University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Saturday, March 16
Mobile, Ala.
1:00 PM
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
at
South Alabama
Cajuns to Continue Sun Belt Play with Trip to South Alabama
3/15/2013 9:14:00 AM | Softball
PDF Notes
Date: March 16-17, 2013
Location: Mobile, Ala.
Site: Jaguar Field
Radio: ESPN 1420-AM
Live Stats: www.ragincajuns.com
Times: Saturday - 1:00 P.M. Doubleheader, Sunday - 1:00 PM
Contact: Nick Ross
WHAT'S ON TAP? The 18-9 Ragin' Cajuns will look to find continued success after a doubleheader sweep on Wednesday, March 13 of La.-Tech when they travel to Mobile, Ala. for their second Sun Belt series against South Alabama, March 16-17th. The Cajuns are 1-2 in early Sun Belt play in 2013 and are looking to repeat as Sun Belt regular season champions.
CAJUN UPDATE: The Cajuns swept Louisiana Tech in a double header on Wednesday by scores of 4-1 and 9-1. Offense was an early arrival, as the Cajuns scored in the first inning of both games, and all 13 runs of the doubleheader came in the first three innings of the games.
THE JAGUARS: At 21-4, South Alabama boasts the best non-conference record in the Sun Belt heading into their first conference series. Although not ranked, they have received votes in both polls, including 14 this week's USA Today Poll. The Jags are coming off of a 3-2 weekend in Long Beach, California at the Long Beach State Invitational. They picked up wins against Idaho State, UC-Santa Barbara and Long Beach State, while losing to UCLA and Utah. They are led by junior pitcher Hannah Campbell, who has gone 9-3 on the season with a 0.78 ERA and 59 strikeouts, as well as sophomore Farish Beard, who has gone 8-0 with a 1.25 ERA and 79 strikeouts.
FIRST-YEAR FOCUS: With three freshmen in the starting lineup for every game this season the future is bright for the Cajuns. Shellie Landry, Sara Corbello and Samantha Walsh have had a strong impact on the team in their first year of competition combining for nine HR and 56 RBI. First-year players as a whole are batting .307 on the season (85-for-277) with 60 RBI, 10 HR, and 53 runs scored. Last season a veteran Cajuns squad didn't send a freshman to the plate.
CHERRY BOMBS: Senior center fielder Brianna Cherry has anchored the Cajuns' offense through the first 27 games this season. She is batting .405 with 28 RBI, and a team-high 29 runs and seven home runs. Her seven home runs tie her career high that she set last season.
HOME RUNS...HOME RUNS EVERYWHERE: With 30 home runs in the first 27 games, the Cajuns lead the Sun Belt Conference in home runs by double the next highest, South Alabama at 15. Individually, Louisiana holds down the top three spots with Cherry and Draheim at seven each, and Landry at six. If you combine the three, they have more home runs than all the teams in the league. The Cajuns also rank 21st in the nation for home runs per game (1.13/game as of 3/10)
DOMINATING THE DISH: Senior catcher Sarah Draheim has been a huge presence both behind and at the plate for the Cajuns this season. She leads the team with 171 putouts, and has started every game at catcher. She is batting .395 on the season with seven home runs and 30 RBI. Draheim batted .250 in her first three seasons.
LET'S GET IT STARTED: The Cajuns have scored in the first inning in 15 of their 27 games this season, and are 11-4 in those games. The Cajuns have scored first in 21-of-27 games and hold a record of 16-5 when scoring first.
NEARLY PERFECT: Sophomore pitcher Jordan Wallace faced just 16 batters in a five-inning shutout against WKU on Saturday. She allowed just one batter to reach base, a single in the second inning, with no walks and nine strikeouts. Earlier this season, Wallace took a perfect game into the sixth inning of what became a six-inning mercy rule victory for the Cajuns. She lost the perfect game from an error to lead off the sixth, and eventually gave up a hit.
SINGLING OUT FERNANDEZ: Third baseman Natalie Fernandez led the Ragin' Cajuns squad with 75 hits and a .436 average last season. All of the 75 hits were singles. Thus far in 2013 she has gone 26-for-82 with 26 singles. In her career, Fernandez has 136 hits, including 135 singles and one double. Her only extra base hit came on February 12, 2011 as her last 130 hits have been singles.
NO SENIOR SLIDE: The five seniors, Brianna Cherry, Sarah Draheim, Matte Haack, Nerissa Myers and Megan Waterman combine for a .366 batting average (104-for-284), with 94 runs scored, 89 RBI and 20 home runs with a slugging percentage of .588.
FRESHMAN FIREPOWER: Outfielder Shellie Landry hit her first career grand slam against Southern on Feb. 26, and has now homered in back-to-back games this season twice. Her 32 RBI not only lead the team, but the entire Sun Belt Conference and she is second on the team with six home runs.
HOW DO THEY RANK? Louisiana is ranked 22nd in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches poll and 25th in the ESPN.com/USA Softball polls released on March 12, down seven spots from last week when they were ranked 15th and 18th, respectively. The Cajuns started the season ranked 11th, and were the unanimous selection to win the Sun Belt. The highest they have been ranked this season was the preseason ranking of 11th.
DEFENDING CHAMPS: Louisiana will attempt to defend their throne at the top of the Sun Belt Conference, a spot they have held in 11 of the past 12 seasons, including five straight. They will also attempt to extend a streak of 14 straight NCAA Regional tournament berths.
ATTENDANCE AUTHORITIES: Lamson Park has held the highest attendance in the Sun Belt Conference for the past 13 seasons, and set school records last season with an average attendance of 1,287, for 29,171 all season. Lamson Park has held 6,402 fans this season after seven dates with an average of 800.
LOVING LOUISIANA: The 2013 schedule features six teams from inside the Louisiana Border. McNeese State, Southern, Louisiana Tech and UL-Monroe. The Cajuns are 4-0 thus far against in-state opponents with victories over McNeese and Southern already.
Date: March 16-17, 2013
Location: Mobile, Ala.
Site: Jaguar Field
Radio: ESPN 1420-AM
Live Stats: www.ragincajuns.com
Times: Saturday - 1:00 P.M. Doubleheader, Sunday - 1:00 PM
Contact: Nick Ross
WHAT'S ON TAP? The 18-9 Ragin' Cajuns will look to find continued success after a doubleheader sweep on Wednesday, March 13 of La.-Tech when they travel to Mobile, Ala. for their second Sun Belt series against South Alabama, March 16-17th. The Cajuns are 1-2 in early Sun Belt play in 2013 and are looking to repeat as Sun Belt regular season champions.
CAJUN UPDATE: The Cajuns swept Louisiana Tech in a double header on Wednesday by scores of 4-1 and 9-1. Offense was an early arrival, as the Cajuns scored in the first inning of both games, and all 13 runs of the doubleheader came in the first three innings of the games.
THE JAGUARS: At 21-4, South Alabama boasts the best non-conference record in the Sun Belt heading into their first conference series. Although not ranked, they have received votes in both polls, including 14 this week's USA Today Poll. The Jags are coming off of a 3-2 weekend in Long Beach, California at the Long Beach State Invitational. They picked up wins against Idaho State, UC-Santa Barbara and Long Beach State, while losing to UCLA and Utah. They are led by junior pitcher Hannah Campbell, who has gone 9-3 on the season with a 0.78 ERA and 59 strikeouts, as well as sophomore Farish Beard, who has gone 8-0 with a 1.25 ERA and 79 strikeouts.
FIRST-YEAR FOCUS: With three freshmen in the starting lineup for every game this season the future is bright for the Cajuns. Shellie Landry, Sara Corbello and Samantha Walsh have had a strong impact on the team in their first year of competition combining for nine HR and 56 RBI. First-year players as a whole are batting .307 on the season (85-for-277) with 60 RBI, 10 HR, and 53 runs scored. Last season a veteran Cajuns squad didn't send a freshman to the plate.
CHERRY BOMBS: Senior center fielder Brianna Cherry has anchored the Cajuns' offense through the first 27 games this season. She is batting .405 with 28 RBI, and a team-high 29 runs and seven home runs. Her seven home runs tie her career high that she set last season.
HOME RUNS...HOME RUNS EVERYWHERE: With 30 home runs in the first 27 games, the Cajuns lead the Sun Belt Conference in home runs by double the next highest, South Alabama at 15. Individually, Louisiana holds down the top three spots with Cherry and Draheim at seven each, and Landry at six. If you combine the three, they have more home runs than all the teams in the league. The Cajuns also rank 21st in the nation for home runs per game (1.13/game as of 3/10)
DOMINATING THE DISH: Senior catcher Sarah Draheim has been a huge presence both behind and at the plate for the Cajuns this season. She leads the team with 171 putouts, and has started every game at catcher. She is batting .395 on the season with seven home runs and 30 RBI. Draheim batted .250 in her first three seasons.
LET'S GET IT STARTED: The Cajuns have scored in the first inning in 15 of their 27 games this season, and are 11-4 in those games. The Cajuns have scored first in 21-of-27 games and hold a record of 16-5 when scoring first.
NEARLY PERFECT: Sophomore pitcher Jordan Wallace faced just 16 batters in a five-inning shutout against WKU on Saturday. She allowed just one batter to reach base, a single in the second inning, with no walks and nine strikeouts. Earlier this season, Wallace took a perfect game into the sixth inning of what became a six-inning mercy rule victory for the Cajuns. She lost the perfect game from an error to lead off the sixth, and eventually gave up a hit.
SINGLING OUT FERNANDEZ: Third baseman Natalie Fernandez led the Ragin' Cajuns squad with 75 hits and a .436 average last season. All of the 75 hits were singles. Thus far in 2013 she has gone 26-for-82 with 26 singles. In her career, Fernandez has 136 hits, including 135 singles and one double. Her only extra base hit came on February 12, 2011 as her last 130 hits have been singles.
NO SENIOR SLIDE: The five seniors, Brianna Cherry, Sarah Draheim, Matte Haack, Nerissa Myers and Megan Waterman combine for a .366 batting average (104-for-284), with 94 runs scored, 89 RBI and 20 home runs with a slugging percentage of .588.
FRESHMAN FIREPOWER: Outfielder Shellie Landry hit her first career grand slam against Southern on Feb. 26, and has now homered in back-to-back games this season twice. Her 32 RBI not only lead the team, but the entire Sun Belt Conference and she is second on the team with six home runs.
HOW DO THEY RANK? Louisiana is ranked 22nd in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches poll and 25th in the ESPN.com/USA Softball polls released on March 12, down seven spots from last week when they were ranked 15th and 18th, respectively. The Cajuns started the season ranked 11th, and were the unanimous selection to win the Sun Belt. The highest they have been ranked this season was the preseason ranking of 11th.
DEFENDING CHAMPS: Louisiana will attempt to defend their throne at the top of the Sun Belt Conference, a spot they have held in 11 of the past 12 seasons, including five straight. They will also attempt to extend a streak of 14 straight NCAA Regional tournament berths.
ATTENDANCE AUTHORITIES: Lamson Park has held the highest attendance in the Sun Belt Conference for the past 13 seasons, and set school records last season with an average attendance of 1,287, for 29,171 all season. Lamson Park has held 6,402 fans this season after seven dates with an average of 800.
LOVING LOUISIANA: The 2013 schedule features six teams from inside the Louisiana Border. McNeese State, Southern, Louisiana Tech and UL-Monroe. The Cajuns are 4-0 thus far against in-state opponents with victories over McNeese and Southern already.
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