University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Cajuns Face Final Road Test of Regular Season at UTA
4/25/2014 11:30:00 AM | Softball
#16 Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (35-7-1, 13-1 SBC) at UT Arlington Mavericks (20-26, 4-10 SBC)
Date: April 26-27
Location: Arlington, Texas (Allan Saxe Stadium)
Radio: ESPN 1420 (Steve Peloquin)
Live Stats: www.RaginCajuns.com
Television: None
Time: Saturday (DH) & Sunday, 1 p.m.
Game Notes
What's On Tap? The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns softball team will head to Arlington, Texas to return to Sun Belt action with a three-game series with the UT Arlington Mavericks, the newest member of the Sun Belt Conference. The Cajuns are taking a six-game winning streak into the series, and have won 27 of their last 29 games, behind the power of Haley Hayden and Lexie Elkins with strong pitching from Christina Hamilton.
About the Opponents: The Mavericks hold a 20-26 overall record and a 4-10 record in their first season of Sun Belt play, after playing in the WAC last season. They are led by two-time SBC Pitcher of the Week Callie Collins, and infielder Nina Villanueva. Collins is 12-10 with a 2.71 ERA and 142 strikeouts, and Villanueva leads the team in almost every offensive category, batting. 360 with eight home runs and 36 RBI. The Mavericks have picked up conference wins against Georgia State, Troy and ULM, winning the series last weekend against the Warhawks in Arlington.
Picking up a Midweek Sweep: The Ragin' Cajuns picked up two wins in Waco, defeating the Baylor Bears, 5-2 and 7-4, sweeping the doubleheader and the season series, after previously defeating the Bears on Feb. 28, 11-10. The Cajuns got a complete game victory out of Christina Hamilton, her 19th win of the season, in game one. Lexie Elkins chipped in with her 14th home run of the season, and two hits from Shelbi Redfearn. They kept their momentum into game two, getting an early run, before Baylor eventually tied the game up 4-4. Haley Hayden drove in the game winning run, taking HBP with the bases loaded, which was followed up by a run scored on a wild pitch to make it 6-4, and a double by Gabby Felps in the seventh to make it 7-4.
The Week That Was: The Ragin' Cajuns went 3-0 this past weekend, defeating McNeese State, 5-4, on Wednesday and winning two games at Troy, 5-0, and 9-0, with the third game of the series getting rained out. Samantha Walsh was the Cajuns' hero in the midweek contest against McNeese, hitting a lead-off home run in the bottom of the seventh inning for the walkoff win. Christina Hamilton did her part over the weekend, tossing 13 shutout innings against Troy, without walking a batter, and was named the SBC Pitcher of the Week for her performance. The Cajuns defeated the Trojans in game one, despite only getting two hits, making the second of their two hits hurt, with a grand slam of the bat of Shellie Landry.
Adding to the Win Column: The Ragin' Cajuns saw their season-high 14 game winning streak snapped in game two against South Alabama, but have still won, and 27 of their last 29 games, with both losses coming against nationally ranked opponents. In 2013 the Cajuns put together a 23 game winning streak, and in 2012 they opened the season with a 28-game winning streak.
Another Conference Player of the Week: After posting a 0.70 ERA over 20 innings, including 13 shutout innings against Troy, pitcher Christina Hamilton has been named the Sun Belt Conference Pitcher of the Week. Hamilton picked up her second Pitcher of the Week honor of the season, winning her first on March 17, and fifth weekly honor of the season for the Cajuns. Lexie Elkins won the Player of the Week award twice (Feb. 10, April 7) and Natalie Fernandez won on March 24. Hamilton went 3-0 on the week with a 0.70 era, tossing the complete game and allowing two earned runs against McNeese State on Wednesday, and nearly throwing back-to-back complete game shutouts against Troy. Hamilton was also named the LSWA Player of the Week for the third time this season.
Over the Last 10 Games... The Cajuns have gone 9-1 over the last 10 games, getting help from every part of the lineup. Sophomore catcher Lexie Elkins batted .412 with five home runs and 16 RBI, to lead the Cajuns. Corin Voinché has sparked the bottom of the Louisiana lineup, batting .333 (10-for-30), including a career-high three-hit performance against Troy in the doubleheader finale. Junior pitcher Christina Hamilton has gone 6-0 with a save and a 1.11 ERA.
Walsh's Emergence: After batting .135 (7-for-52) in the first 21 games this season, sophomore Samantha Walsh has found her stride offensively to move her batting average to .233. Over the past ten games she has batted .309 with 17 RBI and seven home runs, including a pair of home runs in the doubleheader finale against Troy for her first multi-home run game of her career and a walk-off home run against McNeese State.
Where do they Rank? The Ragin' Cajuns come in ranked 16th in both the NFCA/USA Today and the ESPN/USA Softball polls which were both released on Tuesday, April 22. The Cajuns have been on a steady rise in the rankings since falling to 25th, after starting the season ranked 13th and 15th in the polls. The Cajuns highest ranking is in the RPI rankings, however, in which they sit 6th in the nation.
Fernandez Among Actives: Here is where Cajuns senior, Natalie Fernandez 's career stats rank among active players, as of stats released on April 22:
| ## | D-I | Overall | D-I Leader | ## | |
| Games Played | 217 | 30th | 38th | Courtney Senas, Florida State | 235 |
| Batting Average | .402 | 22nd | -- | Haylie McCleney, Alabama | .470 |
| Runs Scored | 177 | 5th | 13th | Jennifer Gilbert, Ball State | 207 |
| Hits | 233 | 16th | 27th | Jill Barrett, Tulsa | 300 |
Wallace Among Actives: Here is where Cajuns junior, Jordan Wallace 's career stats rank among active players, as of stats released on April 22:
| ## | D-I | Overall | D-I Leader | ## | |
| Victories | 72 | 17th | 21st | Hannah Rodgers, Florida | 117 |
| Strikeouts | 674 | 20th | 29th | Whitney Canion, Baylor | 1,354 |
| Strikeouts/7 inn. | 8.81 | 6th | 15th | Miranda Kramer, IPFW | 9.96 |
| Shutouts | 16 | 42th | - - | Sara Moulton, Minnesota | 45 |
Getting Offensive: The Cajuns boast the 22nd-most potent offense in the NCAA this season, averaging 6.32 runs per game. That mark tops the Sun Belt, with ULM coming in second with 5.29 runs per game. The Cajuns run output can be credited to the nations second-best 1.61 home runs per game and their 16th-ranked slugging percentage (.523).
We've Got the Power: The Ragin' Cajuns have put on an impressive power display at Lamson Park this season, hitting 39 of their 67 home runs at Lamson Park. The Cajuns have played the fewest amount of games among all teams with 60-or-more home runs. The Cajuns lead the Sun Belt in home runs by 18, with Georgia State coming in second with 49 on the season. Individually, the Cajuns hold down the top three spots in the conference with Lexie Elkins leading with 14, Haley Hayden with 13 and Shelbi Redfearn in third with 12 on the season.
Triple-Double of Homers: The Ragin' Cajuns already have three players with 10-or-more homers in Lexie Elkins (14), Haley Hayden (13) and Shelbi Redfearn (12), marking the fourth time in the last ten seasons that the Cajuns have had three-or-more players with double-digits in the home run column. Last season the Cajuns had four players go deep more than ten times, a feat that the Cajuns look likely to achieve in 2014 with Sara Corbello already at eight home runs, Samantha Walsh at seven and Kelsey Vincent at six.
Schedule Change: Both Christina Hamilton and Jordan Wallace have won double-digit games, achieving a feat the Cajuns did not get to last season, with Wallace winning 32 games and Victoria Brown winning the second most with nine. Prior to last season, the Cajuns only failed to have two double-digit winners in a season twice since 2000, coming in 2012 and 2007. The Cajuns had three double-digit winners in 2002 and 2000.
What's Next? The Cajuns will return home for the foreseen future when they finish up the regular season, after cancelling their scheduled game with Nicholls State on April 30, with a three-game series against ULM at Lamson Park. The Cajuns and Warhawks will play a Saturday doubleheader at 2 p.m., and finish up the series on Sunday at 1 p.m. The Cajuns will remain home when they host the 2014 Sun Belt Conference Championships, from May 7-10.
-- www.RaginCajuns.com --
