Louisiana's Ragin' Cajun softball team swept a Sun Belt Conference doubleheader from the FIU Panthers on Friday, winning the first game, 10-2, before taking the nightcap, 9-5, at Lamson Park.

In the opener, FIU scored the first run in the top half of the second inning, beofre Louisiana scored five-unanswered runs, courtesy of a three-run home run by first baseman Matte Haack in the bottom half of the second, followed by a two-run shot by designated player Sara Corbello in the bottom of the third.

The Cajuns then ended things, via the mercy-rule, scoring five runs in the bottom half of the sixth inning.

Brianna Cherry, Leandra Mally, and Corbello all had two hits for Louisiana, with Corbello driving in a game-high four runs.

Jordan Wallace (12-6) recorded the win for the Cajuns, striking out 11 batters in six innings of work, while Corenne Jenkins (11-4) suffered the loss for the Panthers.

In the second game, first baseman Matte Haack got Louisiana off to a quick start, blasting a three-run homer in the bottom half of the first innings, giving them a 3-0 advantage.

After a Rachel Slowik homer in the top of the third inning gave FIU their first run of the game, the Cajuns answered with two runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning, making the score 5-1.

The Panthers pushed three run across the plate in the top of the fifth inning, cutting the Louisiana lead to 5-4, before Louisiana answered yet again, scoring a single run in their half of the frame, to make the score 6-4.

FIU drew to within one run again in the top of the sixth inning, scoring a single run, before the Cajuns put things away, scoring three runs in the bottom part of the innings, to go on to the four-run win.

Haack and Sarah Draheim both collected two hits, with Haccks driving home three runs.

Victoria Brown (5-1) was the winning pitcher for the Cajuns, while Mariah Dawson (4-11) suffered the loss for the Panthers.

With the two wins, Louisiana improved to 21-11 overall, and 4-4 in Sun Belt Conference play, while FIU slipped to 21-18 overall, and 3-5 in league play.

The series finale will be held on Saturday at 11 am at Lamson Park.

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

 

 

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