Softball: Cajuns Claim La. Classics Championship

Matt Hebert, Sports Information –

LAFAYETTE – The 18th-ranked Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns softball team clinched the championship of the 20th Annual Louisiana Classics with a 6-0 victory over Ole Miss here Sunday afternoon at Alfred and Helen Lamson Ragin’ Cajuns Softball Park.

The win upped UL’s classics record to 4-0 and assured them of no worse than a half-game lead over second-place Memphis in the tournament standings. UL faced Grambling State at 5:30 p.m., in the tournament finale.

It marks the ninth straight season that the Ragin’ Cajuns claimed the tournament title.

A four-run third inning broke open a scoreless tie and the second straight strong pitching performance against Ole Miss by Krystal Lewallen.

Lewallen struck out seven Rebel batters and held Ole Miss to only four base hits. She extended her streak of scoreless innings pitched to start the 2006 season to 17 consecutive innings.

Lacey Bertucci led the offensive charge for UL with three RBI coming on a three-run home run in the third inning that turned a 1-0 lead into a 4-0 advantage. Ashley Evans posted a team-high three base hits

The Cajuns threatened to score on Ole Miss starter Mary Jane Callahan in the second inning when runners were on second and third inning. The Rebels got an out at home plate on a short grounder to the pitcher and Jessica Lemoine struck out swinging to end the inning.

The third inning would see the Ragin’ Cajuns cash in on opportunities given to them. Karli Hubbard started the inning with a free pass and would advance to second on a passed ball. Hubbard gave the Cajuns the lead when Deserea Griffin rifled a line drive through the right side allowing her to cross the plate for a 1-0 lead.

Danyele Gomez reached first base on an error by Ole Miss shortstop Rebecca McIntire. Griffin moved over to second base on the miscue. Bertucci made the Rebels pay when she took a low line drive and powered it over the outfield fence in center field for a 4-0 lead.

An RBI double from Gomez in the sixth inning and a fielder’s choice RBI from Lemoine in the seventh inning capped off the scoring.

The victory was the 130th at Alfred and Helen Lamson Ragin’ Cajuns Park under co-head coaches Stefni and Michael Lotief (now 130-14 since the 2001 season).

No. 18 Louisiana-Lafayette (4-0) wrapped up tournament play at approximately 5:30 p.m., against Grambling State (0-7). The game was the final scheduled one for the 20th Annual Louisiana Classics.

Louisiana-Lafayette vs Ole Miss (Feb 12, 2006)

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Box score (NCAA)
Play-by-Play
Line score

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Box score (NCAA)
20th Annual Louisiana Classics
#18 Louisiana-Lafayette at Ole Miss
Feb 12, 2006 at Lafayette, La. (Ragin’ Cajuns Park)

Louisiana-Lafayette 6 (4-0)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB
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Griffin, Deserea 3b…… 5 2 2 1 0 0 1 2 3
Gomez, Danyele lf…….. 4 1 1 1 0 2 1 0 0
Bertucci, Lacey 1b/dh…. 4 1 1 3 0 1 9 0 1
Tankersley, Holly dh….. 2 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0
Warren, Heather pr/1b… 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 0
Runyan, Codi ss………. 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 1 0
Evans, Ashley rf……… 4 0 3 0 0 1 0 1 0
Bryant, Brittany 2b…… 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 4
Lemoine, Jessica c……. 3 0 0 1 0 1 5 3 2
Hamilton, Tara ph……. 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Hubbard, Karli cf…….. 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
Chatman, Desi ph…….. 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Cammarata, Kelsey cf…. 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0
Lewallen, Krystal p…… 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals………………. 34 6 8 6 3 7 21 12 10

Ole Miss 0 (2-3)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB
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Plemons, Jessica dh…… 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
McIntire, Rebecca ss….. 2 0 0 0 1 2 3 1 0
Callahan, Mary Jane p…. 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0
May, Michelle c………. 3 0 1 0 0 2 7 1 0
Conchos, Lisa 2b……… 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 3 3
Faircloth, Erin 3b……. 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0
Rowe, Lauren ph……… 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Gibbs, Vanessa lf…….. 2 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 1
Bandhauer, Jill ph…… 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
McCommon, Stacy cf……. 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Warner, Brittany 1b…… 2 0 1 0 0 0 7 0 0
Mosley, Kayla rf……… 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals………………. 23 0 4 0 2 7 21 7 5

Score by Innings R H E
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Louisiana-Lafayette. 004 001 1 – 6 8 1
Ole Miss………… 000 000 0 – 0 4 5
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E – Griffin; McIntire 2; Conchos; Warner; Mosley. DP – Louisiana 1. LOB –
Louisiana 10; Ole Miss 5. 2B – Gomez. HR – Bertucci. SH – Callahan. SB –
Griffin; Tankersley; Runyan.

Louisiana-Lafayette IP H R ER BB SO AB BF
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Lewallen, Krystal… 7.0 4 0 0 2 7 23 26

Ole Miss IP H R ER BB SO AB BF
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Callahan, Mary Jane. 7.0 8 6 4 3 7 34 37

Win – Lewallen (3-0). Loss – Callahan (0-2). Save – None.
WP – Callahan. PB – May.
Umpires – HP: Don Halpin 1B: Rusty Palombo 3B: Butch Hebert
Start: 3 p.m. Time: 2:06 Attendance:
Game: LAC06-9

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Play-by-Play
20th Annual Louisiana Classics
#18 Louisiana-Lafayette at Ole Miss – Play-by-Play
Feb 12, 2006 at Lafayette, La. (Ragin’ Cajuns Park)

Score by Innings R H E
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Louisiana-Lafayette. 004 001 1 – 6 8 1
Ole Miss………… 000 000 0 – 0 4 5
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Louisiana-Lafayette starters: 3/3b Griffin; 22/lf Gomez; 33/1b Bertucci; 23/dh
Tankersley; 24/ss Runyan; 19/rf Evans; 6/2b Bryant; 31/c Lemoine; 9/cf Hubbard; 8/p
Lewallen;
Ole Miss starters: 16/dh Plemons; 1/ss McIntire; 11/p Callahan; 10/c May; 4/2b
Conchos; 7/3b Faircloth; 17/lf Gibbs; 6/cf McCommon; 24/1b Warner; 12/rf Mosley;

Louisiana-Lafayette 1st – Griffin fouled out to 1b. Gomez struck out
swinging. Bertucci grounded out to 1b unassisted. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0
LOB.

Ole Miss 1st – Plemons grounded out to ss. McIntire struck out swinging.
Callahan grounded out to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

Louisiana-Lafayette 2nd – Tankersley walked. Runyan reached on a fielding
error by 2b; Tankersley advanced to third. Evans struck out swinging. Runyan stole
second. Bryant reached on a fielder’s choice, advanced to second; Runyan advanced to
third; Tankersley out at home p to c. Lemoine struck out swinging. 0 runs, 0
hits, 1 error, 2 LOB.

Ole Miss 2nd – May struck out swinging. Conchos singled to right center.
Faircloth struck out swinging. Gibbs grounded out to 2b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors,
1 LOB.

Louisiana-Lafayette 3rd – Hubbard walked. Hubbard advanced to second on a
passed ball. Griffin singled through the right side, RBI; Hubbard scored. Gomez
reached on a fielding error by ss; Griffin advanced to second. Bertucci homered to
center field, 3 RBI; Gomez scored, unearned; Griffin scored. Tankersley struck out
swinging, out at first c to 1b. Runyan popped up to 2b. Evans singled through the
left side. Bryant reached on a fielder’s choice; Evans out at second 2b to ss. 4
runs, 3 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.

Ole Miss 3rd – McCommon grounded out to 3b. Warner grounded out to 2b.
Plemons grounded out to 1b unassisted. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

Louisiana-Lafayette 4th – Lemoine lined out to 3b. Hubbard flied out to lf.
Griffin grounded out to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

Ole Miss 4th – McIntire walked. Callahan reached on a throwing error by 3b,
SAC, bunt; McIntire advanced to second. May struck out swinging, hit into double
play c to ss; McIntire out on the play, picked off. Conchos grounded out to 2b. 0
runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.

Louisiana-Lafayette 5th – Dropped foul ball, E3. Gomez struck out swinging.
Bertucci grounded out to ss. Tankersley walked. Runyan singled to third base;
Tankersley advanced to second. Evans singled to shortstop; Runyan advanced to
second; Tankersley advanced to third. Bryant popped up to ss. 0 runs, 2 hits, 1
error, 3 LOB.

Ole Miss 5th – Faircloth walked. Gibbs struck out swinging. McCommon popped
up to ss. Warner singled to right field; Faircloth advanced to second, out at third
rf to 3b. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

Louisiana-Lafayette 6th – Hamilton pinch hit for Lemoine. Hamilton grounded
out to 2b. Chatman pinch hit for Hubbard. Chatman grounded out to p. Griffin singled
through the right side. Griffin stole second. Gomez doubled to left field, RBI;
Griffin scored. Gomez advanced to third on a wild pitch. Bertucci struck out
swinging. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

Ole Miss 6th – Lemoine to c for Hamilton. Cammarata to cf for Chatman.
Plemons struck out swinging, out at first c to 1b. McIntire struck out swinging, out
at first c to 1b. Callahan singled to center field. May singled to second base;
Callahan advanced to second. Conchos flied out to lf. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2
LOB.

Louisiana-Lafayette 7th – Tankersley reached on a fielding error by ss.
Runyan popped up to ss. Tankersley stole second. Warren pinch ran for Tankersley.
Evans singled to shortstop. Bryant reached on a fielding error by rf; Evans advanced
to second; Warren advanced to third. Lemoine reached on a fielder’s choice, RBI;
Bryant advanced to second; Evans advanced to third; Warren scored, unearned.
Cammarata struck out swinging. Griffin flied out to lf. 1 run, 1 hit, 2 errors, 3
LOB.

Ole Miss 7th – Rowe pinch hit for Faircloth. Bertucci to dh. Warren to 1b.
Rowe grounded out to 3b. Bandhauer pinch hit for Gibbs. Bandhauer grounded out to
2b. McCommon flied out to cf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

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Line score

Louisiana-Lafayette 6, Ole Miss 0 (Feb 12, 2006 at Lafayette, La.)
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Louisiana-Lafayette. 004 001 1 – 6 8 1 (4-0)
Ole Miss………… 000 000 0 – 0 4 5 (2-3)
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Pitchers: Louisiana-Lafayette – Lewallen. Ole Miss – Callahan.
Win-Lewallen(3-0) Loss-Callahan(0-2) T-2:06 A-0
HR UL – Bertucci.
Game: LAC06-9