Holly Tankersley (Kirbyville, Texas) broke a scoreless tie in the top of the third inning with her 49th career home run as Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns cruised to an opening shutout, 6-0, over the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks at the Louisiana Tech Invitational.

Tankersley finished the day 1-for-3, but made the one hit count. She belted a three-run shot over the right field fence that proved to be the difference in the game. Tankersley led the Cajuns squad with three RBI, while also scoring a run.

In the circle, Donna Bourgeois (Lafayette, La.) earned her first collegiate victory. The true freshman scattered six hits on the afternoon, but fanned seven batters in her debut. She allowed just one walk on the morning and did not allow a batter to get past second base.

The Warhawks threatened in the first inning, but a defensive stand by the Cajuns ended the hazard. The leadoff batter reached on a single, but was eliminated by a fielder’s choice. A single to left field gave ULM runners at first and second. The next batter hit a shot to third base. Melissa Verde (Beaumont, Texas) stepped on the bag for the force out and quickly threw to first base to complete the double play and end the inning.

The score remained knotted until the third inning. The Ragin’ Cajuns started the inning with a slap single by junior Karli Hubbard (Lafayette, La.). Freshman Katie Smith (Ruston, La.) followed with a drag bunt for a single to give the Cajuns their first two hits of the game. After a fly ball to left field, Tankersley broke the scoreless tie with her first home run of the season and the 49th of her career.

Leading 3-0, the Cajuns added a run in the top of the fourth inning. Vanessa Soto (San Diego, Calif.) reached base on a fielding error by the Warhawks. Gabriele Bridges (Lafitte, La.) singled through the left side of the infield to give the Cajuns a pair of runners. Brooke Brodhead (Lafayette, La.) lined a ball off of the pitcher’s shin to advance the runners to second and third. Hubbard grounded out to third base to plate the runner and increase the Cajuns’ lead to 4-0.

Verde leadoff the fifth inning with a walk and Tankersley followed with a base on balls giving UL a pair or baserunners. A two-out single by Soto extended UL’s lead to 5-0.

The Cajuns added another run in the top of the seventh. With runners on first and second, Verde doubled off of the right field wall to plate the lead runner and extend the UL advantage to six runs.

UL scored 13 runs on 13 hits and Ashley Brignac (River Ridge, La.) did the rest in her debut as the Cajuns shutout tournament host Louisiana Tech 13-0 in the second game of the season.

The Ashley Brignac Era officially began in game two of the tournament. Brignac did not disappoint the crowd of Cajun fans in the stands. She struck out the first three batters she faced to begin her career. Brignac finished the game with 10 strikeouts and a complete game shutout. She allowed only one single and just six batters to put the ball in play.

Offensively, the Ragin’ Cajuns scattered 13 hits in four innings including a team record seven doubles in the game.

Vanessa Soto (San Diego, Calif.) paced the Cajuns going 3-for-4 with two doubles and five RBI.

Melissa Verde (Beaumont, Texas) collected a pair of doubles of her own as she was 2-for-3 with three runs scored and three RBI.

Holly Tankersley (Kirbyville, Texas) finished the game with three RBI as well, while Lana Bowers (Crosby, Texas) finished the day 3-for-3 with two doubles.

The Cajuns drew first blood in the first inning. Verde led off game two with a double up the middle to get things going for the Cajuns. A fly ball to right field advanced to Verde to scoring position. Soto plated Verde with an RBI double to right centerfield giving UL the early 1-0 edge.

The Cajuns extended their lead in the bottom of the second inning. With one out, Bowers doubled to right center field for her first hit of the season. Back-to-back walks loaded the bases for Verde. The Texas native collected her second double of the game clearing the bases and giving the Cajuns a four-run advantage. Verde advanced to third on the play and scored easily on the next pitch as Tankersley singled to left field to give the Cajuns a 5-0 edge after two innings.

UL erupted for six runs in the third inning to blow the game wide open. Gabriele Bridges (Lafitte, La.) walked to open the inning and Courtney Trahan (Maurice, La.) pinch ran for the first baseman Bridges. Brooke Brodhead (Lafayette, La.) singled to right center, while Trahan advanced to third. Bowers singled down the left field line to plate the lead runner. After a pitching change, Karli Hubbard beat out a ball hit back to the pitcher to load the bases. A line drive recorded the first out and a fielder’s choice left the bases loaded with two outs. Tankersley worked the count in her favor and drew a free pass, scoring Bowers from third. Soto doubled to left centerfield clearing the bases. Jessica Dupont (Alexandria, La.) followed with a double of her own to score Soto from second and give the Cajuns six runs in the inning and an 11-0 edge after three innings.

With one out in the fourth inning, Bowers doubled down the left field line. The double marked the seventh double of the day for the Cajuns, tying the school set against Grambling State on Feb. 6, 2006. An infield single gave the Cajuns runners on the corners and a walk loaded the bases. Tankersley drew a walk to score her third RBI of the game. Soto followed with a single through the right side to give the Cajuns a 13-0 advantage.

The Ragin’ Cajuns continue the Louisiana Tech Tournament on Sunday afternoon as they take on the Lady Techsters at 1:30 p.m.