Southern Miss
#5 Louisiana-Lafayette
Long Ball Lifts No. 5 Cajuns Past Softball
3/5/2016 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Box Score (Game 1) | Box Score (Game 1) 
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Photo Gallery
Box Score (Game 2) | Box Score (Game 2)
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- The Southern Miss softball team dropped a doubleheader at the Softball Complex to nationally ranked Louisiana-Lafayette on Saturday afternoon. The No. 5 Ragin' Cajuns posted a 17-1 victory in five innings before notching a 13-0 win in five innings in game two.
Offensively, the Golden Eagles struggled to get the bats going, recording eight hits on the day. Tori Dew and Morgan McKeever each recorded a pair of hits with a walk each. Lauren Holifield, Samantha Reynolds, Sarah Evans and Katie Cleary each recorded base hits on the day. Reynolds scored the only run of the day for Southern Miss with Dew driving in the RBI.
In the circle, Southern Miss used all four pitchers in their stable. Samantha Robles and Danielle Block each eared starts with Jillian Johnson and Meredith Miller throwing in relief. The Golden Eagles surrendered 30 runs (25 earned runs) on 25 hits, including 11 home runs to one of the nation's top hitting teams on the day. The pitching staff was hurt by 10 walks compared to just two strikeouts.
Southern Miss and No. 5 Louisiana-Lafayette conclude the three-game series with a single game on Sunday afternoon. First pitch is slated for 1:00 p.m. Live stats and in-game tweets (@SouthernMissSB) will be available. Live video and live audio will also be available with Drew Granger handling the play-by-play call on southernmiss.com/allacess.
Game 1 Recap -- No. 5 Ragin' Cajuns Jump Out Early on Golden Eagles
In game one, the nationally-ranked Cajuns jumped out to an early lead that the Golden Eagles were unable to recover from.
Louisiana-Lafayette scored eight runs on four hits in the first inning to take control of the first game and coast to a victory. The inning was punctuated by a grand slam home run by Aleah Craighton, which was followed by a solo shot by D.J. Sanders. In the inning, leadoff batter Haley Hayden came around a second time, as one of the nation's top hitting teams batted around, hitting a three-run homer to center field to put the No. 5 Ragin' Cajuns in front 8-0.
After the Golden Eagles posted a 1-2-3 inning on defense, the Ragin' Cajuns manufactured a run in the third inning.
Southern Miss scratched the scoreboard in the bottom of the third inning. J. Johnson drew a walk to start the inning. She was erased on a fielder's choice that saw Reynolds on first base. With two outs, Reynolds stole second base to move into scoring position. McKeever followed with a full-count walk. Dew followed with a RBI single to center field to score the speedy Reynolds from second base.
Louisiana-Lafayette extended their lead with four runs in the fourth and fifth. First Team All-American Lexie Elkins highlighted the fourth inning for the Ragin' Cajuns with a two-run home run, while Sanders recorded her second homer of the game in the fifth to score a pair of runs.
Game 2 Recap -- No. 5 Louisiana-Lafayette Completes Doubleheader Sweep
In game two, No. 5 Louisiana-Lafayette used a pair of big innings and solid pitching to earn the win over Southern Miss.
After being held scoreless in the first inning, the Ragin' Cajuns took advantage of a Golden Eagle miscue in the second inning. The leadoff batter reached on a fielding error by Southern Miss. With one out, she moved into scoring position as the batter drew a walk. Southern Miss used a fielder's choice to record the second out of the inning, leaving Louisiana-Lafayette with runners at the corners. The Cajuns executed a double steal to score the lead runner and take a 1-0 lead. On the play, a throwing error allowed the trail runner to advance all the way to third. A single scored another run and a wild pitch moved the runner into scoring position. UL's Shellie Landry followed with a two-run homer to left and Elkins made it 5-0 with a solo shot.
Louisiana-Lafayette added a run in the third on a solo homer by Craighton before adding five runs in the fourth and two in the fifth. The Cajuns added a pair of home runs in the fourth -- a solo homer by Hayden and a two-run shot by Sanders. The final two runs came in the fifth as Elkins, the nation's home run leader, concluded her day with a two-run line-drive home run down the left field line.
