The 21st-ranked Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns began regional play on a sour note on Friday.

Louisiana fell to the Houston Cougars, 1-0, in the first day of play in the Baton Rouge, La. Regional at Tiger Park.

Savannah Heebner, in a pitchers duel, tossed a 2-hit shutout, to lift the Cougars to the victory.

The loss dropped Louisiana’s all-time record in NCAA Tournament history to 73-58.

The Cajuns, who fell to 16-7 all-time against Houston, is appearing in an NCAA Regional for the 20th-consecutive year, and for the 28th time in the last 29 years.

Houston got on the scoreboard first, plating a run in the top half of the 4th inning, courtesy of a solo home run by Arielle James, her fourth of the season, to give them a 1-0 lead.

That was all the Heebner (26-9) needed, as she held the Cajuns scoreless on two hits, while striking out 2.

UL did have a golden scoring opportunity in the second inning, with runners at second and third with nobody out, but failed to score.

Summer Ellyson (21-9) was the hard luck loser for the Cajuns, allowing only one run on 5 hits, over 7 innings of work.

With the victory, Houston improved to 37-20, overall, while Louisiana dropped to 38-15.

The Cajuns fall into the elimination bracket, where they will face either LSU or Fordham.

First-pitch is scheduled for 2:30 pm on Saturday afternoon.

You can hear all the play-by-play action on Sports Radio ESPN 1420 & espn1420.com, beginning with the pregame show at 2:15.

COMPLETE NCAA BATON ROUGE REGIONAL SCHEDULE
Friday, May 18, 2017
G1: Houston 1, Louisiana 0
G2: LSU vs. Fordham

Saturday, May 19, 2017
G3: 12 p.m. – Houston vs. Winner Game 2
G4: 2:30 p.m. – Louisiana vs. Loser Game 2
G5: 5 p.m. – Winner Game 4 vs. Loser Game 3

Sunday, May 20, 2017
G6: 1 p.m. – Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5
G7: 3:30 p.m. – (if necessary) Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6

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