Cajuns To Open SBC Tournament Against South Alabama

TROY, Ala. – No. 14 Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Softball is set to face South Alabama at 10 a.m., on Thursday, May 11 in its opening contest at the 2017 Sun Belt Conference Softball Tournament at the Troy Softball Complex on the campus of Troy University.

South Alabama (34-18) advanced to meet the top-seeded Ragin' Cajuns (42-6) in the opening game of the winner's bracket with a 5-0 win over UTA during Wednesday's opening round.

The Louisiana-South Alabama matchup will be broadcast on SportsRadio ESPN 1420-AM in the Acadiana region and the RadioPup app worldwide with Steve Peloquin calling the action. Live video will be provided by an ESPN3 broadcast that features play-by-play from Matt Stewart and analysis from three-time Florida Gators All-American Francesca Enea.

The loser faces elimination at 3 p.m., on Thursday while the winner advances to the winner's bracket final at 11 a.m., on Friday with a chance to earn a spot in Saturday's 1 p.m., championship game. All games of the tournament will be available on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app.

To access the official schedule of the 2017 Sun Belt Conference Softball Tournament, click here.

The Ragin' Cajuns and Jaguars meet in the Sun Belt Tournament for the first time since battling for the championship of the 2015 event in San Marcos, Texas, a game the Jaguars won 2-0. USA holds a 4-3 all-time edge in SBC Tournament matchups – all seven battles occurring between 2011-15.

Louisiana swept the season series from South Alabama held March 25-26 at Jaguar Field in Mobile to extend its series win streak to five games and series lead to 27-11. It was the first sweep in Mobile since 2011 and just the second in six visits.

Fueled by a combined five RBI from Kara Gremillion and Aleah Craighton the Cajuns won the series opener 8-3. DJ Sanders homered twice and Alex Stewart yielded only three hits and struck out nine in a 4-2 win in Game 2. In the series finale, won 9-4 by the Cajuns, Sanders hit a grand slam in the third inning to build a 5-0 lead and Stewart pitched three effective innings of relief to stop the Jaguars momentum after the hosts had scored in three straight innings cut the deficit to 5-4.

The Ragin' Cajuns have won their SBC Tournament opener each year since 2010 and are 15-2 all-time when opening the league's event.

Louisiana has claimed the title 13 times in the 17-year history of the SBC Tournament and sports an all-time record of 53-8 in the event. The Ragin' Cajuns are the defending champions, having won the event last season at Jaguar Field in Mobile, Ala.

For more information on Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Softball, as well as all of Ragin' Cajuns Athletics, visit RaginCajuns.com. Fans can also follow along with the team on Facebook (/RaginCajunSoftball),Twitter (@RaginCajunsSB) and Instagram (@RaginCajunsSoftball).

#GeauxCajuns

Cajuns To Open SBC Tournament Against South Alabama

Players Mentioned

Aleah Craighton

Kara Gremillion

DJ Sanders

Alex Stewart

Footer

University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics