After losing two out of three against the Baylor Bears, the Ragin’ Cajuns softball team stayed home for a weeknight matchup versus Louisiana Tech. The Bulldogs scored first to begin the game but it was all Louisiana after that as the Cajuns took down Tech and got back in the win column in a 9-3 victory on Tuesday night.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Clair Riley opened the game with a single down the infield line on an 0-2 count and advanced to second base on a sacrifice bunt down to third base by Alexis Gilio. Nicole Hammoude then hit an RBI single deep into right field to give the Bulldogs the early lead.
After a three-up-three-down inning for Louisiana, Cajuns starting pitcher Chloe Riassetto struck out two batters before Bulldogs catcher Brooke Diaz hit a pop fly down the first base and got out to end the inning.
Louisiana took their first lead at the bottom of the second. Samantha Graeter led the inning with a double deep to the left-center field wall. An error by Hammoude on Lauren Allred’s at-bat allowed runners at first and third. Victoria Valdez then brought all three of them in with a three-run home run to give the Cajuns the two-run advantage.
Coach Gerry Glasco’s group extended their lead at the bottom of the third when Mihyia Davis and Maddie Hayden each hit singles to the shortstop and center field. A fielding error by the third baseman loaded the bases, and then Graeter’s single drove in Davis and Hayden. Another error by Hammoude on Denali Loecker’s at-bat brought home Langeliers. Graeter then scored on a throwing error that gave Louisiana the 7-1 lead.
After another quick inning by the Bulldogs, the Cajuns added another run at the bottom of the fourth when Hayden hit a double, then Langeliers’ RBI double past third base put Louisiana up by seven. Louisiana Tech switched up Hammoude for Jina Baffuto and relief pitcher Alyssa Martin came in for starter Brook Melnychuk.
The Bulldogs cut into the Cajun lead at the top of the fifth as Alannah Rogers pinch-hit for Diaz and hit a single into center field. Raley then made it an 8-3 game with a two-run homer over the right-center field wall. Sam Ryan came in to pitch with two outs and struck out Baffuto to end the inning.
Allred came out hot at the bottom of the fifth with a triple. Sam Roe came in to pinch-hit for Dayzja Williams and brought in Kayla Falterman who was pinch-running for Allred with a double into left field. Roe advanced to third on a ground out by Cecilia Vasquez and Jourdyn Campbell came in to hit for Brooke Ellestad. Campbell struck out swinging but the Cajuns headed into the sixth inning with a six-run advantage.
Following a quick sixth inning for both teams, Lexie Delbrey came in to pitch at the top of the seventh. The junior right-handed pitcher made quick work of the Bulldog batters with a couple of strikeouts to secure the 9-3 win for the Cajuns as the team improved to 6-5 on the season.
BIG NUMBER: 5
It was an error-ridden game at Lamson Park with five total in the game. Four came from the infield of Louisiana Tech which led to multiple of the Cajuns’ runs.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Victoria Valdez
Valdez hit her second home run of the season on Tuesday night in the second inning. The three-run blast got the scoring started for Louisiana as the Cajuns came out on top 9-3.
UP NEXT: The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns softball team will return on Friday, February 23rd when they travel to Austin, Texas for the Lonestar State Invitational. The first opponent for Gerry Glasco’s squad will be Stanford as the first pitch will be at 11:00 a.m.