The frustration continued for the UL softball squad Friday at Lamson Park.
Freshman pitcher Mallory Wheeler pitched very well, but got no run support in a 1-0 loss to James Madison the Sun Belt weekend opener.
“It was pitching and now it’s timely hitting,” frustrated UL coach Alyson Habetz said.
The Cajuns fell to 19-21 overall and 5-8 in league play, while the Dukes are now 17-20 and 4-9. Game two of the series is slated for 4 p.m. Saturday.
The eight conference losses are the most by a UL team since 2007.
Wheeler only had one up-and-down inning, but kept James Madison off the scoreboard until the seventh.
In seven innings, the right-hander allowed one run on six hits, walked three and struck out six.
“Mal was lights out man,” Habetz said. “They just got the timely hit when it mattered. That’s what it came down to.”
In the seventh inning, though, a leadoff walk to Raegan Wall got James Madison busy. Wall then stole second ahead of a Morgan Mesaros sacrifice bunt.
Hitting out of the 9-hole, Lily Romero then singled to right for the game’s only RBI.
The Cajuns went up and down in the seventh for the second time on the night.
UL’s offense finished with four hits to six for James Madison. Mia Norwood led the way with a 2-for-3 night.
The Cajuns stranded runners on second and third in both the third and fourth innings. Both teams finished with seven runners left on base.
“We had to do something different,” Habetz said. “We have to make an adjustment – whether it’s choking up, whether it’s sitting on the inside pitch and turning on it because they left right field wide open. Just figuring out a way to make an adjustment and doing something different.
“Yesterday we worked on just smoking the middle. The middle was wide open too, especially when slappers were up. We have to execute in the game, especially with runners at second and third.”
James Madison pitcher Payton List improved to 7-5 on the season after yielding no runs on four hits, five walks and two strikeouts on 123 pitches.
