Langeliers power offense, Schorman mystifies UCF in Florida trip finale

ORLANDO, Fla. – Career-best performances from Alexa Langeliers and Meghan Schorman headlined the emphatic 8-0 (5 inn.) win for the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Softball team over No. 25-ranked UCF on Tuesday, February 21 at the UCF Softball Complex.

Langeliers tallied up a career-high seven (7) RBI off of three extra base hits which included a pair of three-run home runs. She surpassed her previous-best RBI total of six set on opening day of the 2022 season and recorded the most RBI by a Ragin’ Cajun since Melissa Mayeux totaled the same amount on March 11, 2020.

Schorman (5.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 4 K) faced only three batters over the minimum in silencing the Knights’ batting order to collect the first no-hitter of her collegiate career.

Louisiana (6-5) snapped a five-game losing streak that the squad carried to Orlando over from last weekend’s TaxAct Clearwater Invitational that included four matchups with Top 10 teams.

The convincing win over UCF (5-6) closed out a string of five straight games against nationally ranked teams for the Ragin’ Cajuns and was the squad’s first win over a ranked team on the young season.

From the start, the Ragin’ Cajuns set the tone for the night as only four batters into the game Karly Heath ripped a first-pitch RBI single up the middle for a 1-0 lead. On the next pitch, Langeliers launched the first of her two home runs with the three-run shot upping the quick start to 4-0.

UCF got a free pass in each of the first three innings, but Schorman was unphased. The leadoff batter reached in the first and second inning, but each time she promptly retired the next three batters.

Langeliers provided Schorman additional cushion with a two-out RBI double in the third inning that made it 5-0.

In the fourth inning Schorman matched UCF reliever Angelina DeVoe by retiring the side in order. It was the first of back-to-back clean innings for the Ragin’ Cajuns senior righty that locked up her no-hitter.

DeVoe, who shut down a bases-loaded threat from Louisiana in the third, kept the Knights within striking distance of the Ragin’ Cajuns until Langeliers showed up at the plate in the fifth inning and unloaded a towering three-run homer that moved the lead to run-rule territory at 8-0.

Langeliers’ performance (3-for-3, double, 2 home runs, 7 RBI) was part of a dominant showing by Louisiana’s 3-4-5 hitters (Maddie Hayden, Heath, Langeliers) who combined to go 8-for-9 at the plate with a combined seven (7) runs and eight (8) RBI.

Louisiana’s efforts marked the first time that UCF was run-ruled and no-hit since the 2022 Super Regional at No. 1 Oklahoma (May 27, 2022).

Tuesday’s meeting at the UCF Softball Complex marked the first-ever meeting between Louisiana and UCF on the softball diamond. The game also brought an end to the Ragin’ Cajuns’ seven-game road trip to the state of Florida that began back on Thursday, February 16 at the TaxAct Clearwater Invitational.

UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
After a three-day break, the Ragin’ Cajuns resume play with the LSU Crossover event from Saturday-Sunday, February 25-26 followed by a Monday (February 27) evening meeting with Ole Miss at Lamson Park.

Louisiana starts the LSU Crossover in Baton Rouge on Saturday (Feb. 25) facing Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at 12:00 p.m. and host-LSU at approximately 2:30 p.m. at Tiger Park. The Ragin’ Cajuns meet the same two opponents at the exact same times on Sunday (Feb. 26) at Yvette Girouard Field at Lamson Park to complete the tournament.

The Monday matchup with Ole Miss at Lamson Park is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. and it concludes a brief two-day, three-game homestand.