Friday, May 14, 2004

LAFAYETTE – Junior ace hurler Brooke Mitchell came back strong, tossing seven strikeouts over three innings and Brittany Bryant broke open a two-run game with a three-run home run as No. 9 Louisiana completed its suspended Sun Belt Tournament opening game with a 7-0 victory over North Texas here Friday morning at Ragin’ Cajuns Softball Park.
With the win the Ragin’ Cajuns (53-6) advanced into the winner’s bracket final against second-seeded Florida International (30-32) at 6:30 p.m. Friday evening.

The game was resumed in the top of the fourth inning after the game was suspended due to rain Thursday evening.

Mitchell came back and struck out the side in the fourth and fifth innings. The USA Softball National Player of the Year candidate struck out 11 in six innings of work as she extended her winning streak to 17 games and moved within one win of becoming the 12th player in NCAA history to reach 40 wins in a season.

Mitchell (39-3) allowed only one hit and fanned 10 of the first 18 batters she faced. The Pasadena, Texas, native collected her 27th double-digit strikeout game of the season.

“With North Texas not having seen Brooke (Mitchell), we knew it was going to play to our advantage,