UL sophomore relief pitcher Chloe Riassetto had a hunch it was going to be different this time around.
She didn't know when she would enter Tuesday’s showdown with LSU at Lamson Park after she struggled in a two-run loss to the Tigers a week earlier. She just knew she would be ready.
“I think in the bullpen, I knew,” said Riassetto, who pitched 6⅓ stellar innings to help the Ragin’ Cajuns claim a 9-4 win over the Tigers in front of a standing-room-only crowd. “I felt more in control and more confident than last week. I feel like last week, my curveball was kind of all over the place, so definitely control the curveball and stay calm under pressure. I felt like last week I was stressed, I guess, so stay calmer.”
After entering the game with two outs in the first inning already down 2-0, Riassetto retired 19 of the 23 batters she faced, giving up two runs on three hits with no walks and two strikeouts to move to 12-3 on the season.
The No. 25 Cajuns are now 34-15 while the No. 6 Tigers dropped to 35-11. UL next plays McNeese in Lake Charles on Wednesday.
“I’m just really thrilled,” said UL coach Gerry Glasco, whose Cajuns opened the day with an RPI of 15. “I don’t even have the words to tell you how thrilled I am with the girls.”
LSU entered the game with an RPI of 3.
“We had to win,” Glasco said. “In order to host a regional, in my mind we had to win tonight just to seal the deal … I didn’t want to leave any doubt. A top-five RPI win at home was a huge opportunity.”
Just like UL did in the 4-2 loss at LSU on April 16, the Tigers scored two runs in the first inning. Taylor Pleasants singled and Raeleen Gutierrez doubled. Add in a throwing error and two hit batsman, and that was the end of Sam Landry's outing.
“I don’t know if it had something to do with the crowd, but our electronic system wasn’t working, so they weren’t getting the signals at catcher or pitcher,” Glasco said. “Everybody else on the field was getting them and we were getting them in the dugout. I didn’t know it. They didn’t tell me. They were just freelancing. It got chaotic there.
“So I said, ‘Chloe, let’s go. Let’s start fresh here.’ ”
Riassetto did her part and so did the UL offense, scoring six runs in the bottom of the first to take control of the game.
Mihyia Davis led off with a triple and beat the throw to the plate on Maddie Hayden’s grounder to second.
“He (Glasco) was telling us to just get on the balls early, swing at strikes early in the count, so that’s what I went up there and did,” Davis said.
Laney Credeur singled, Alexa Langeliers was hit by a pitch and Brooke Ellestad tied it with an RBI single to left to bring reliever Kelley Lynch to the circle after starter Rae Chaffin failed to record an out.
“I think they were really aggressive and I think they had a really good approach,” Glasco said of his hitters.
Two quick outs later, Cecilia Vasquez and Kayla Falterman each coaxed RBI walks for a 4-2 Cajuns lead. Davis then delivered a two-run single to center to make it a six-run frame.
“She (Lynch) was a rise ball pitcher, so I was just trying to get on top of the ball and hit something hard up the middle to score the runners,” Davis said.
Langeliers and Ellestad both added two-out solo homers in the fourth, and Kayla Falterman singled and scored UL's final run in the fifth.
Chaffin gave up five runs without getting an out for LSU, and Lynch allowed three runs on seven hits, three walks and no strikeouts.
“I think throughout the game, we were hitting the ball, our defense was amazing,” Riassetto said. “Maddie Hayden was making great players out in the outfield, and I think we were really consistent throughout the whole game.”
The win was only the fourth home win over LSU in 13 games. The Cajuns are now 16-26 against LSU in the all-time series.
“Super fun environment,” Davis said. “I enjoy playing in front of big crowds like this. I feel like I perform better as does the team, as you saw.”
