UL Softball Defeats North Carolina, Falls To Texas, In Day Two Of Louisiana Classics

The 13th-ranked Louisiana Ragin' Cajun softball team tallied a win and a loss in day two of the 28th Annual Louisiana Classics at Lamson Park on Saturday, defeating the North Carolina Tar Heels, 6-5, in ten innings, before falling to the 10th-ranked Texas Longhorns, 7-3.

With the win, coupled with the loss, along with the split of two games on Friday, Louisiana is 2-2 in the season-opening tournament.

In the first game against north Carolina, the Cajuns trailed 1-0, before catcher Lexie Elkins blasted a three-run home run in the top half of the third inning, giving them a 3-1 lead.

The Tar Heels came right back however, scoring four unanswered runs, with three in the bottom of the fourth, two coming courtesy of a two-run homer by catcher Amber Parrish, and one in the fifth, courtesy of a solo shot by shortstop Kristen Brown, to retake the lead, 5-3, at the end of five innings.

Louisiana drew a run closer in the top of the sixth, when Sarah Arceneaux doubled down the left-field line, scoring Leandra Maly, to cut the lead to 5-4.

UL tied things in the top of the seventh, when Elkins doubled to left, scoring Hayley Hayden, making the score 5-5, as the teams went to extra innings.

The score stayed that way until the top of the 10th, when senior first baseman Shelbi Redfearn hit a solo home run that just cleared the fence in left-centerfield, giving Louisiana a 6-5 lead, and the eventual one-run win, their second extra innings win in as many days.

Elkins finished the game going 2-for-4, with a double, a home run, a run scored, and two RBI's.

One of the major keys to victory was the stellar performance by junior pitcher Christina Hamilton, who tossed six no-hit, shutout innings in relief of starter Macey Smith.

Hamilton (1-0) allowed only one walk and a hit batter, with four strikeouts, while facing only 21 batters in her six innings of work.

Lori Spingola (1-2) suffered the loss in relief for the Tar Heels.

With the win, Louisiana improved to 2-1 on the year, while North Carolina fell to 1-3.

View the game box score.

In their second game of the day, Louisiana jumped on top on Texas, scoring two runs in the top of the first inning, when Hayden crushed a two-run home run, giving them a quick 2-0 lead.

The Longhorns grabbed the lead in the bottom of the second inning, scoring five runs on five hits, with the highlight of the half inning being a three-run homer by outfielder Lindsey Stevens, giving them a 5-2 lead.

The Cajuns cut into the lead in the top half of the third inning, when designated player Sara Corbello singled through the left side, scoring second baseman Natalie Fernandez, to make the score 5-3.

Texas added a run in the bottom of the fifth inning, on a solo home run by second baseman Stephanie Ceo, before putting up an unearned in the bottom of the sixth inning, to make the score 7-3, which is how the scoring ended.

UL, who was limited to three hits, had the home run by Hayden, and singles by Elkins and Corbello for their only base knocks of the game.

Gabby Smith (2-0) got the win for the Longhorns, while freshman right-hander Alex Stewart (0-1) suffered the loss for the Cajuns.

With the win Texas moved to 4-0 on the young season, while Louisiana fell to 2-2.

View the game box score.

Louisiana will conclude play in the tournament on Sunday, when they take on Northern Iowa at 11:30.

You can hear all the play-by-play action on Sports Radio ESPN 1420, and espn1420.com, beginning with the pre-game show at 11:15 am.