Survive and advance was the motto for the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns on Saturday after coming up short against the Houston Cougars on Friday night. They were able to do just that, dominating Fordham 13-5 in five innings and getting some redemption over Houston later in the afternoon with a 7-2 win to get to the regional final.
How It Happened
The Cajuns wasted little time in the matchup in Fordham, putting together four runs highlighted by Lexie Comeaux scoring hitting an RBI single up the middle then advancing to third due to a throwing error by the catcher. However, Fordham responded in the bottom frame with a three-run inning capped off by an RBI single by Deanna Burbridge.
After that outburst, Kylee Jo Trahan shut down the Rams offense the rest of the way. Louisiana’s offense really started to click in the top of the fourth with a four-run inning highlighted by an RBI double from Carrie Boswell. The final nail was put in the Rams season in the fifth by Casidy Chaumont with a two-run single out to center field, making it 13-3.
About an hour later, the third game of the day started at Tiger Park with the Cougars getting out to an early 1-0 lead with an RBI single by Sarah Queen. Comeaux came up huge though in the second with a solo shot out to left field to tie things up. Brittany Rodriguez kept things rolling later in the inning with a two-run double through the left side. Boswell got two more runs across in the third with a single.
After Kara Gremillion hit an RBI single down the left field line, Queen chipped away at the lead in the fifth with an RBI single of her own. However, Comeaux crushed another one in the seventh to send home the Cougars.
Big Number: 22
After having a rough time getting runs together in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, the offense came unglued on Saturday putting up 22 total runs against Fordham and Houston.
Player of the Games: Lexie Comeaux
Comeaux was a big catalyst for the Cajuns, going five-of-seven in the two elimination games on Saturday with five RBIs and a pair of home runs to boot against Houston.
Next Up: Regional Final vs LSU; First Pitch at 1 p.m.
-Clint Domingue