MONROE, La. ? A six-run seventh inning proved to be too much for the ULM softball team to overcome in the final game of the 20th Annual Mardi Gras Classic on Sunday night. In the closing game of the tournament, rival Louisiana Tech rallied from a three-run deficit for an 8-5 win and a second place finish in the tournament.
ULM (4-5) led 5-2 behind freshman pitcher Heather Fritz until the Lady Techsters got some timely hitting and took advantage of a few Warhawks miscues. Seven batters and six runs later, Louisiana Tech (5-4) took its first lead to finish second in the tournament.
“We are disappointed in the loss, but we also learned a lot from it,” ULM head coach Rosemary Holloway-Hill said. “I know we are resilient and have too much talent not to bounce back from it. Against Louisiana Tech, we just didn't do a good job at finishing and throwing strikes. It's hard and not something we enjoyed, but we needed to learn these lessons.”
Tournament-champion Iowa State (6-1) claimed the top spot after sweeping a pair of games on Sunday morning. After downing Southeast Missouri in the day's opening games, the Cyclones picked up a slim 1-0 win against the Warhawks to finish with an unblemished tournament record.
A pair of errors in the fourth inning cost the Warhawks a run and would prove to be all ISU ace Rachel Zabriskie would need. Zabriskie out-dueled senior Lindsay Rittenhouse in the game, fanning 10 and holding ULM hitless. Rittenhouse finished the game with 11 strikeouts in the loss.
ULM would bounce back quickly, downing SEMO in the third game of the day by a 2-1 score. The Warhawks picked up two runs in the first inning and Kandace Causey cruised to the victory.
Freshman Jessica Olguin led off the game against Southeast Missouri with a single through the left side before advancing to second on a wild pitch. Erica Darden moved her over to third and Molly McNeill brought her home with a sacrifice fly. With two outs in the inning and the bases empty, freshman Brianna Love hit a deep homerun to straight away centerfield for the 2-0 lead.
Causey (2-0) was cruising through the game until an unearned run came across to score with one out in the top of the seventh to trim the lead to 2-1. The next batter fanned swinging before the game ended on a foul pop-up to senior Jamie Liles. Causey finished with 12 strikeouts while allowing only four hits.
“Kandace really stepped up when we needed her to,” Holloway-Hill said. “I thought she really came out and made a statement for us and took control of the game. This week she has thrown back-to-back great games.”
Love and sophomore Michelle Farrell-Fink were named to the Mardi Gras Classic All-Tournament Team for their efforts in the Warhawks four games. Farrell-Fink finished with a .455 batting average, a pair of doubles and three RBI. Love finished with ULM's only homerun of the tournament, three RBI and a stolen base.
ULM returns to action next weekend when it travels to Knoxville, Tenn. to take on a highly-competitive field in the University of Tennessee Tournament Feb. 22-24. The tournament field will include host-Tennessee, Virginia, Brigham Young, and Wagoner.
