March 16, 2012
FULLERTON, Calif. - Penn State (7-14) put forth a spirited effort against undefeated No. 10 Louisiana-Lafayette, but lost a 5-1 decision to the 25-0 Ragin' Cajuns. Lauren Yao (Los Angeles, Calif.) recorded PSU's only hit, a double, and scored the team's only run.
A pitcher's duel broke out between the high-powered offense of Louisiana-Lafayette and the Nittany Lions. Starting pitcher Lisa Akamine (Escondido, Calif.) held the Ragin' Cajuns at bay for over four innings before Louisiana broke out four-straight hits in the fifth inning. Akamine worked her way through 4.2 innings of hitless pitching before an infield single by Natalie Fernandez started the fifth-inning rally. From there, two more singles scored the first run and a two-run double by Christi Orgeron made it 3-0.
Penn State was dealing with a sterling pitching performance by ULL's Ashley Brignac, who retired the first 12 Nittany Lions before Yao's double in the bottom of the fifth. Akamine worked a walk and a passed ball put runners on second and third with no outs. Pinch-hitter Morgan Long (Oro Valley, Ariz.) drove Yao home on a grounder to shortstop, cutting the lead to 3-1. Brignac settled down after that getting two more grounders to short to end the inning.
The Cajuns made it a three-run game again in the top of the sixth on a bases loaded walk by Fernandez. A bloop fielder's choice by Katie Smith made it 5-1 as Alyssa Renwick's (Laurens, S.C.) heads up play in short centerfield got the second out of the inning. Akamine worked her way out of the jam with a grounder to Renwick on a force out at third base.
Brignac was tough in the circle, striking out seven Nittany Lions with one hit and a walk en route to her 10th win of the season. Akamine went all seven innings allowing seven hits and five earned runs. Akamine (5-9) is just the third pitcher this season to keep the Ragin' Cajuns to seven hits or less, while pitching seven innings.
Penn State fell to 0-3 all-time against Louisiana-Lafayette and 2-3 against ranked teams this season. Penn State takes on No. 7 Oklahoma at 8:30 p.m. ET.
--NITTANY LIONS--