(Photo by Linda Donnelly)

DALLAS – Louisiana raced out to a 9-4 halftime lead and held off a second-half charge by UT-Dallas for an 11-8 on Sunday morning on the campus of Southern Methodist, giving the Ragin’ Cajuns the 2017 Lone Star Alliance Division II championship.

Louisiana earns an automatic berth in the 16-team MCLA National Championships powered by Under Armour, which will occur from May 8-13 in Orange County, Calif.

This is the Ragin’ Cajuns first trip to nationals.

The Louisiana offense did its job, but it was the Ragin’ Cajun defense that ensured the win by stifling the high-powered Comets’ offensive for much of the day. Michael Olivio had a superb game in net for Louisiana.

The Ragin’ Cajuns will find out its seed and opponent at the MCLA National Champions this evening when the brackets are unveiled on MCLA.us.

2017 Lone Star Alliance Tournament

Division II -- (Bracket)
First Round – Home Sites
#2S Baylor d. #2N Dallas Baptist, 16-6
#1S UT-San Antonio d. #2E Rice, 13-6

Semifinals – at Southern Methodist – April 29
#1N UT-Dallas d. #1S UTSA, 10-7
#1E Louisiana d. #2S Baylor, 11-10 (ot)

Finals – at Southern Methodist – April 30
#1E Louisiana d. #1N UT-Dallas, 11-8