Cajuns win pair Saturday at Longhorn Invitational

AUSTIN, Texas – The No. 24-ranked Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Softball team posted a two-game sweep on Saturday, March 4 in the Longhorn Invitational at McCombs Field in Austin, Texas, scoring in all but one inning of a 9-1 (6 inn.) win over Tennessee State and using a heads-up baserunning play to steal the momentum and break free for an 8-3 win over Princeton.

Stormy Kotzelnick (2-for-3, HR, 3 RBI) led the charge against Tennessee State (9-9) picking up an RBI in each of her first two plate appearances, launching a first inning home run to open the scoring and posting an RBI single the next time up to extend the lead to 4-0 in the third inning.

Louisiana’s march to the finish line was started by Sophie Piskos capping off her 2-for-2 showing at the plate with a leadoff double in the bottom of the sixth inning. That was the first of four straight hits that included an RBI triple from Lauren Allred and Mihyia Davis’ RBI single that stretched the lead to 8-1 before a fielder’s choice RBI grounder from Kotzelnick ended the game early.

Eight different Ragin’ Cajuns posted a base hit off of TSU pitching led by Kotzelnick, Piskos and Davis who each delivered two-hit efforts. The 11-hit attack was highlighted by a 5-for-11 combined performance from the Nos. 6-9 hitters in the lineup.

Meghan Schorman (4.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 6 K) carried a no-hitter into the fourth inning and got a key strikeout with a runner at third later in the frame to preserve her clean slate. Chloe Riassetto (2.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 K) closed out the final two innings and like Schorman allowed only one baserunner to reach third base.

It was the combination of plate appearances by Piskos (1-for-2, 2 runs, RBI) and Laney Credeur (2-for-2) in the second and fourth inning that steered Louisiana (13-7) past Princeton.

The duo started the bottom of the second with back-to-back singles for runners on the corners with no outs, then Victoria Valdez’s grounder plated Piskos for a 1-0 lead.

The fourth inning sequence was a Piskos walk and Credeur single to start the frame that set up Valdez’s sacrifice bunt that put pinch runner Taylor Roman in position for a heads-up baserunning play on a dropped third strike that resulted in the Ragin’ Cajuns snapping a 1-all tie.

A clutch two-out RBI single from Kayla Falterman created separation before Princeton (2-7) could close the fourth inning, then an inning later the gap was widened when Allred’s pinch-hit, inside-the-park home run put Louisiana ahead 7-1.

Sam Landry (5.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 4 K) collected the win for a second straight start by working around traffic early on after a leadoff single in the first and a pair of walks in second to ensure the Ragin’ Cajuns would stay a step ahead of the Tigers. She posted a pivotal 1-2-3 inning in the fifth to keep the momentum on Louisiana’s side after regaining the lead with the two-run fourth inning.

UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
No. 24 Louisiana concludes play at the Longhorn Invitational in Austin, Texas on Sunday, March 5 with a rematch against No. 11 Texas. First pitch is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. (CST) at McCombs Field.

The Longhorns rallied from a 2-0 deficit on Friday, eventually surpassing the Ragin’ Cajuns in the fifth inning with a four-spot that included a three-run home run from Courtney Day, and claimed a 6-2 triumph.

Sunday’s contest between the two nationally ranked foes is being televised on the Longhorn Network. A radio broadcast, with Cody Junot and Bobby Neveaux calling the action, is 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.