Emily Smith went four for five with the game-winning RBI in the top of the eighth inning to give Louisiana (24-23, 10,9 Sun Belt) a 5-4 victory over Texas State (30-17, 12-7 Sun Belt) Friday night at Bobcat Softball Stadium.

Tyra Clary got the victory in the circle after pitching 2 1/3 innings in relief where she gave up no runs on two hits.

Back-to-back RBI singles in the first inning gave the Ragin’ Cajuns a quick 2-0 lead, but Texas State would answer with three runs after back-to-back singles of their own.

The contest was fairly quiet, except for the fans, until the fifth inning, where Louisiana scored a pair on a Sydney Harvey error that tied the game at four.

Louisiana knocked hard on the door in the seventh with the bases loaded with no outs, but Emma Strood worked out of the jam to keep the ballgame tied.

Maddie Hayden reached on the second Bobcat error of the night, which led to the knockout punch from the Ragin’ Cajuns, which saw Smith drive in the winning run on an RBI single.

Four of the five Louisiana runs were given up by Maddy Azua, who pitched five innings, but Strood ultimately gave up the winning run despite a strong three innings in relief.

Texas State totaled nine hits in the game, four of which came from Ciara Trahan, but stranded 13 runners on the base paths. The powerhouse that is Aiyana Coleman saw the Barry Bonds treatment once again, receiving four intentional walks.

First pitch for game two of the three game series is set for 2 p.m. on Saturday. The game will be available to stream on ESPN+.