UL Softball Splits DH With Georgia Southern

The 22nd-ranked Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns had a good news, bad news day on Saturday afternoon.

Louisiana split a Sun Belt Conference doubleheader from the Georgia Southern Eagles at Lamson Park, winning the first game, 2-0, before dropping the second game, 3-2, in 8 innings.

The doubleheader represented the first two games of a three-game, conference series.

The twinbill split means the Cajuns with have to win the rubber game on Sunday to extend their conference series win streak, which dates back to March of 2013, to 44-straight.

In the opener, Louisiana got on the scoreboard first, plating a run in the bottom half of the second inning, when Lexie Comeaux began the frame with a double, before later scoring on an infield single off the bat of Jolie Readeaux, to give them a 1-0 lead.

The Cajuns widened their lead in the bottom half of the 5th inning, when Alissa Dalton extended her hitting streak to 14 games with a leadoff double, before later scoring, to extend their advantage to 2-0.

That turned out to be all UL would need, as they went on to the 2-0 shutout triumph.

Louisiana, who Georgia Southern, 6-4, was paced at the plate by Dalton, who went 2-for-3 with a run scored, while Readeaux was credited with their only run batted in.

Summer Ellyson (16-6) recorded the win in the circle for the Cajuns, tossing 7.0 innings of shutout softball, allowing only four hits, while striking out 5.

For Ellyson, the game marked the 15th time in 22 starts that she held the opposition to one run or less

Rylee Waldrep (10-9), suffered the loss for the Eagles, allowing 2 runs on 6 hits over 6.0 innings pitched.

View the game one box score here.

The win in he opener gave Louisiana 30 wins on the season, giving them at least 30 win in a season for 30-consecutive years.

In the second game, it was Georgia Southern grabbing the early advantage, scoring a run in the top half of the first inning, when Shelby Wilson hit a solo home run, her 5th of the season, to give them a quick 1-0 lead.

Louisiana answered right back in the bottom half of the first inning, scoring two unearned runs, courtesy of a clutch two-out, two-run single by Readeaux, to give them a 2-1 lead.

The Eagles tied it in the top half of the third inning, when Alesha Mann was hit by a pitch to begin the frame, before later scoring on a wild pitch, to make it 2-2.

Georgia Southern scored the go-ahead run in the top half of the 8th inning, when Mekhia Freeman walked, before scoring on a two-out double by Hannah Farrell, to give them a 3-2 advantage.

That turned out to be the game-winning run, as the Eagles went on to the 3-2 win.

Louisiana, who outhit Georgia Southern, 9-5, was paced at the plate by Lexie Comeaux, who went 2-for-3, extending her hit streak to 7 games, while Kourtney Gremillion, Readeaux, and Carrie Boswell also all collected two hits apiece.

Kierra Camp (12-8) recorded the win in the circle for the Eagles, allowing 2 unearned runs on 9 hits over 8.0 innings.

Casey Dixon (6-3) was the hard-luck loser for the Cajuns, allowing one unearned run on two hits over 4.0 innings of relief.

View the game two box score here.

With the doubleheader split, Louisiana moved their overall record to 30-12, overall, and 15-5 in Sun Belt Conference play, while Georgia Southern is now 24-21, and 8-12, respectively.

The two teams will conclude their three-game set with a Sunday single game beginning at 11 am.

You can hear all the play-by-play action on Sports Radio ESPN 1420 and espn1420.com, beginning with the pregame show at 10:45 am.