Blue Raiders fall 12-0 to No. 20 ULL

LAFAYETTE, La. - Middle Tennessee gave up 11 runs in the first inning and could not pull any runs back as they concluded a three-game series against No. 20 Louisiana-Lafayette with a 12-0 loss on Wednesday afternoon.

Middle Tennessee (6-24, 1-11 Sun Belt) dropped the opening two games of the series against the Ragin' Cajuns (21-7, 4-2 Sun Belt) on Tuesday.

Caty Jutson (1-8) allowed eight hits over one inning in the loss. Only one of the 11 runs given up was earned.

Lindsey Vander Lugt made her second appearance of the series in relief for the Blue Raiders. The lefty allowed one run on three hits over the final three innings.

Donna Bourgeois (15-4) threw a two-hit shutout over three innings in the win for the Ragin' Cajuns.

Brittany Cuevas, Amanda Hill and Shari Sigur all made appearance in relief for the home team.

Louisiana-Lafayette opened an 11-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Katie Smith led off with an infield single and Hubbard reached on a fielding error by third baseman Martha Davis before Melissa Verde walked in four pitches to load the bases. Back-to-back RBI shots by Codi Runyan and Lana Bowers made it 2-0.

Smith, Runyan and Verde picked up RBIs for the Ragin' Cajuns before the end of the frame.

In the third inning, freshman right fielder Shelby Barrett smashed a two-out shot to the shortstop for a single, but Kelsey Dortch just missed beating out a bunt to Ragin' Cajuns pitcher Bourgeois.

Jessica Ives and Kandra Singleton both went 1-for-2 to lead the Blue Raiders.

Louisiana-Lafayette added another run in the bottom of the third inning. Runyan beat out a single to the shortstop before Bowers smacked an RBI triple to the gap in right field to make it 12-0.

Middle Tennessee returns to action in a doubleheader against North Texas on Saturday. Opening pitch at Blue Raider Field is slated for 1 p.m.

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