Southern Miss
Louisiana-Lafayette (Louisiana-Lafayette Tournament)
Softball Splits Games at Louisiana Classics Tournament
2/23/2008 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Feb. 23, 2008
MVSU Box Score 
LAFAYETTE, La. - Southern Miss opened the first day of the 22nd annual Louisiana Classics with a 5-0 victory over Mississippi Valley State, before falling to No. 20 Louisiana-Lafayette 4-1 here Saturday afternoon at Ragin' Cajuns Park.
Four Lady Eagles, Holly Milner, Kristin Pilgrim, Megan Hill and Kristin Chaney, got the squad going in the opening game with two hits each as Southern Miss put the game out of reach in the first frame with three runs.
Milner started things for the Lady Eagles (9-4) with a one-out walk and then went to second on a Kristin Pilgrim single through the right side. Jennifer Fox followed with a single up the middle which drove home Milner. Hill then drove home Pilgrim on a hard shot to shortstop Erica Hardin that was misplayed.
Fox notched the final tally of the inning by scoring on a throwing error from third base when Hill stole second and MVSU's catcher Megan Hays down to erase Hill was thrown into centerfield.
The Lady Eagles strung together three singles in the fourth, the last coming from Pilgrim, as she knocked in a run with her one-base hit. Southern Miss then completed its scoring in the sixth as Milner doubled down the leftfield line, scoring Brandi Alonzo from first base who had reached base via a walk.
Freshman Lana Vaughn (3-1) scattered three hits and five walks, while striking out four to record a complete-game shutout. After allowing the first two batters of the game to reach base, Vaughn retired the next seven batters and then finished the game by retiring seven of the final eight hitters she faced to get the victory.
Mara Moed of MVSU (6-6) went six innings for the Devilettes, allowing five runs (four earned) on nine hits and four walks with no strikeouts in suffering the pitching loss.
In the second game, the Lady Eagles lost to Ragin' Cajun freshman standout Ashley Brignac. Although Brignac allowed just three hits, she surrendered nine walks and fanned eight to get the win and improve to 4-0 on the season. Southern Miss had its chances but stranded 12 runners in the game, leaving runners on base in all seven innings.
The Lady Eagles garnered their lone run in the third. After a leadoff walk to Milner, Pilgrim recorded a sacrifice bunt and Fox grounded out before Hill laced a single into left to score the visitors' lone run.
It was the first earned run that Brignac had surrendered in a school-sponsored contest since her sophomore year in high school.
Offensively, the Cajuns (6-0) got a solo run in the first on a sacrifice fly by Vanessa Soto and then added a two-run homer in the third by Gabriele Bridges, before registering their final run in the sixth on a RBI triple by Molly Tankersley.
USM starter Hannah Griffin (1-1) allowed three runs on four hits and four walks over three innings to suffer the loss.
The Lady Eagles complete tournament play Sunday as they face MVSU at 1 p.m., and follow that with a 3:30 p.m., contest against host UL Lafayette. The UL contest will be televised in the Lafayette, La., area on KLAF-TV.
