TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – 18th-ranked Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Softball was dealt a pair of defeats in a midweek doubleheader with No. 9 Florida State at JoAnne Graf Field.
The Seminoles (31-6) pieced together six runs in their first three at bats of Game 1 and went on to record an 8-0 (5 inn.) win.
The Ragin’ Cajuns (23-9) drew a 1-1 tie in the fourth inning of Game 2 off a Kourtney Gremillion RBI single, but FSU took advantage of an obstruction call to snap the tie and steal the momentum in the bottom half. Five additional runs in the final two at bats allowed the hosts to pull away late for the 7-1 decision.
The two teams met for the first time since the Feb. 2006 NFCA Leadoff Classic. It was Louisiana’s first visit to Tallahassee since March 2004.
The twinbill marked the start of a six-game road trip for the Ragin’ Cajuns which continues this weekend in Atlanta against Georgia State and wraps up next Wednesday at Southeastern Louisiana.
UP NEXT
No. 18 Louisiana remains on the road and heads to Atlanta for a three-game Sun Belt Conference series at Georgia State set for Saturday-Sunday, April 7-8.
The Ragin’ Cajuns and Panthers (19-16, 4-7 Sun Belt) are scheduled to begin the series on Saturday at 12 p.m. (CDT) in a doubleheader at Robert E. Heck Softball Complex. The series concludes with a single game on Sunday at 11 a.m. (CDT).
THE BASICS OF GAME 1
Florida State used extra base hits to begin building the lead. A solo homer in the first plate appearance plus a pair of run-scoring triples and double in the second inning opened a 4-0 advantage.
The Seminoles closed the game early utilizing a pair of stolen bases and RBI singles in the fifth inning to increase the margin to eight runs.
Alissa Dalton recorded a base hit in both of her plate appearances which included her eighth double of the season in the first inning.
THE BASICS OF GAME 2
A two-out single from Elizabeth Mason in the first inning gave the Seminoles a 1-0 lead. The score remained that way until the Ragin’ Cajuns worked two-out magic of their own in the fourth inning with a Lexie Comeaux double and the Gremillion single which plated her for a 1-1 tie.
Summer Ellyson and the Ragin’ Cajuns appeared to work around a leadoff double in the bottom of the fourth and keep the tie intact when she induced a ground ball to third base and a rundown between home plate and the bag ensued. An obstruction call, though, allowed the FSU runner to score and snap the tie.
Comeaux paced the five-hit effort from Louisiana with a 2-for-3 outing at the plate. Dalton posted a single in the first inning to give her three hits in the doubleheader.
NOTEWORTHY
– Louisiana played its first true non-conference road game of the season. The only prior non-conference action away from Lamson Park was at Judi Garman Classic (Fullerton, Calif.).
– Alissa Dalton increased her team-leading extra base hits total to 10 with the double in Game 1.
– The 2-for-2 performance in Game 1 upped Alissa Dalton’s multiple-hits game total to 12 – tops on the squad.
– With hits in both games Alissa Dalton stretched her current hitting streak to five games.
– Ragin’ Cajuns hitters struck out only twice in the Game 1 bout with FSU’s Kylee Hanson. It was the team’s 21st outing three strikeouts or less.
– Kylee Jo Trahan made a relief appearance in both games. It was her first appearance since the Coastal Carolina series.
– The sweep allowed Florida State to even the all-time series between the two programs at 9-9. The Seminoles snapped the Ragin’ Cajuns seven-game series win streak.