Cajuns down McNeese, fall to Texas in Friday action at Longhorn Invitational

Collected five RBI in Ragin’ Cajuns split on Day 1 of Longhorn Invitational

AUSTIN, Texas – The No. 24-ranked Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Softball team scored early and late to top McNeese 7-1 to start off play in the Longhorn Invitational on Friday, March 3 at McCombs Field in Austin, Texas, but settled for a split after No. 11 Texas rallied in the middle innings for a 6-2 win.

Karly Heath (1-for-3, HR, 3 RBI) gave Louisiana the lead over McNees1e only three batters into the contest with her three-run home run. The home run was Heath’s 25th overall as a Ragin’ Cajun (2021-present).

Sam Landry (7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 7 K) made the lead hold as the only tally McNeese could gather was off a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning. Landry retired the Cowgirls in order three times and faced just six over the minimum in posting her first seven-inning complete game since April 30, 2022 vs. Coastal Carolina at Lamson Park.

The exclamation point on the tournament-opening win came with two outs in the seventh inning after Stormy Kotzelnick’s RBI single and Jourdyn Campbell’s three-run home run created the final margin.

In the nightcap, the Ragin’ Cajuns jumped on the board in the first inning as Mihyia Davis (3-for-3, 2 runs) led off with an infield single, stole second and advanced on an error, then scored on Heath’s grounder to shortstop.

The lead was increased to 2-0 in the top of the third with an RBI single from Heath. Meghan Schorman (4.1 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 K) kept the Longhorns off-balance through the first three innings and took a shutout into the middle frames.

Texas drew even in the fourth when Courtney Day homered off of Schorman, then broke through in the fifth inning when Day launched another home run as part of a four-run frame that upped the lead to 6-2.

Citlaly Gutierrez, who preserved the tie in the fifth after Davis’ leadoff walk, retired the first six Ragin’ Cajuns that she faced to guide the Longhorns to the finish line.

Heath, who accounted for both of Louisiana’s RBI off of Texas starting pitcher Mac Morgan, finished Day 1 of the Longhorn Invitational with five RBI to increase her season total to a team-leading 16 RBI.

Davis’ 3-for-3 effort against the Longhorns capped off a five-hit day for the Ragin’ Cajuns freshman phenom who upped her season batting average to .522 (12-for-23).

Louisiana and Texas met in Austin for the fourth consecutive season (2020-present). Friday night’s win allowed the host-Longhorns to pull even at 3-all in the series of matchups at McCombs Field between the two teams during the timeframe.

The Ragin’ Cajuns (11-7) get another chance against the Longhorns (14-2-1) on Sunday, March 5 when the two squads meet at 12:30 p.m. in the tournament finale.

UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
The Ragin’ Cajuns continue play in the Longhorn Invitational on Saturday, March 4 starting at approximately 5:00 p.m. (CST) against Tennessee State followed immediately by a matchup with Princeton.

Both games have a radio broadcast only, airing on 103.3 FM The Goat and 1420 AM in the Acadiana region and worldwide on the Varsity Network. Live stats will be provided by CajunStats.com.