Softball: No. 7-ranked Cajuns Cruise By UCA in Classics Finale

LAFAYETTE – The No. 7-ranked Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns softball team reached four home runs for the third time this season as part of a 14-hit attack that carried the squad past Central Arkansas 11-1 (5 inn.) in the 30th Annual Louisiana Classics finale on Sunday afternoon at Lamson Park.
 
Kelsey Vincent went 3-for-3 at the plate and capped of the Ragin’ Cajuns home run spree with a solo home run – her third of the season – in the second inning.
 
Lexie Elkins, who picked up her eighth of the season, was the other Cajun with a multiple-hit game, finishing 2-for-3 at the plate while tying for game-high honors with two RBI. Haley Hayden and Aleah Craighton, who also hit home runs, also collected two RBI.
 
Kylee Jo Trahan matched her season-high with eight strikeouts (Feb. 13 vs. Samford) in picking up the win and surrendered just one hit in 3-2/3 innings, a solo home run by UCA’s Kate Myers in the third inning. Macey Smith and Alison Deville combined for 1-1/3 innings of hitless relief.
 
Sunday’s win gave Louisiana (8-1) a 3-1 record in the 30th Louisiana Classics, adding to a 2-1 showing in three matchups with No. 5 Oregon prior to Sunday’s UCA tilt.
 
No. 7 Louisiana remains at Lamson Park, and continues its current 10-game homestand, when it hosts Texas Tech (4-6) in a 4 p.m., doubleheader on Thursday, Feb. 25. That will be followed by the Ragin’ Cajuns Invitational (Feb. 26-28) featuring Alcorn State and Rutgers.
 
Hayden jumpstarted the Cajuns’ offense, leading off the bottom of the first with a solo home run to center field. It was the West Monroe product’s first home run of the season and fifth time in the past two seasons she’s led off a game with a home run.
 
Two more runs were added in the frame before UCA’s Shivaun Landeros could retire the side. With two outs, Vincent doubled, and then Craighton followed up with a home run to stretch the lead to 3-0.
 
Louisiana sent 13 batters to the plate in the second inning, piling up seven runs to put the game out of reach. The highlight came when Elkins (two-run) and Vincent (solo) homered back-to-back to grow the lead to 8-0. Sara Corbello and pinch hitter Miranda Grotenhuis recorded RBI singles for the final two runs of the inning.
 
Myers’ home run opened the top of the third inning and provided the lone run for the Bears (5-4).
 
Elkins and Vincent provided another one-two punch in the lineup, singling back-to-back to start the bottom half of the third. Elkins moved to third base on a foul out down the right field line by Craighton and score the game’s final run on a sacrifice fly to right field by DJ Sanders.
 
Trahan closed out her second start of the weekend with a pair of strikeouts after Hannah Stirton and Bailey Reynolds walked to lead off the fourth inning.
 
UCA was held off the scoreboard as Smith entered in relief and closed out the fourth inning, and then retired the first two Bears hitters in the fifth inning before giving way to Deville who induced a fly ball out from Sarah Bigej for the game’s final out.
 
The two teams met in a Lamson-Park based tournament for the third straight season (2014-16). Louisiana improved to 3-0 all-time against Central Arkansas.
 
DIAMOND NOTES: Lexie Elkins posted her 64th career home run which places her two shy of tying Gabriele Bridges for fourth place in school history…Of Elkins’ 16 hits this season, 10 have gone for extra bases (2 doubles, 8 home runs)…The 3-1 record in the 30th Louisiana Classics improved the Ragin’ Cajuns all-time record in the event to 117-14…The Cajuns reached four home runs for the third time (5 vs. UAB, 4 vs. La. Tech)…The eight strikeouts by Kylee Jo Trahan not only matched her season-high, but allowing the pitching staff to tie its season-high set when she fanned eight vs. Samford in Gulf Shores…Sara Corbello‘s RBI single in the second inning extended her hitting streak to five games which is one shy of her career-best hit streak of six games set in 2013 (3/9/13 vs. WKU to 3/16/13 at South Alabama)…Lexie Elkins also extended her hitting streak to five games and picked up her fifth multiple-hit game.