Softball: Breakthrough in 11th Inning Moves Softball into Baton Rouge Regional Winner’™s Bracket

Scoreless duel with George Washington ends with pinch-hit heroics

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• BOX SCORE (PDF)
  BATON ROUGE – Karly Heath’s pinch-hit RBI double in the 11th inning broke a scoreless tie and handed No. 15 Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Softball a 1-0 walk-off win over George Washington on Friday in the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional at Tiger Park.
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  Heath’s heroics advanced the Ragin’ Cajuns (45-10) into the winner’s bracket final of the Baton Rouge Regional on Saturday against No. 16 Louisiana State (33-19) at 2 p.m.
   
  The game-winning moment was set up by a leadoff single from Sophie Piskos and then her hustle on a grounder that forced the ball out of a Colonials defender’s glove allowing her to reach scoring position.
   
  The tally assured Louisiana that the pitching efforts of Kandra Lamb and Summer Ellyson would be rewarded. Lamb (6.0 IP, 1 H, 7 K) carried a perfect game into the seventh inning, then Ellyson (5.0 IP, 1 H, 7 K) backed her up with a shutdown relief effort the rest of the way.
   
  Lamb and Ellyson yielded only two hits to George Washington (37-10) and struck out 14 batters in the combined shutout. The Colonials entered the contest with a .349 team batting average.
   
  Friday’s outing marked the longest contest of the 2021 season for the Ragin’ Cajuns, and was the program’s first extra inning game in an NCAA postseason game since a 10-inning game with Louisiana State in the 2018 Baton Rouge Regional.
   
  Louisiana, coming off an undefeated run at the Sun Belt Conference Tournament last week in Troy, moved to 5-0 in postseason play.
   
  DIAMOND NOTES
  • In her first-ever NCAA Tournament start, Kandra Lamb retired each of the first 18 batters she faced.
  • Summer Ellyson collected career win No. 98 placing her within two wins of the century mark. Only two other Ragin’ Cajuns pitchers have reached the mark (Brooke Mitchell, Kyla Hall).
  • Kandra Lamb and Summer Ellyson prevented the Colonials from successfully moving past second base the entire 11 innings.
  • The 14 strikeouts that Kandra Lamb and Summer Ellyson combined to produce tied the pitching staff’s season-high total, matching the amount vs. McNeese on Feb. 24.
  • Louisiana posted its second 1-0 walk-off win in a two-out situation, and the first since March 27 vs. South Alabama (Ciara Bryan home run).
  • Louisiana improved to 9-2 in one-run games and posted its 17th shutout of the season.
  • The Ragin’ Cajuns played extra innings for just the third time in the 2021 season, and the first time since a nine-inning game on Feb. 28 vs. Oklahoma State.
  • Louisiana and George Washington met on the softball diamond for the first time. The Ragin’ Cajuns were the opposition for the Colonials’ first-ever NCAA Tournament contest.

   
  UP NEXT
  No. 15 Louisiana takes aim at the driver’s seat in the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional and a spot in Championship Sunday when the squad returns to Tiger Park on Saturday to face No. 16 Louisiana State in the winner’s bracket final at 2 p.m.
   
  Live video coverage is available on ESPN3, and Ragin’ Cajuns fans can also follow along on SportsRadio ESPN 1420-AM and at CajunStats.com.
   
  FOLLOW THE RAGIN’ CAJUNS
  Follow the Ragin’ Cajuns on Facebook (/RaginCajunsSB), Twitter (@RaginCajunsSB) and Instagram (@Louisiana.SB) to stay up-to-date on all that is happening with Louisiana Softball.
   

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