UL Softball Wins Two In UAB Blazer Classic

The 10th-ranked Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns recorded a couple of big non-conference victories on Saturday afternoon in the second day of play in the UAB Blazer Classic in Birmingham, Alabama.

Louisiana defeated the 14th-ranked Oklahoma St. Cowgirls, 3-2, in their first game of the day, before downing the Ole Miss Rebels, 5-3, in their second game, to move their overall record to 9-3 on the season.

The two triumphs by UL improved their record in the tournament to 2-1, after a 1-0 loss to Oklahoma St. on Friday in their first game in the event.

In their first game, Louisiana jumped on top in the bottom half of the first inning when Kendall Talley blasted a solo home run, her first of the season, before Kaitln Alderink doubled, and later scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Bailey Curry, to give them a quick 2-0 lead.

Oklahoma St. tied the game in the top half of the fourth inning, when Alysen Febrey hit a two-run home run, her third of the season, to even the contest, 2-2.

The Cajuns regained the lead in the bottom half of the fourth inning, when Julie Rawls crushed a solo homer, her third of the season, giving them a 3-2 advantage.

That turned out to be the game-winning run, as UL hung on for the one-run triumph.

Louisiana, who evened Oklahoma St. in the hits department, 6-2, was led at the plate by Talley, who went 2-for-3 with a homer, while Rawls also homered.

Summer Ellyson (5-0) recorded the win in the circle for the Cajuns, allowing two runs on five hits while striking out eight batters.

Kelly Maxwell (2-3) suffered the loss for the Cowgirls, allowing three runs on five hits over 6.0 innings of work.

With the victory, Louisiana improved to 8-3, while Oklahoma St. fell to 7-5.

View the UL/Oklahoma St. boxscore.

In their second game, Louisiana fell behind early, as Ole Miss scored two runs on home runs in the bottom half of the first inning, the first coming from Autumn Gillespie, her second of the season, before a solo shot off the bat of Jessica Puk, her first of the year, giving them a quick 2-0 lead.

The Cajuns cut the deficit in half in the top half of the second inning, when Rawls opened the frame with a double, before scoring on an infield single by Geana Torres, to make it 2-1.

The Rebels extended their lead in the bottom half of the second inning, when Paige Smith singled, before later scoring on an infield single by Sydney Gutierrez, to widen their advantage to 3-1.

Louisiana took the lead for good in the top half of the 5th inning, scoring three runs on four hits, including a run-scoring double by Talley and an RBI single by Raina O'Neal, to give them a 4-3 advantage.

The Cajuns added another run in the top half of the 6th inning when Carrie Boswell opened the frame with a double, and later scored on a fielders choice grounder off the bat of Alissa Dalton, to widen their lead to 5-3.

That turned out to be all the scoring in the game, as UL went on to the 5-3 win, their second victory of the day.

Louisiana, who outhit Ole Miss, 10-5, was paced at the plate by Rawls and Torres, who each collected two hits.

Megan Kleist (4-3) picked up the win in the circle for the Cajuns, allowing three runs on five hits over 4.3 innings, while Ellyson recorded her first save of the season, pitching 2.1 innings of perfect relief.

Molly Jacobsen (2-4) got hit with the loss for the Rebels, allowing four runs on seven hits over 4.1 innings of work.

With the victory, Louisiana improved to 9-3, while Ole Miss dropped to 4-9.

View the UL/Ole Miss boxscore.

The Cajuns return to action on Sunday, facing Ole Miss at 11 am, before taking on UAB at 1:30 pm.