Cajuns Advance In National Polls a Second Straight Week

LAFAYETTE – After claiming two of the three matchups from then-No. 5 Oregon during last weekend's 30th Annual Louisiana Classics at Lamson Park the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns softball team moved up in the national polls, which were released on Tuesday, for a second straight week.

Louisiana advanced to No. 6 in both the USA Today/NFCA (previously No. 7) and ESPN.com/USA Softball (previously No. 8) Top 25 polls.

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

The Ragin' Cajuns (8-1) are ranked inside the nation's Top 10 of both polls for the second straight week. Michael Lotief's squad, preseason ranked No. 11, joined the Top 10 last Tuesday following a 5-0 run through the Sand Dollar Classic in Gulf Shores, Ala.

The No. 6 ranking is the highest for the Ragin' Cajuns since the Feb. 24, 2015 polls which listed the squad No. 5 in the NFCA poll and No. 6 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball.

Dating back to the start of the 2015 season, Louisiana has been in the Top 10 of the NFCA rankings in 14 of the past 17 polls and Top 10 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll in 13 of the past 17 polls.

The Ragin' Cajuns are joined in the Top 10 of the NFCA poll by five SEC schools (Florida, Auburn, Alabama, LSU, Georgia), two Pac-12 schools (Oregon, Washington), Michigan (Big 10) and James Madison (Colonial Athletic Association).

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

The Ragin' Cajuns are the lone Sun Belt Conference school ranked in either of the Top 25 polls. South Alabama is receiving votes in both polls, while Texas State is receiving votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll.

Future games with ranked opponents include Baylor (March 29 doubleheader), which is ranked No. 24 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll, and Florida (April 16-17 three-game series), the nation's consensus No. 1 team.

No. 6 Louisiana remains at Lamson Park this week – and continues its current 10-game homestand – hosting Texas Tech (4-6) in a 4 p.m., doubleheader on Thursday, Feb. 25, followed by the Ragin' Cajuns Invitational Friday-Sunday, Feb. 26-28 featuring Alcorn State and Rutgers.

Season ticket packages for all 2016 regular season games at Lamson Park, starting at $106, remain on sale through the Ragin' Cajuns Ticket Office. Fans can purchase season tickets via phone at (337) 265-2100, online at RaginCajuns.com or by visiting the Cajundome Box Office in-person Monday-Friday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

Fans who purchase season tickets have the benefit of the same seat location at every game and receive priority access to any NCAA postseason games hosted at Lamson Park.

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
Feb. 22-28               6                  6

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University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics

Cajuns Advance In National Polls a Second Straight Week

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