Softball Preview: Georgia State

Games 33-35: #12/10 Louisiana (27-5, 12-3 SBC) vs. Georgia State (23-12, 5-4 SBC)
Friday, April 3 • 5 p.m. (CDT) • Lamson Park (2,790) • Lafayette, La.
Saturday, April 4 (DH) • 12 p.m. (CDT) • Lamson Park (2,790) • Lafayette, La.

Game Notes: Louisiana | Georgia State
Radio: ESPN 1420-AM • Talent: Steve Peloquin, PxP; Bobby Neveaux, color
TV: None
Live Stats
Live Video (purchase necessary-Saturday only)
Rosters: Louisiana | Georgia State
Schedule/Results: Louisiana | Georgia State
Statistics: Louisiana | Georgia State
Ragin' Cajuns Twitter: @ULRaginCajuns | @RaginCajunSB
Opponents Twitter: @GSU_Softball

THE COACHES
Louisiana: Michael Lotief (Louisiana, 1985)
Career Record: 623-152-1 (13th season) Record at Louisiana: Same

Georgia State: Roger Kincaid (Georgia, 1987)
Career Record: 163-100 (5th season) Record at GAST: Same

AS STRETCH RUN BEGINS, CAJUNS HOST GEORGIA STATE
With only one month remaining until the close of the regular season, the stretch run begins for the No. 12/10 Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns softball team. The first of five series remaining on the 2015 docket takes place this weekend as the squad hosts Georgia State at Lamson Park Friday-Saturday, April 3-4.

CATCH 'EM WHILE YOU CAN
The Georgia State series marks the final Sun Belt games at Lamson Park in 2015. The Cajuns then conclude the home portion of the 2015 schedule with a three-game series against No. 15/13 Baylor April 10-11 and a single game vs. Houston on April 15.

WINNING THE WEEKEND
The Ragin' Cajuns are 5-for-5 in collecting Sun Belt series victories (2-1 at USA; 3-0 vs. UTA; 3-0 vs. GASO; 2-1 vs. TROY; 2-1 at TXST).

MIGHTY IN MARCH
Lexie Elkins hit .532 (25-of-47) with three doubles, 11 home runs and 27 RBI during the month of March. She struck out only twice in 62 plate appearances.

TEAM EFFORT
It's not just one "star" carrying the load for the Ragin' Cajuns. Each starter in the lineup has posted at least 20 hits (ranges from 20-43). Four different players homered twice during last Saturday's doubleheader at Texas State.

STEWART SETTLES IN
Alex Stewart, making her first career Sun Belt starts, held Texas State to just two runs and six hits in 10 innings of work to post wins in Games 2 and 3 of the series. She slowed down the Bobcats attack that had generated 14 runs off 12 hits in the opener.

TRIPLE THREAT IN CIRCLE
Alex Stewart's emergence in the circle at Texas State has further strengthened Louisiana's pitching efforts. The Cajuns won the TXST series with All-Sun Belt performers Jordan Wallace and Christina Hamilton pitching a combined six innings.

SETTLED ON LINEUP
Before the season began, head coach Michael Lotief found a lineup he believed would give his team the best chance to succeed. No. 1-5 in the lineup has remained the same since opening day. No. 6-9 in the batting order was the same Feb. 7-Mar. 17. Position-wise, the opening day starters at each spot in the field have started all 32 games.

HISTORIC HOME RUN SEASON?
With 60 home runs hit so far and the current pace of 1.88 HR/game, the Cajuns could be in striking distance of the second 100 HR season in school history (102 in '06) before the postseason arrives.

UP NEXT
The Cajuns travel to Huntsville, Texas, to face Sam Houston State on April 7. Louisiana then returns to Lamson Park for the final four regular season games at the facility in 2015 - the Baylor series (April 10-11) and Houston contest (April 15).

LOUISIANA-GEORGIA STATE SERIES
Series Record: Louisiana leads 11-2
In Lafayette: 0-0
In Atlanta: Louisiana leads 3-0
Neutral: Louisiana leads 8-2
Current Streak: Louisiana won 7
Last Meeting: 3/23/14 in Atlanta
(Louisiana 13, Georgia State 0)

Last Season's Series (March 22-23, 2014 in Atlanta)
Louisiana won Game 1 of the Saturday doubleheader by scoring eight runs through the first five innings. Haley Hayden singled with the bases loaded in the third to open the scoring. GAST used a three-run home run by Taylor Anderson in the bottom of the fifth to avoid the run-rule as the Cajuns won 8-3. In Game 2, Georgia State carried a 2-1 lead into the fifth inning. Meagan Thomas scored on a passed ball in the inning to tie the game. The Cajuns scored the winning run in the sixth inning on a Sara Corbello sacrifice fly and went to post a 4-2 victory. Louisiana launched four home runs and scored 13 runs off 13 hits, while Christina Hamilton and Jordan Wallace teamed up to shutout the Panthers in the series finale on Sunday.

Series Notes
First-ever meetings at Lamson Park...Cajuns swept initial Sun Belt series last season in Atlanta...Louisiana has won the last seven meetings...Last year's series in Atlanta marked the first meetings on either school's campus...First 10 meetings took place in tournaments at neutral sites...First meeting was in April 1988 in Chattanooga, Tenn. (GAST won 1-0)...Met again in Chattanooga in 1990...Programs met three times in 1993 at two different tournaments - once at Florida State (Tallahasse, Fla.), twice at South Carolina (Columbia, S.C.)...Cajuns and Panthers met in the prestigious PONY Invitational in Fullerton, Calif., from 1995-97, paired in pool play the last two years.

DIAMOND NOTES

• #ThinkingOfCoachMike: Louisiana head coach Michael Lotief is presently attending to a medical situation with his throat which will cause him to miss the Georgia State series. He was unable to accompany the team last week to Texas State.

• #OneMoreForFourth: Jordan Wallace is one win shy of taking sole possession of fourth place in career victories. Wallace, with 84 career victories, is presently tied with Melissa Coronado (1999-2002) for the fourth place slot.

• #StrikingTheCharts: Jordan Wallace, presently with 819 career strikeouts, is two shy of passing Kyla Hall (820 from 1991-94) for third place in program history.

• #GoodAsGold: Christina Hamilton is undefeated in her last 19 Sun Belt Conference starts (dates back to 2011 season). Hamilton is 20-1 in career starts in Sun Belt play.

• #SweepingUpAtShort: True freshman DJ Sanders is providing a glimpse of how good defensively she will be for the Cajuns as her career progresses. She's made just two errors through the first 88 chances that have come her way (43 PO, 43 A, 2E).

• #NotAnEasyOut: Opponents have found it tough to keep Haley Hayden, Shellie Landry and Lexie Elkins off the base path. The Cajuns' 1-2-3 hitters have combined for 116 hits and 67 walks. Add in a combined nine times being hit by a pitch, they've been on base a combined 192 times in a combined 382 plate appearances.

• #LeadingTheCharge: Lexie Elkins leads the Cajuns, and entered the week ranked No. 1 nationally, with 17 home runs.

• #WelcomeAboard: Haley Hayden reached base each game of the Texas State series, extending her reached-base streak to a career-best 21 games.

• #BannerSeason: Shellie Landry is one home run shy of tying her personal season-best 15 home runs she hit as a freshman in 2015.

• #NewHeights: Kelsey Vincent has established her career-high for home runs, having reached eight so far this season.

• #MoreForMaly: Leandra Maly has posted eight multiple-hit games in her 19 starts as designated player (since Feb. 21).

• #CatchMeIfYouCan: Louisiana is 24-3 when scoring first. The lone losses: Mar. 8 at South Alabama, Mar. 21 vs. Troy (Game 1) and Mar. 28 at Texas State (Game 1).

• #SevenIsHeaven: Louisiana spent seven straight weeks inside the nation's Top 10 from Feb. 10 through March 24. It marked the longest stretch in the Top 10 since 2012.

• #SteppingInAtShort: A knee injury has 2014 starting shortstop Corin Voinche sidelined indefinitely. Freshman DJ Sanders, selected to the U.S. Junior National Team in January, is handling shortstop duties in Voinche's absence.

#GeauxCajuns

Players Mentioned

Sara Corbello

Lexie Elkins

Christina Hamilton

Haley Hayden

Shellie Landry

Leandra Maly

DJ Sanders

Alex Stewart

Meagan Thomas

Kelsey Vincent

Jordan Wallace

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University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics

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