UL Softball Wins Regional Opener, Defeats Texas Southern, 7-4

The 11th-ranked Louisiana Ragin’ Cajun softball team won their first game in the 2014 Lafayette, La. NCAA Softball Regional on Friday night, defeating the Texas Southern Lady Tigers, 7-4 at Lamson Park.

The victory gives Louisiana, the top-seed in the regional, and the #6-overall national seed, 37 wins in their last 40 games.

Sophomore outfielder Shellie Landry got the Cajuns on the board first, with a solo home run in the bottom half of the first inning, giving UL a 1-0 lead.

The Cajuns extended their lead to 6-0 in the bottom of the third, scoring three runs on four hits, with the highlight of the inning being a three-run homer by senior outfielder Shelbi Redfearn.

Texas Southern put two run on the board in the top half of the fourth inning against junior right-hander Jordan Wallace, who came in for starter junior right-hander Christina Hamilton, before adding two more against Hamilton, who reentered the circle, to trim the Louisiana lead to 6-4.

The Cajuns added an insurance run in the bottom of the fifth, when freshman shortstop Corin Voinche delivered a clutch two out single, scoring Landry, to make it 7-4.

From there Hamilton and Louisiana put the clamps to the Lady Tigers, as the Cajuns went on to the three-run win.

Landry and Voinche each collected two hits, while Landry and Redfearn homered, as UL outhit Texas Southern 8-5.

Hamilton (25-2), the 2014 Sun Belt Conference Pitcher of the Year, picked-up the win, allowing only two earned runs in 6.2 innings, as she recorded her 22nd victory in her last 23 decisions.

Madison Staton (11-6) suffered the loss in the circle for the Lady Tigers.

With the victory, the Cajuns improve to 45-8-1 on the season, while Texas Southern fell to 31-19.

UL is now 7-3 in regional openers since the introduction of the Super Regional format in 2005.

Louisiana now moves on to take on the Texas Longhorns in a winners bracket game on Saturday at noon, while Texas Southern falls into the losers bracket, where they will take on Mississippi St. on Saturday afternoon at 3 o’clock.