Softball: Cajuns Triumphant on Senior Day, Reach 40-win Plateau
Box Score
LAFAYETTE – Senior Shellie Landry delivered a home run and an RBI triple, highlighting the offense on Senior Day at Lamson Park on Sunday, as No. 9-ranked Ragin’ Cajuns Softball topped ULM 8-0 (6 inn.) in front of a crowd of 1,587.
Sunday’s contest marked the final regular season home games for Ragin’ Cajuns seniors Sara Corbello, Lexie Elkins, Gabby Felps, Shellie Landry, Meagan Thomas and Kelsey Vincent.
With the win, No. 9 Louisiana (40-7, 21-2 Sun Belt) reached 40 wins for the 18th straight season – a streak that dates back to 1999 – and for the 26th time overall in the 36-year history of the program.
The Ragin’ Cajuns are next in action at the Sun Belt Conference Tournament at Jaguar Field on the University of South Alabama campus in Mobile, Ala., set for Wednesday-Saturday, May 11-14. The squad has a bye on the tournament’s first day and opens play on Thursday, May 12 at 10 a.m., against an opponent to be determined following the conclusion of Wednesday’s games.
Landry finished 2-for-4 at the plate and registered two RBI giving her a team-leading 17 multiple-RBI games. With the home run in the fifth inning, the Broussard, La., native eclipsed 50 RBI for the second straight season and third time in her career.
Alex Stewart (25-4, 1.42 ERA) struck out seven and pitched six scoreless innings of one-hit softball in posting her seventh complete game shutout. The only hit the Warhawks (23-32, 7-17 Sun Belt) collected was a bunt single in the second inning.
Stewart finished the weekend series with 17 scoreless innings pitched, struck out 18 and limited the Warhawks to four hits. The win improved the Ragin’ Cajuns hurler to 16-1 in Sun Belt play, the most wins and fewest losses by a starting pitcher in the league.
Haley Hayden (2-for-4, double, 3 RBI) posted a hit for the 37th time in 47 games this season and picked up her team-leading 17th multiple-hit game. She reached three RBI for the fifth time and collected her 11th multiple-RBI game.
The Ragin’ Cajuns took control of the contest in the third inning scoring runs on an RBI single by Hayden, a wild pitch that allowed her to score and a double down the left field line from DJ Sanders to grab a 3-0 lead.
Landry’s home run in the fifth inning upped the advantage to 4-0. Hayden later put the game out of reach with a two-run double in the sixth inning that stretched the lead to 6-0.
Hayden scored on a triple down the right field line by Landry, then the Cajuns brought the game to an early finish two batters later when Aleah Craighton lifted a fly ball out of the reach of ULM right fielder Hunter Hogan’s reach to score pinch runner Kassidy Zeringue for the 8-0 final margin.
The Ragin’ Cajuns stretched their current win streak at Lamson Park to 20 games, concluding the regular season with a 21-1 record in the friendly confines.
The 21 wins in Sun Belt Conference play ties a school record set in 2012 when the Cajuns finished 21-3 in league play. The .913 winning percentage marks the sixth time in 16 seasons of league competition in which the program won 90-plus percent of its conference games.
For more information on Ragin’ Cajuns softball, fans can follow along with the team on Facebook (/RaginCajunSoftball) and Twitter (@RaginCajunSB).
DIAMOND NOTES: With the attendance of 1,587, all crowds over the 15 playing dates in the 2016 regular season at Lamson Park were above 1,300…Total attendance over the 15 playing dates at Lamson Park was 25,784…Average attendance at Lamson Park in the 2016 regular season was 1,718, which is a school record…The Ragin’ Cajuns swept the season series from ULM for the fourth straight season and extended their series-record win streak over their in-state foes to 15 games…Louisiana has won all 10 Sun Belt series with ULM and holds a 24-5 lead in SBC matchups…With the weekend sweep, the Ragin’ Cajuns extended their all-time series lead over the Warhawks to 102-27 (45-10 in Lafayette)…Junior Haley Hayden‘s RBI single in the third inning moved her to 40 RBI for the third time in as many seasons of her career…Hayden moved up to 59 hits on the season and she will enter the Sun Belt Tournament needing only one hit to reach 60 hits for the third straight season…Freshman third baseman Kara Gremillion, coming off her first back-to-back multiple-hit games of her career on Saturday, extended her current hitting streak to four games (season-high tying streak) with a single leading off the sixth inning…Gremillion also played error-free for the 14th straight game, having last committed an error on April 9 at Georgia State and only three errors all season long…Senior Gabby Felps pinch hit for Kelli Martinez in the sixth inning and delivered a single into right field…Kelli Martinez doubled to lead off the three-run third inning, picking up her first career double and first extra base hit since a triple vs. Troy on March 22, 2015…Alex Stewart pitched scoreless softball for the eighth straight time in an appearance at Lamson Park…Stewart hasn’t allowed a run in the facility since March 16 vs. McNeese State and has an active string of 39-1/3 consecutive scoreless innings pitched at Lamson Park…Adding in Sunday’s six scoreless innings, Alex Stewart has held Sun Belt foes to 11 runs and 58 hits covering 20 appearances and 95 innings pitched in league play…The pitching staff limited the opposition to two runs or fewer for the 34th time in 47 games, overall…In Sun Belt play, Cajuns pitching held league foes to two runs or less in 19 of 23 games…With the weekend sweep, the 2016 senior class improved its record at Lamson Park to 101-11-1, with the potential to add more wins should the Ragin’ Cajuns host an NCAA postseason event.
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