Softball Preview: McNeese State

Game 21: #5 Louisiana (19-1, 2-0 Sun Belt) vs. McNeese State (16-5, 3-0 Southland)
Wednesday, March 16 • 6 p.m. (CDT) • Lamson Park (2,790) • Lafayette, La.

Game Notes: Louisiana
Radio: KROF 960-AM • Talent: Steve Peloquin, PxP; Bobby Neveaux, color
TV: None
Live Stats
Live Video (purchase necessary)
Rosters: Louisiana | McNeese State
Schedule/Results: Louisiana | McNeese State
Statistics: Louisiana | McNeese State
Ragin' Cajuns Twitter: @ULRaginCajuns | @RaginCajunSB
Opponents Twitter: @McNeeseSoftball

THE COACHES
Louisiana: Michael Lotief (Louisiana, 1985)
Record at Louisiana: 657-160-1 (14th season) Career Record: Same

McNeese State: Joanna Hardin (Biola University, 2005)
Record at McNeese: 52-25 (2nd season) Career Record: Same

CAJUNS CLOSE HOMESTAND, WELCOME AN OLD FRIEND
No. 5 Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns softball (19-1, 2-0 Sun Belt) completes a week-long homestand, that's been shortened to three games by weather, on Wednesday, March 16 vs. McNeese State in a 6 p.m. single game. After weather wiped out games last Wednesday (Longwood) and Saturday (South Alabama), Louisiana was able to finally start the homestand with a 3-2, 10-6 doubleheader sweep of South Alabama on Sunday.

FAMILIAR FOE
Wednesday's single game with McNeese State (16-5) marks the 122nd meeting all-time, the second-oldest series in Ragin' Cajuns history (trails only ULM - 126 meetings). UL has won the last seven meetings with the Cowgirls, and 76 of the last 80 dating back to 1991.

FACULTY AND STAFF APPRECIATION NIGHT
All University of Louisiana at Lafayette faculty and staff will receive complimentary admission to Wednesday's game. A pregame ceremony honoring professors of Ragin' Cajuns softball team members - and highlighting the team's academic accomplishments - is scheduled for 5:45 p.m.

TRACKING ELKINS' RECORD PURSUIT
Lexie Elkins moved into a tie for second place in school history with Holly Tankersley (2004, 06-08) at 71 career home runs on Sunday vs. South Alabama. The senior catcher's next home run moves her past Tankersley for sole possession of second, leaving only Danyele Gomez's 83 left to top.

RAGIN' CAJUNS SOFTBALL CAREER HOME RUNS CHART
1.    83    Danyele Gomez (2003-06)
2.    71    Lexie Elkins (2014-present)
71    Holly Tankersley (2004, 2006-08)
4.    70    Christi Orgeron (2009-12)
5.    66    Gabriele Bridges (2008-11)

ELKINS NEARING NCAA TOP 10 LIST
Lexie Elkins (71 career home runs) sits five home runs shy of entering the NCAA's career home run Top 10 list. She presently ranks 14th on the list.

NCAA CAREER HOME RUNS TOP 10
1.         95       Lauren Chamberlain, Oklahoma
2.         90       Stacey Nuveman, UCLA
3.         87       Stacie Chambers, Arizona
4.         85       Leah Braatz, Arizona
            85       Laura Espinoza, Arizona
6.         84       Shelby Pendley, Oklahoma
7.         83       Danyele Gomez, Louisiana
8.         79       Kristen Rivera, Washington
9.         76       Megan Baltzell, Longwood
            76       Jenny Dalton, Arizona
---------
T14.    71       Lexie Elkins, Louisiana

WIN STREAK AMONG NATION'S BEST
Louisiana's 13-game win streak is the third-longest active streak in NCAA Division I softball. The current Top 5 win streaks are: Notre Dame (W17), Florida State (W14), LOUISIANA (W13), Oregon (W12) and South Florida (W11).

NCAA TOP 5 ACTIVE WIN STREAKS
1.    Notre Dame W17
2.    Florida State W14
3.    LOUISIANA W13
4.    Oregon W12
5.    South Florida W11

PASSING THE TEST
For only the third and fourth time, the opposition scored first when South Alabama grabbed early leads on Sunday. The Cajuns staged a comeback both times. A pair of home runs (Elkins, Craighton) erased a 2-0 deficit in Game 1 before Shellie Landry's game-winning RBI in the fifth inning. UL rallied from a 6-2 deficit in Game 2 by erupting for eight runs in the sixth inning.

CRAIGHTON CRANKS 'EM OUT
Aleah Craighton homered in both games of Sunday's South Alabama doubleheader - the second straight weekend she hit a home run in both games of a DH (3/5 at USM). Both USA homers were key - forged a tie in Game 1 and created a four-run (10-6) lead in Game 2. She's hit at least one home run in four of the past five games.

STEWART STAYS THE COURSE
After South Alabama scored twice in the first inning of Sunday's Game 1, Alex Stewart clamped down by tossing six consecutive scoreless frames to allow her team time to complete the comeback. She also tossed five innings of relief in Game 2, allowing time for Kylee Jo Trahan to regroup and later re-enter in the sixth inning to toss two scoreless, hitless frames around UL's eight-run rally.

MIGHTY BATS
The Ragin' Cajuns have hit at least one home run in 16 of 20 games, tallying multiple home runs 11 times. The season-high tying five home runs and current season-high six home runs hit March 5 at Southern Miss marked the second and third time this season reaching five home runs (2/12 vs. UAB; 3/5 Gm. 1 at USM; 3/5 Gm. 2 at USM).

THE GOLD STANDARD
The Ragin' Cajuns have belted 43 home runs in 20 contests for an average of 2.15 per game, which leads the nation. In 2015, UL produced a nation-best 2.15 home runs per game.

A BAND OF HEROES
Lexie Elkins hit five home runs in the season-opening weekend in Gulf Shores. Kelsey Vincent tallied 12 RBI the weekend of Feb. 25-28. DJ Sanders hit four home runs and posted a series-high seven RBI at Southern Miss. Aleah Craighton hit key home runs in the South Alabama sweep, the second straight weekend she homered twice in both games of a doubleheader. Shellie Landry had a game-winning RBI and momentum-shifting single vs. South Alabama. All proof that the Ragin' Cajuns squad can have any one given player deliver key performances.

TOP-TO-BOTTOM PRODUCTION
All nine of the starters in the Cajuns batting order have produced at least 13 base hits. While the top four in the lineup (Hayden, Landry, Elkins, Vincent) have combined for 93 RBI, the remaining four non-slap hitters (Craighton, Sanders, Corbello, Gremillion) have generated 61 RBI.

A TOUGH OUT
Ragin' Cajuns hitters have struck out only 62 times - and drawn 95 walks - in 631 plate appearances through the season's first 20 games.

CHART YOUR COURSE CAREFULLY
The No. 1-6 hitters in the Cajuns lineup pose a stern test for opposing pitchers. Five of the six are hitting above .360. Four of the six have posted at least five home runs, led by the nation-leading 15 from Lexie Elkins. While Elkins (15 HR, 32 RBI) and Kelsey Vincent (5 HR, 21 RBI) pack a punch at No. 3-4, five-hole hitter Aleah Craighton (6 HR, 23 RBI) and six-hole hitter DJ Sanders (7 HR, 22 RBI) provide a solid backup.

ANSWERING THE CALL
The Ragin' Cajuns pitching staff, spearheaded by Alex Stewart and Kylee Jo Trahan, has left little doubt they are ready to carry the torch after the graduation of Jordan Wallace and Christina Hamilton. The group - which also includes Victoria Brown, Alison Deville and Macey Smith - has combined for eight shutouts and surrendered two runs of fewer in 15 of 20 games thus far. Of the 95 hits allowed in 120 innings, only 19 have gone for extra bases.

UP NEXT
The No. 5-ranked Ragin' Cajuns take in their first road games of the 2016 Sun Belt Conference slate Saturday-Sunday, March 19-20 in Arlington, Texas. Louisiana and UT Arlington (19-2) are scheduled for a 1 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday and 12 p.m. single game on Sunday.

GET YOUR BAGS PACKED
Starting with this weekend's Sun Belt series in Arlington, Texas, the Ragin' Cajuns are scheduled to play eight straight road games and not return to Lamson Park until April 2-3 vs. Texas State.

LOUISIANA-MCNEESE SERIES
Series Record: Louisiana leads 97-24
In Lafayette: Louisiana leads 53-9
In Lake Charles: Louisiana leads 37-13
Neutral: Louisiana leads 7-2
Current Streak: Louisiana won 7
Last Meeting: 2/22/15 at Lamson Park
(Louisiana 11, McNeese State 3 - Ragin' Cajuns Invitational)

Series Notes
Second oldest series in program history (121 meetings) trailing only ULM (126)...Louisiana has won the last seven meetings, a streak which began Feb. 26, 2011 in Lake Charles...Since 1991, when UL led series 21-20, Cajuns have won 76 of 80 meetings to take command of the series (won 38 straight from 1994 to 2004)...Louisiana's 11-3 win in five innings in last season's Ragin' Cajuns Invitational finale snapped a string of seven straight reuglation-length matchups.

Last Meeting (Feb. 22, 2015 at Lamson Park)
Louisiana claimed an 11-3 win in five innings over McNeese State in the final game of the 2015 Ragin' Cajuns Invitational. Playing as the designated visiting team, Haley Hayden led off the game with a solo home run, jumpstarting the Cajuns. After Hayden's solo homer, an Aleah Craighton triple banged off the right field fence and plated Samantha Walsh and Kelsey Vincent - both hit by a pitch - to push the early lead to 3-0. Craighton would score on a double steal attempt and Louisiana led 4-0 after a half inning. The Cowgirls collected two runs and three hits off of Jordan Wallace in the bottom of the first. Christina Hamilton tossed the final four innings in relief of Wallace and quieted the Cowgirls, allowing only one hit over their final four at bats - a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth inning - as the offense steadily built an insurmountable lead.

DIAMOND NOTES
#KsForKylee: Kylee Jo Trahan has posted at least eight strikeouts in four of her six starts that she pitched at least five innings. She struck out a career-high 10 in a no-hitter of Rutgers on Feb. 26, then followed up with nine in a perfect game vs. Alcorn State on Feb. 27.

#SteadyAlex: Alex Stewart began the season with 35 2/3 consecutive walk-free innings. She's yielded only six walks in 59 innings pitched through her first 11 appearances (10 starts).

#GrowingUpFast: Freshman Kara Gremillion has displayed poise at the plate and the results have backed that up. Gremillion ranks second on the squad with five doubles (out of 13 hits total), one of which broke open a scoreless game vs. No. 5 Oregon on Feb. 19. She's shined on defense as well, fielding all but two of 52 chances cleanly (24 PO, 26 A, 2 E, .962 FLD%).

#CatchMeIfYouCan: Louisiana is 16-0 when scoring first. In those 16 wins, the Ragin' Cajuns have relinquished the lead only once (4th inning of Game 1 vs. Texas Tech).

#HoldingSteady: Louisiana remained No. 5 in both national polls this week. The Cajuns retained the No. 5 spot in the NFCA poll for the second straight week. It was the third straight week at No. 5 in the ESPN/USA Softball poll. Three straight weeks in the Top 5 of ESPN/USA Softball is the longest Top 5 run since four weeks in the NFCA poll Mar. 31-Apr. 21, 1999.

#EliteCompany: Dating back to the start of the 2015 season, Louisiana has been in the Top 10 of the NFCA rankings in 17 of the past 20 polls and Top 10 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll in 16 of the past 20 polls.

#DefenseBacksThemUp: The Ragin' Cajuns pitching staff doesn't have to pile up impressive strikeout numbers as a veteran defense plays behind them. Seven of the nine starters in the field have at least two years experience at their respective position. The defense has committed only 12 errors in 431 chances and had multiple errors only twice in 18 games.

#FamilyTies: Being members of the Ragin' Cajuns softball team has added meaning for three families. Sisters Shellie Landry and Jaime Landry are competing together collegiately for the first time (Jaime redshirted in 2015). Kara Gremillion is following in the footsteps of her aunts, Stacie Gremillion and Sandy Percle, who donned the Cajuns uniform in the mid-1980s. And, Chelsea Lotief joins her father, head coach Michael Lotief, in the dugout while suiting up for the Ragin' Cajuns like her mother, Stefni (Whitton) Lotief, did from 1987-90.

#GeauxCajuns

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Players Mentioned

Victoria Brown

Aleah Craighton

Alison Deville

Lexie Elkins

Kara Gremillion

Christina Hamilton

Haley Hayden

Jaime Landry

Shellie Landry

Chelsea Lotief

DJ Sanders

Macey Smith

Alex Stewart

Kylee Jo Trahan

Kelsey Vincent

Jordan Wallace

Samantha Walsh

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