Long ball wins, Cajuns hit three HRs, toss one-hitter
Published 8:00 am Wednesday, April 5, 2023
- Louisiana-Lafayette’s Karly Heath crushes a solo home run to right field during the first inning of a 7-0 win over McNeese State on Tuesday at Cowgirl Diamond. Heath hit two of the Ragin’ Cajuns three home runs to support a one-hit shutout, extending their win streak to four while snapping the Cowgirls’ win streak at seven. ULL swept the three-game season series and has won nine of its last 10 games. (Rodrick Anderson / American Press)
Louisiana-Lafayette ended McNeese State’s seven-game win streak with a 7-0 win Tuesday night at Cowgirl Diamond in a nonconference game.
Karley Heath hit two of the Ragin’ Cajuns’ three home runs and drove in three runs. Starter Sam Landry (8-4) pitched four shutout innings as the Ragin’ Cajuns (27-10), who have won nine of their last 10, extended their win streak to four.
McNeese (26-11) had one hit, a first-inning single by Reese Reyna. She was erased on an inning-ending double play.
“We knew they were an explosive team,” Cowgirls head coach James Landreneau said. “They got some big knocks and pitched exceptionally well. We didn’t have much of an answer. Landry pitched well and they used a plethora of pitchers. We couldn’t get comfortable at the plate.”
The Cajuns scored three runs in the top of the first inning. Heath hit a solo home run to center field. Stormy Kotzelnick hit an RBI single and Lauren Allred scored from third while Kotzelnick was in a rundown between first and second.
Alexa Langeliers led off the second inning with a solo homer to left, extending the lead to 4-0.
The Cajuns put the game out of reach with three runs in the seventh, highlighted by Heath’s two-run homer.
Whitney Tate (12-3) took the loss. Shaelyn Sanders relieved her in the second inning and allowed three runs in five innings.
“She did a good job of changing speeds, was able to throw at three different speeds and get weak contact,” Landreneau said of Sanders. “She attacked the zone and didn’t pitch from behind.”
McNeese will host Northwestern State in a three-game Southland Conference series beginning Thursday. Landreneau said he isn’t worried about the loss affecting his team moving forward.
“We need to have a short memory and get ready to play this weekend,” he said. “Our girls will do a great job of flushing it and moving on.”
Heath, Langeliers and Laney Credeur each had two hits for ULL, which completed the season sweep, outscoring McNeese 20-3 in three games.
Chloe Riassetti and Kendra Lamb combined for three scoreless innings in relief of Landry.
