LAFAYETTE — Freshman pitcher Mallory Wheeler threw the first no-hitter of her career Thursday night to lead Louisiana past Southern Miss 2-0 in the opening game of a pivotal Sun Belt Conference series.
The win keeps the Ragin’ Cajuns in the hunt for a first-round bye in next week’s Sun Belt Tournament. Louisiana must take the series against the Golden Eagles to secure that spot.
Wheeler was dominant in the circle, striking out two over seven innings and throwing 92 pitches in the milestone performance.
“It’s huge,” Wheeler said. “It just really helps me have a good confidence boost going into the tournament. I’ve been so close a bunch of times, but to finally get one has been great.”
Timely hitting backed up the freshman’s outing. Louisiana broke through in the fifth inning, scoring on RBIs from Dazyja Williams and Emily Smith.
“I felt really comfortable. I felt like I had good at-bats,” said Smith, also a freshman. “The one changeup that I popped up, I felt like I just dropped a little bit. The next time she threw me the changeup, I was ready for it.”
Head coach Alyson Habetz said capitalizing on momentum was key.
“Softball is a game of momentum,” Habetz said. “When we get the momentum in the game, we’ve got to ride that. It’s like getting a turnover in basketball — we’ve got to transition and score.”
Louisiana will look to close out the series with two more wins this weekend. Game two is scheduled for Friday at 6 p.m., with the finale set for Saturday at 2 p.m.
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