The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns softball team opened up a six-game homestand with a 5-3 victory against the McNeese State Cowgirls on Wednesday night.

With the win, Louisiana improved to 13-4 before they start Sun Belt Conference play this weekend.

The Cajuns scored in the bottom of the first to take an early lead. A walk and single put two runners on, and a fielder's choice had runners at the corners with one out. Laney Credeur brought the first run home on a RBI-groundout. A base-running mistake prevented them from adding to their lead, but the Cajuns held a 1-0 advantage after the opening frame.

Starting pitcher Meghan Schorman retired all three Cowgirls she faced in the second inning, and the Cajun bats added another run in the bottom half of the second.

Louisiana recorded two one-out hits, and Kramer Eschete reached on a fielding error which scored a runner from third. However, a double-play on a line-out ended the threat for the Cajuns.

McNeese rallied in the third inning to tie the game with two runs on three hits against Schorman, but the Cajuns starter stranded the leading runner with a big strikeout. After she gave up a single and a double to start the fourth, Kandra Lamb entered out of the bullpen for Louisiana. She got a strikeout and a huge double-play on a pop-up. Shortstop Alexa Langeliers threw the leading runner out at home on the play. It was a game-changing momentum shift for the Cajuns, as the Cowgirls had two runners in scoring position without any outs and failed to score a run to take the lead.

The Cajun bats answered with their biggest inning in the bottom of the fourth. Jourdyn Campbell crushed a leadoff double, and Langeliers walked. In the next at-bat, Samantha Graeter drilled a bases-clearing double that ended up being the game-winning hit. She advanced to third base on a wild pitch, and, with two outs, Stormy Kotzelnick hit the third double of the inning to score Louisiana's third run of the frame. The Cajuns' lead was 5-2 after four.

Lamb was great in relief for Louisiana. After giving up two singles in the fifth, she came back to retire the next three batters to keep McNeese from answering the big inning by the Cajuns offense. Lamb struck out each of the first two batters she faced in the sixth, but two hit-by-pitches sparked a two-out rally for the Cowgirls. A double scored a run, but Lamb was able to get the third out, stranding the tying run in scoring position.

After the Cajuns failed to add an insurance run in the sixth, Lamb sat the Cowgirls down in order in the final frame to secure the victory for Louisiana. Lamb earned the win to improve to 4-2 overall with four innings pitched. She allowed three hits and one earned run but added six strikeouts. Graeter led the team offensively with two hits, two RBI, and two runs scored in the contest.

Up next, Louisiana starts Sun Belt play when they host Georgia State for a three-game weekend series starting on Friday, March 11 at 6:00 p.m.

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