BATON ROUGE – The Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Softball team captured a two-game sweep in the Louisiana/LSU Crossover at Tiger Park on Saturday, February 25 with a 5-2 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and a 5-4 win over No. 14 LSU.
The day was highlighted by the return of freshman outfielder Mihyia Davis who used her speed to impact the game offensively and defensively against LSU and the shutdown pitching efforts of freshman pitcher Chloe Riassetto who picked up two saves with 4-1/3 innings of scoreless, no-hit softball.
The Ragin’ Cajuns (8-5) extended their winning streak to three games and picked up a second win over a ranked team this week (no-hit No. 25 UCF on Mardi Gras).
Louisiana handed LSU (13-1) its first loss of the season and picked up its first regular season win over the Tigers since 2020.
Play in the Louisiana/LSU Crossover moves to Yvette Girouard Field at Lamson Park in Lafayette on Sunday, February 26 with the Ragin’ Cajuns facing A&M-Corpus Christi at 12:00 p.m. and LSU at 2:30 p.m. Live TV coverage of both games will be accessible on ESPN+ and a radio broadcast is available on 103.3 FM and 1420 AM in the Acadiana region.
Davis’ impact was felt from the start of the day, leading off the A&MCC contest with an infield single, stealing a pair of bases and drawing an errant throw on a double steal attempt that resulted in an additional run for a quick 2-0 lead.
The Islanders (7-4) drew even in the bottom half of the first with a two-run home run from Taniece Tyson and that’s where things stood until Alexa Langeliers’ leadoff single and stolen base in the fourth inning led to Louisiana landing the tiebreaking run.
Sam Landry notched a key strikeout with a runner on third to prevent A&MCC from responding, then Riassetto took over in the fifth and promptly began a string of three consecutive scoreless innings pitched to protect the lead.
Riassetto was provided additional breathing room in the seventh after Davis’ second hit of the game plated Sophie Piskos (leadoff double) and Stormy Kotzelnick ripped an RBI double to make it 5-2.
In the LSU contest, Louisiana trailed for the first time on the day after the Tigers received run-scoring hits from Taylor Pleasants and Georgia Clark in the first inning for a 2-0 lead.
The deficit was short-lived, though, as freshman Victoria Valdez delivered a two-run homer to left field in the second inning to pull the Ragin’ Cajuns even at 2-all.
An inning later, Davis laid down a bunt that led to a hurried throw that sailed down the right field line to give Louisiana runners on second and third with no outs. That set the stage for Kayla Falterman (leadoff walk) to score on a wild pitch, then Kotzelnick launched a two-run home run that stretched the Ragin’ Cajuns’ advantage to 5-2.
Davis’ defensive impact came in the bottom of the third when she made a diving catch into the wall that resulted in a double play that ended the inning to prevent a response from LSU.
Meghan Schorman continued to hold the Tigers in check into the sixth inning. When the hosts plated a pair of runs to trim the Cajuns lead to 5-4, Riassetto entered the circle and put an end to the uprising with a strikeout of Danieca Coffey.
In the bottom of the seventh, Maddie Hayden smothered a bunt attempt from Ciara Briggs to prevent the Tigers from sneaking in a leadoff single. After a walk to Taylor Pleasants, Riassetto coaxed a grounder from Georgia Clark for a force out and she followed with a strikeout of McKenzie Redoutey to seal the victory.
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