University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Cajuns Open 2004 Season Saturday at ULM Mardi Gras Classic
2/6/2004 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Friday, Feb. 6, 2004
The game is the first of two on Saturday for the ninth-ranked Cajuns (47-11 in 2003) in the UL Monroe Mardi Gras Classic being held at the ULM Softball Complex on the ULM main campus.
The Cajuns round out play on Saturday with a 1 p.m., game against Gardner-Webb.
The tournament features round robin play on Saturday and Sunday. On Sunday, UL Lafayette will face Georgia Tech at 1 p.m. and host-ULM at 5 p.m.
The Kentucky game will mark the beginning of the 24th season in program history and fourth under head coach Stefni Lotief.
The Cajuns are 20-3 all-time in season openers (2-1 under Lotief).
Louisiana-Lafayette returns six position starters from last season's squad that claimed the program's third straight Sun Belt regular season title. The Cajuns also return their top two pitchers.
Brooke Mitchell (26-9, 1.11 ERA, 279 K in 2003) will once again be the focal point in the pitching circle. She is joined by sophomore Afton Thoms (13-2, 1.60 ERA in 2003) and freshman Holly Tankersley in the circle.
At the plate, All-American Danyele Gomez returns for another assault on the school's record books. Gomez belted a school-record 20 homers last season and drove in a team-high 62.
Kentucky is coming off its best start in school history after going 2-0 at the Fun and Sun Classic in Miami, Fla. UK beat Florida A&M 9-0 before downing host Florida International 3-2 in extra innings. The Cats were also set to face Auburn and Illinois State in the tournament, but the games were canceled due to inclement weather.
The Wildcats went 16-40 overall last season and finished 3-26 in the SEC.
This is the first meeting between the Cajuns and UK.
Gardner-Webb, a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference, is coming off of a 13-36 season in 2003.
The Bulldogs, like the Cajuns, are opening their 2004 season Saturday.
UL
Lafayette Schedule
of Games at ULM Mardi Gras Classic Saturday,
Feb. 7, 2004
9 a.m. - vs. Kentucky
1 p.m. - vs. Gardner-Webb
Sunday, Feb.
8, 2004
1 p.m. - vs. Georgia Tech
5 p.m. - at Louisiana-Monroe
-- Ragin' Cajuns --
