Boxscore

All-American junior pitcher Brooke Mitchell propelled the No. 7 nationally-ranked University of Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns to back-to-back 4-1 victories to end the Tech softball squad?s five-game win streak in a double header at the Lady Techster Softball Complex Wednesday night.

Mitchell (31-3) pitched two complete games on the night for UL-Lafayette (37-4), giving up a combined six hits and two runs (one earned) along with 19 strikeouts, and Tech's head coach Sarah Dawson recognized the talent of the opposing pitcher.

"Brooke [Mitchell] is a great pitcher," Dawson said. "She's going to take that team as far as they can go. I was disappointed with the quality of our at bats, but Brooke is head and shoulders above any other pitcher we've faced this year, other than Jamie Southern [of Fresno State University]."

Coming into the double header, Mitchell had only allowed 16 earned runs in 200.1 innings pitched, but Tech's Bridget Broadnax added to that total with a solo home run bomb to center field in sixth inning of the first contest. Dawson complimented Broadnax for her offensive production in the middle of the Techster line up and recent output.

"Bridget has done a good job for us lately," Dawson said. "She had a couple of bad games on the road last week, but she doesn't get into a slump. I have to stay on her and tell her to be aggressive and swing the bat. She made a good adjustment tonight and hit the home run."

Kristin Blodgette (3-3) got the nod for the Techsters (18-23) in the first game and struggled through 1 1/3 innings of work, as she gave up four hits, three runs (all earned) and three walks with two strikeouts.

Blodgette's performance on the night was not up to par with her past performances against high-powered offensive teams as UL-Lafayette, but Dawson had confidence in her young pitcher's potential coming into the night and chose Blodgette over the rest of the staff.

"Kristin [Blodgette] started tonight because her statistics and performances were stronger against strong teams, and she pitched well tonight," Dawson said. "She kept the ball down and forced UL-Lafayette to hit a lot of balls on the ground. However, she got in trouble with walks and was inconsistent in her pitches."

Marla Pinkston (10-14) stepped in to relieve Blodgette in the second inning and pitched 5 2/3 dominating innings for the Techsters. Pinkston struck out a season-high 10 of 21 batters she faced and allowed only four hits, one run and one walk against a loaded UL-Lafayette line up. Dawson pointed to Pinkston's accuracy as the key to her brilliant game.

"Marla pitched extremely well to finish the game for us," Dawson said. "Her curveball and change up worked well for her, and she had to have those pitches going for her against a team like UL-Lafayette."

In the second game, both pitchers took a no-hitter into the fourth inning, before UL-Lafayette?s Brittany Bryant doubled to right field to score Ashley Evans. Then, the Ragin? Cajuns added two more runs in the fifth inning off of a two-run blast over the center field fence by Holly Tankersley. After one more run for UL-Lafayette in the top of the sixth inning, the Techsters scored their lone run of the game in the bottom of the sixth.

Amber Miles led off the inning with a single to left field, before stealing second base and advancing to third on a single by Casey Reiff. Reiff then ran for second in attempt to steal, and UL-Lafayette?s catcher, Joy Webre, made an error on the throw to second base. Miles scampered home on the throwing error and put Tech on the scoreboard.

Freshman Kristin Rupp (1-3) started the game on the mound for Tech and gave up three hits, four runs (all earned) and four walks while striking out one batter in five innings of work. Lindsey Meadows relieved Rupp in the sixth inning and closed the game out for the Techsters with three strikeouts, not allowing a single hit or walk.

Tech plays host to Nicholls State University in double header action tomorrow night at the Lady Techster Softball Complex. The first game will begin at 5 p.m., while the second will follow thereafter at approximately 7 p.m.