UL Softball Sweeps Doubleheader/Series From Georgia Southern
The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns continue to roll in Sun Belt Conference softball play.
16th-ranked Louisiana swept a doubleheader from the Georgia Southern Eagles at Yvette Girouard Field at Lamson Park on Monday, winning the first game, 6-0, before taking the second game, 7-3.
The Cajuns, who defeated the Eagles, 9-2, in the first game of the series on Sunday, completed a three-game conference sweep in the process.
With the triumphs, the Cajuns extended their Sun Belt Conference series win streak to 59, a school and Sun Belt Conference record, as well as the longest current conference win streak in the nation.
Louisiana has not dropped a conference series since the weekend of St. Patrick's Day in 2013.
The doubleheader sweep over Georgia Southern extended UL's current win streak to seven.
In the first game, Louisiana got on the scoreboard first, scoring three runs on three hits in the bottom half of the first inning, including run-scoring singles from Jade Gortarez and Melissa Mayeaux, giving them a quick 3-0 lead.
The Cajuns added two more runs in the bottom half of the fifth inning, courtesy of Kendall Talley and Alissa Dalton, who both singled and scored, before tacking on an insurance run in the bottom half of the sixth inning, which extended their lead to 6-0.
That was more than enough for UL, as they went on to the 6-0 victory, their sixth-straight win.
Louisiana, who outhit Georgia Southern, 9-1, was led at the plate by Talley, who collected two hits, to go along with two runs scored and a run batted in, while Dalton had two hits and a run scored.
Summer Ellyson (7-4) recorded the win in the circle for the Cajuns, her 81st career victory, allowing only one hit over 5.2 of shutout softball.
Kyleigh Richardson (2-3) suffered the loss for the Eagles, allowing six runs on six hits over 6.0 innings.
In the second game, Georgia Southern jumped on top early, scoring two runs in the top half of the second inning, scoring two runs on two hits, including an RBI double off the bat of Allyssah Mullis, which gave them a 2-0 lead.
Louisiana took the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning, scoring five runs on four hits, including a run-scoring single by Kaitlyn Alderink and a two-run single by Alissa Dalton, which gave them a 5-2 advantage.
The Eagles drew closer in the top half of the fifth inning, scoring a run on a solo homer by Mekhia Freeman, her first of the season, to make it 5-3.
The Cajuns added two insurance runs in the bottom half of the sixth inning when Ciara Bryan crushed a two-run home run, her fourth of the season, to make it 7-3.
That would be all UL would need, as they went on to the 7-3 win, along with the doubleheader and league series sweep.
Louisiana, who outhit Georgia Southern, 10-8, was led at the plate by Bryan, who went 3-for-3 with a home run, while Talley collected two hits.
In a losing cause for Georgia Southern, Freeman collected two hits, including a homer.
Kandra Lamb (11-2) recorded the win in the circle for the Cajuns, allowing one run on four hits over 4.1 innings of work.
Anna Feil (0-4) suffered the loss for the Eagles, allowing four runs on five hits over 3.1 innings.
With the two victories, Louisiana improved to 22-6, overall, and 8-1 in Sun Belt Conference play, while Georgia Southern fell to 7-14, and 0-5, respectively.
Louisiana returns to the diamond on Friday when they travel to Atlanta, Georgia to take on the Georgia St. Panthers in a Sun Belt Conference series, representing the first two games of a three-game league series.