lose to Arizona (0-4) and beat Temple (8-1), will play winner of the Arizona vs Northwestern tomorrow.

Good luck Ladies

Cajuns Fall In Top 10 Battle to Arizona,
Mitchell Reaches 500 Strikeouts

Friday, May 21, 2004

TUCSON, Ariz. - If Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns softball team is to make its fifth appearance in the Women's College World Series, the squad will have to work its way back out of the elimination bracket.
Arizona’s Alicia Hollowell struck out eight and held the Ragin’ Cajuns to one hit as the host-Wildcats grabbed a 4-0 victory in a battle of Top 10 teams here Friday afternoon at UA’s Hillenbrand Stadium in NCAA Regional No. 1 action.

The loss snapped the Ragin’ Cajuns (56-7) 15-game winning streak and places the Cajuns in an elimination situation for the rest of the regional tournament.

It also made the Cajuns work on Friday a little tougher as Louisiana was forced to turn around and face Temple in an elimination game 35 minutes after the completion of its contest with UA.

Hollowell carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning before Holly Tankersley pushed a two-out single through the right side of the infield.

Brooke Mitchell (42-4) matched Hollowell’s strikeout total as she fanned eight UA batters and scattered seven singles.

Her final strikeout of the game, getting Allison von Liechtenstein swinging, was her 500th of the season making her just the fourth player in NCAA Division I history to reach 500 strikeouts in a season. Mitchell joins Southern Mississippi’s Courtney Blades (663 in 2000), Texas’ Cat Osterman (554 in 2002) and Tennessee’s Monica Abbott (552 in 2004) on the list.

Mitchell had her personal 20-game win streak snapped. Her last loss prior to Friday’s defeat to the Wildcats came March 20 at the KIA Klassic in Fullerton, Calif., against the same Arizona squad.

Arizona (55-4) pushed across three runs on two outs in the third inning.

Caitlin Lowe drew a walk from Mitchell which was followed by a single from von Liechtenstein into left field.

Wendy Allen brought home the winning run on the next at bat when she lined a single into center field scoring Lowe for a 1-0 lead. Hillary Guidry’s throw to home plate sailed high and allowed Allen to advance to second.

Mackenzie Vandergeest took advantage of the opportunity, looping a single into left field that plated von Liechtenstein and Allen to push the lead to 3-0. Mitchell then struck out Jackie Coburn to end the inning.

The Wildcats added an unearned run in the fifth inning for the final margin.

Hollowell carried a perfect game into the fourth inning. Brittany Bryant drew a two-out walk in the inning to end the bid.

Tankersley ended the no-hitter with her two-out single in the sixth.

Bryant walked for a second time, leading off the seventh, to give the Cajuns a baserunner in their final at bat. Hollowell got a grounder from Ashley Evans, struck out Joy Webre and got a fly out from Lacey Bertucci to end the game.

UL Sports Information

Cajuns Follow Tankersley's Lead to Rout of Temple

Friday, May 21, 2004

TUCSON, Ariz. – True freshman Holly Tankersley made her NCAA Regional pitching debut here Friday at University of Arizona’s Hillenbrand Stadium in one of the most pressure-packed situations of her career.
No. 9 Louisiana (57-7) lost earlier in the day by a 4-0 count to Arizona to fall into the elimination bracket of the NCAA Regional No. 1. Another loss by the fifth-seeded Cajuns would send the team home for the rest of the season.

No pressure. Right?

The Cajuns decided to rest junior ace hurler Brooke Mitchell who had worked a complete game against No. 1 Arizona in the blazing heat the game before.

With the season on the line, Tankersley walked out to the circle with the poise of a veteran and tossed six innings of two hit softball in pitching the Ragin’ Cajuns to an 8-1 win over seventh-seeded Temple.

Tankersley (10-1) struck out a career-high 10 batters and allowed no earned runs as the Cajuns staved off elimination and advanced into Saturday’s 4 p.m. (CDT) elimination game against the winner of Friday evening’s Northwestern-South Carolina game.

"We're here to play another day,