Courtesy of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
LAFAYETTE – The 11th-ranked Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns softball team advanced to the winner’s bracket final of the NCAA Lafayette Regional with an 11-0 (5 inn.) win over Weber State Friday evening at Lamson Park.
The Ragin’ Cajuns (40-9) are set to face 18th-ranked Baylor (39-15) on Saturday at 3:30 p.m., in the winner’s bracket final. A spot in Sunday’s 6 p.m., championship game goes to the winner.
Christina Hamilton (12-2) retired the first 11 batters she faced and held Weber State (38-18) hitless in her four innings in the pitching circle. Hamilton struck out six and of the six Wildcats to put the ball in play only two drove the ball into the outfield.
Lexie Elkins homered in the third inning picking up her 30th of the season which ties Danyele Gomez’s single-season school record set back in 2006. The three-run shot upped her game-high RBI total to four.
Louisiana won its NCAA Regional opener for the fourth straight season. Dating back to 2012, the Cajuns have won 10 straight games in the regional round.
Runs in each of the team’s first three at bats allowed the top-seeded Ragin’ Cajuns to pull away from the Wildcats.
Shellie Landry tripled with one out in the bottom of the first inning and crossed home plate on an Elkins grounder to shortstop for a 1-0 lead.
A two-out walk by Kelli Martinez extended the bottom of the second inning. Haley Hayden homered followed by a solo home run from Landry to stretch the lead to 4-0.
Elkins’ three-run home run finished the scoring in a seven-run, third inning for Louisiana that provided the final margin.
MaCauley Flint (14-8) was charged with the loss for WSU, allowing six runs in 2-1/3 innings. Sierra Whitmer, who relieved Flint in the third inning, surrendered the final five runs.
Sophomore Alex Stewart and freshman Kylee Jo Trahan made their NCAA Tournament debut and combined to record the final three outs in the top of the fifth inning.
DIAMOND NOTES: Louisiana began its 25th appearance, all in the past 26 years, in the NCAA Tournament…Since 1990, the only season the Cajuns missed the NCAA’s postseason event was 1998…The Cajuns are in the NCAA Tournament for the 17th straight season, a streak which dates back to 1999…Louisiana and Weber State met for the first time…Shellie Landry‘s home run in the second inning was her 20th of the season, marking the first time she’s reached 20 home runs in her career…The three home runs marked the Cajuns’ 28th multiple-home run game of the season…The pitching staff picked up its 17th shutout and first since an 8-0 (5 inn.) win over Georgia State on April 4.
