports app) and CajunStats.com.

Wednesday's meeting with the Bulldogs will be followed by another road Sun Belt Conference series from Friday-Sunday, April 4-6 in Troy, Alabama.

FOLLOW THE RAGIN' CAJUNS
Follow the Ragin' Cajuns on Facebook (/RaginCajunsSB), Twitter (@RaginCajunsSB) and Instagram (@Louisiana.SB) to stay up-to-date on all that is happening with Louisiana Softball.

Fans are also encouraged to stay engaged with the Ragin' Cajuns by downloading the #GeauxCajuns app. Click here for iOS/Apple platforms and here for Android platforms.

Louisiana Softball season and single-game tickets are currently on sale, outfield general admission seating only, available for purchase online at RaginCajuns.com/tickets or by calling the Louisiana Athletics Ticket Office at (337) 482-GoUL (4685). Fans can also support the softball student athletes, and invest in the program's future, through the Krewe Allons NIL Collective (click here).

- www.RaginCajuns.com -

Productive Afternoon Leads Louisiana to Victory in Coastal Series Finale

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Team Stats

Maddie Hayden

Sam Roe

Laney Credeur

Mia Liscano

Players Mentioned

Erin Ardoin

Laney Credeur

Maddie Hayden

Mia Liscano

Sam Roe

Emily Smith

Mallory Wheeler

Players Mentioned

Erin Ardoin

Laney Credeur

Maddie Hayden

Mia Liscano

Sam Roe

Emily Smith

Mallory Wheeler

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