Ragin' Cajuns Join Top 10 of National Polls

LAFAYETTE – A 5-0 start to the 2016 season has propelled the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns softball team into the Top 10 of the national polls, which were released on Tuesday.

Louisiana rose to No. 7 in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 poll, up from its No. 11 preseason rank. The Ragin' Cajuns moved up three spots, from its preseason No. 11 billing, to No. 8 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll.

ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 poll
USA Today/NFCA Top 25 poll

The Ragin' Cajuns rejoined the Top 10 of the USA Today/NFCA ranking for the first time since the final week of the 2015 regular season. Louisiana was ranked inside the Top 10 of the NFCA listing in 11 of the 12 weeks of the 2015 regular season.

Louisiana's last appearance in the Top 10 of the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll was April 21, 2015. The squad spent the first 11 weeks of the 2015 season (Feb. 10-Apr. 21) in the Top 10, establishing a school record for the number of consecutive weeks in the Top 10 of either national poll.

The Ragin' Cajuns are joined in the Top 10 of the NFCA poll by five SEC schools (Florida, Auburn, LSU, Alabama, Georgia), three Pac-12 schools (Oregon, UCLA, Arizona) and Michigan (Big 10).

In addition to Louisiana, the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 10 includes four SEC schools (Florida, Auburn, LSU, Alabama), four Pac-12 schools (Oregon, UCLA, Washington, Arizona) and Michigan (Big 10).

Future ranked opponents for Louisiana include: No. 6/5 Oregon (Feb. 19-20), No. 23/RV South Alabama (March 12-13), No. 21/21 Baylor (March 29) and No. 1/1 Florida (April 16-17).

Head coach Michael Lotief's squad hit .410 and outscored foes 54-6 in posting a 5-0 sweep of competition at the Sand Dollar Classic in Gulf Shores, Ala., during last week's season-opening action. The Ragin' Cajuns pounded out 25 extra base hits with Lexie Elkins' five home runs leading the charge.

The team's pitching staff finished the weekend in Gulf Shores with only four earned runs allowed over 29 innings (0.97 ERA). The quartet of Alex Stewart, Kylee Jo Trahan, Macey Smith and Victoria Brown limited foes to a .187 average and surrendered only four walks. Stewart led the way with 16 strikeouts and no walks over the 14 frames she worked.

No. 7/8 Louisiana returns to action this weekend for its Lamson Park season debut, hosting the 30th Annual Louisiana Classics tournament Friday-Sunday, Feb. 19-21. The Ragin' Cajuns start the event with a 2 p.m., doubleheader against No. 6/5 Oregon on Friday, Feb. 19.

Individual game tickets for the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns' 2016 home regular season games at Lamson Park are currently on sale through the Ragin' Cajuns Ticket Office. Season ticket packages for all 24 games, starting at $106, remain on sale.

For more information on Ragin' Cajuns softball, fans can follow along with the team on Facebook (/RaginCajunSoftball) and Twitter (@RaginCajunSB).

RAGIN' CAJUNS IN THE 2016 POLLS
Week                    NFCA      ESPN/USA
Preseason               11                11
Feb. 15-21               7                  8

#GeauxCajuns

Players Mentioned

Victoria Brown

Lexie Elkins

Macey Smith

Alex Stewart

Kylee Jo Trahan