MOBILE, Ala. – Gabriele Bridges racked up five RBI in an 8-0 win over Troy as Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns softball team claimed its third-straight Sun Belt Tournament Championship on Saturday afternoon at South Alabama’s Jaguar Field.  The victory also marks the Cajuns’ 10^th tournament title in 11 seasons.

Bridges was 2-for-4 on the day with a double and a home run. The double scored the opening runs for the Cajuns while the homer sealed the Trojans’ fate.

Donna Bourgeois allowed just three hits in the shutout victory. She struck out five and walked three to improve to 22-9 on the season. For the tournament, Bourgeois pitched 14.0 shutout innings.

Both were named to the Sun Belt All-Tournament Team and were named the tournament’s Co-Most Valuable Players.

The Cajuns are now 42-16 after going 4-0 in Mobile, Ala. and earn an automatic berth into the NCAA Regionals.

Troy was in danger of taking an early lead after loading the bases with two outs in the bottom of the first inning. But Bourgeois fired off four pitches, catching Courtney Cherry swinging, to get out of the jam.

Bridges put UL in the driver’s seat in the top of the third after Vallie Gaspard and Melissa Verde reached first and second on a fielder’s choice and a base hit. After a fly out, Bridges doubled down the left line scoring both Gaspard and Verde.

A base hit and a failed pick-off attempt allowed Nerissa Myers to advance to second in the fourth inning.  She then scored in the next at bat after a fielding error let Kelly Cormier reach first safely, stretching UL’s lead to 3-0.

The Trojans looked to make up some ground in the bottom of the sixth inning. A hit, a walk and an error loaded the bases for Troy with no outs. But Bourgeois fanned the next batter and forced Troy to ground into a double play to once again quash the threat.

The Cajuns countered in the seventh, adding some insurance runs. Erikka Murphy led off the inning, beating out the throw to first base. She moved over to third after the Trojans’ committed their third error on the day, letting Gaspard take first. A single by Verde rang up one run for UL before Bridges blasted a home run to centerfield. But the runs didn’t stop there as Lana Bowers hit her second triple of the tournament and scored with a one-out single by Myers.

UL scattered nine hits with Myers going 3-for-4 with one run scored. Verde tacked on  two hits and one RBI.

The Cajuns will now have to wait and see where they will continue postseason play. The NCAA Selection Show will be broadcast tomorrow night from 9 p.m.-10 p.m. CT on ESPNU.