Softball: Cajuns win series over Texas State as Alex Stewart tossed shutout, 4-0

SAN MARCOS, Texas – Alex Stewart tossed a complete game shutout with a career-high 11 strikeouts to guide the No. 9 Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns softball team to a 4-0 win over Texas State on Sunday in the series finale at Bobcat Stadium.
 
With the win, Louisiana (27-5, 12-3 Sun Belt) claimed the series victory from Texas State (21-15, 6-5 Sun Belt). The Ragin’ Cajuns have claimed all five Sun Belt series in 2015.
 
Stewart was provided a 2-0 lead in the first inning after solo home runs by Haley Hayden and Lexie Elkins. She protected the lead by retiring the Bobcats in order from the second through fourth inning and stranding runners in scoring position three times before a two-run double in the seventh inning by Shellie Landry added insurance.
 
Stewart, starting for the second straight game, picked up both of the Cajuns wins in the series helping the team bounce back from a 14-13 defeat in the opener.
 
No. 9 Louisiana returns to action on Wednesday, April 1 in a 6 p.m., single game at McNeese State in Lake Charles. The Cajuns then return to Lamson Park for a three-game Sun Belt series with Georgia State Friday-Saturday, April 3-4.
 
The win assures the Cajuns of remaining in at least a tie for first place in the Sun Belt standings, by percentage points, regardless of the outcome of ULM’s game with Georgia Southern.
 
Hayden finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Her home run in the first inning marked the third time leading a game off with a home run and extended her reached-base streak to 21 games.
 
Elkins’ home run in the first inning was her fifth of the series and extended her hitting streak to nine games. Landry’s double in the seventh stretched her hitting streak to 10 games, the longest by a Cajun this season.
 
Stewart completed the series allowing just two runs and six hits over 10 innings pitched. The 11 strikeouts bested her previous career-high of eight on Feb. 13 vs. Idaho State.
 
After the solo home runs from Hayden and Elkins in the top of the first inning, the Bobcats threatened in their half of the inning. Runners moved to second and third after a throwing error by Samantha Walsh. Stewart registered strikeouts of Kortney Koroll and Kendall Wiley to strand the runners in scoring position.
 
Pitching took center stage as Stewart and Texas State’s Randi Rupp traded zeros through the sixth inning.
 
Stewart retired the Bobcats in order from the second through fourth inning, while Rupp stranded four Cajuns runners during that time frame.
 
The only base runners Rupp allowed the Cajuns in the fourth and fifth inning was a walk from Leandra Maly and hit by pitch of Elkins, respectively.
 
An error to start the bottom of the fifth and bunt single with two outs gave TXST runners on first and second base. A diving catch by Aleah Craighton ended the inning and kept the Bobcats off the scoreboard.
 
Stewart snuffed out the Bobcats’ last threat and held on to a 2-0 lead by recording back-to-back strikeouts in the bottom of the sixth inning after a one-out double by Courtney Harris gave TXST a runner in scoring position.
 
The Cajuns picked up a pair of insurance runs for Stewart on Landry’s two-run double in their final at bat.
 
DIAMOND NOTES: The Cajuns ended the series with 13 home runs…Lexie Elkins has now hit 11 home runs in the month of March and leads the team with 17 for the season…The Cajuns have hit multiple home runs in 17 of 32 games played in 2015…Louisiana scored first for the 27^th time in 32 games and improved to 24-3 when scoring first…Shellie Landry‘s two-run double in the seventh inning increased her season RBI total to a team-leading 42…The home runs by Haley Hayden and Lexie Elkins in the first inning increased the team’s season total to 60, reaching the mark before the calendar turned to April…Louisiana now leads the all-time series with Texas State 22-3 (5-1 in SBC play)…The Cajuns will return to San Marcos in May for the 2015 Sun Belt Conference Tournament (May 6-9.)