University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Mid-Week Notebook: Cajuns Set For First Doubleheader of the Season
3/1/2005 12:00:00 AM | Softball
2005 SEASON QUICK FACTS...
Overall record:
15-2
Sun
Belt Record:
0-0
Record
Last 10 Games:
8-2
Current Streak:
Lost 1 (Feb. 26-present)
Home
Record:
12-1
Away
Record:
0-0
Neutral Record:
3-1
Record
vs.
Midwest
Region:
5-1
Record
vs. Ranked Teams:
0-1
Current Rankings:
No. 6 (NFCA); No. 7 (ESPN/USA Softball)
NATCHITOCHES – The seventh-ranked Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns softball team will resume play here Wednesday evening as the Cajuns take on Northwestern State in a 5 p.m. doubleheader at the Demon Diamond.
The set marks the first doubleheader of the season for the Ragin' Cajuns (15-2) and begins a two-week hiatus from tournament action. The Cajuns will host Louisiana Tech in a 1 p.m. doubleheader Saturday and then wrap up its brief vacation from tourney play with a doubleheader at McNeese State next Wednesday followed by a home twinbill with Centenary on Saturday, March 12.
Wednesday's games will also mark the Cajuns first venture into hostile territory. Last weekend, the Cajuns made their first trip outside the state of Louisiana, but were on a neutral playing field.
No. 7 Louisiana-Lafayette is coming off of a 3-1 weekend at the 10th Annual NFCA Leadoff Classic in which the Ragin' Cajuns defeated DePaul, San Diego State and North Carolina.
Senior ace hurler Brooke Mitchell pitched three complete-game shutouts and fanned 38 batters over 27 innings. Mitchell held the opposition to just four hits out of the infield the entire weekend as she showed signs of getting into a roll as the season moves on.
Lacey Bertucci continues to pace the Cajuns offense with a .420 batting average, seven home runs and 21 RBI – all team bests. Louisiana-Lafayette still has six starters with a batting average above .300 and the collective unit is hitting .311.
Mitchell is once again the stronghold for the pitching staff. The Pasadena, Texas, native is 12-2 this season with a minuscule 0.36 ERA. She has crafted three solo shutouts and nine complete games.
Northwestern State (10-10) recently opened its Southland Conference slate with a home series against Stephen F. Austin. The Demons took 2-of-3 from the LadyJacks in their 2005 season home debut.
The Cajuns and Demons have met once before this season with Louisiana-Lafayette posting a 12-0 run rule rout at Ragin' Cajuns Softball Park on Feb. 4 in the Mardi Gras Classics. In that game, the Cajuns roughed up NSU's Michelle Castellano for five runs and then hammered relief pitcher Morgan McMillin for seven more runs. Offensively, the Cajuns cranked out four doubles and had a 10-0 lead through four innings.
The Cajuns have owned the series through the years and have won 60 of the last 71 meetings. Louisiana-Lafayette has won the last eight meetings with the Demons and is 30-6 all-time in Natchitoches.
Fans who can't make the game can track all of the stats via LIVE STATS available at www.louisiana.edu/softball.
ON DECK:
The Ragin' Cajuns will return home following Wednesday's doubleheader in Natchitoches for a Saturday twinbill against Louisiana Tech. The La. Tech DH begins at 1 p.m. in Ragin' Cajuns Softball Park.
WHAT HAPPENED LAST WEEKEND:
FRIDAY
Vs. DePaul - Brooke Mitchell crafted the fifth no-hitter in Leadoff Classic history in leading No. 6 Louisiana-Lafayette (13-1) to a 3-0 win over DePaul (4-8) in the team's opener for pool play.
The Cajuns sent the entire batting order to the plate in the top of the third inning getting two timely hits with the bases loaded to lay claim to a 3-0 edge.
That's all the help Mitchell would need as she struck out 12 Blue Demons batters and was never threatened. The senior from Pasadena, Texas, picked up the 10th complete game no-hitter of her career and first this season.
Vs. San Diego State - Aided by a two-run home run off the bat of Lacey Bertucci the Ragin' Cajuns (14-1) struck for three runs in the bottom of the first and senior ace hurler Brooke Mitchell, tossing her second straight game after a no-hitter against DePaul, fanned 10 SDSU hitters and scattered four hits to make it stand.
Louisiana-Lafayette sent seven batters to the plate in the first inning and came away with all the runs Mitchell would need for her 102nd career victory and 11th of the young season.
SATURDAY
Vs. North Carolina - The sixth-ranked Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns softball team captured a bid into the Gold Bracket (championship play) of the 10th Annual NFCA Leadoff Classic with a 4-0 victory over North Carolina here Saturday afternoon at R.G. Jones Field at South Commons Softball Complex
The Ragin' Cajuns (15-1) struck twice in both the fourth and sixth innings while ace hurler Brooke Mitchell limited UNC to three infield singles and one blooper into center field. Mitchell fanned 10 UNC hitters, her third straight double-digit strikeout effort of the tournament, and retired the final eight batters that she faced.
Mitchell picked up her 103rd career victory moving within one win of tying former All-American Kyla Hall for the all-time career victories lead in program history. Mitchell's shutout also extended her streak of consecutive innings without an earned run allowed to 42 2/3 innings.
Vs. Georgia - The University of Georgia used the “small ball” game to its advantage to push across two runs in the first two innings and hold of the sixth-ranked Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns softball team in the opening round of Gold Bracket play here Saturday at the 10th Annual NFCA Leadoff Classic.
The first three batters that the Bulldogs sent to the plate all slapped the ball straight to Cajuns third baseman Tara Hamilton. Hamilton got the first two hitters with quick accurate throws to Lacey Bertucci at first base. The third hitter, Courtney Knight, got a quick jump out of the box and stepped over the bag before Hamilton's throw could reach Bertucci's glove.
Mitchell worked around Georgia cleanup hitter Kim Wendland with two outs. Ashley Godfrey then ripped a line drive past a diving Tiffany Hebert at shortstop that rolled into left center field allowing Knight to score for a 1-0 lead.
The Bulldogs kept the Cajuns on their heels in the next inning. Jessica Doucette led off the Bulldogs' at bat with a looper that was barely out of the reach of Hebert in the middle of the infield. Doucette was advanced to second on a Katie Lewis sacrifice bunt. Doucette then advanced to third on a sharp grounder that glanced off of Ashley Evans' glove at third base and into the glove of Brooke Mitchell who fired to Bertucci for the second out.
UGA went back to “small ball” on the next at bat when Sojourner Moody popped a bunt single over the reach of Evans allowing Doucette to score the Bulldogs' second run of the contest.
SUNDAY
Vs. Seton Hall - Play began between the sixth-ranked Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns softball team and Seton Hall, but steady rainfall forced game officials to end the game with SHU batting in the bottom of the third inning.
THE SERIES – CAJUNS LEAD 63-13:
The Cajuns and Demons series began in 1982 with a doubleheader in Lafayette. The two teams met four times that season with each team winning twice on their own home field.
Louisiana-Lafayette has owned the series since then - winning 60 of the last 71 contests. At one point in the series the Cajuns won 21 straight meetings before falling 5-1 on April 14, 1998 in Natchitoches.
Wednesday's doubleheader will mark the 77th and 78th meetings all-time between the two schools. Louisiana-Lafayette holds an all-time lead of 63-13.
UL Lafayette leads the series 30-6 in Natchitoches and is 7-2 in its last nine appearances at the Demon Diamond.
UL Lafayette holds a 31-5 advantage in Lafayette while NSU leads the series 2-1 on a neutral field.
UL Lafayette has won 14 of the last 16 meetings and nine-of-11 under co-head coaches Stefni and Michael Lotief.
DOUBLEHEADER DELIGHT:
Dating back to a doubleheader spilt at UL Monroe on April 24, 2002, the Cajuns have swept 35 of their last 39 doubleheaders.
UL Lafayette has swept 54 of 63 doubleheaders under Stefni Lotief, since 2001. In Sun Belt play, the Cajuns have swept 27 of the 31 doubleheaders they have been involved in.
The Cajuns will play 16 more doubleheaders this season following Wednesday's tilt at Northwestern State.
CAJUNS VS. LOUISIANA TEAMS:
Wednesday's twinbill will be the Cajuns 6th and 7th games against in-state foes this season. UL Lafayette is 4-1 versus teams from Louisiana this season with the lone loss being a 1-0 loss to Nicholls State on a passed ball in the bottom of the eighth inning on Saturday, Feb. 19 in the 19th Annual Louisiana Classics.
The Ragin' Cajuns are schedule to play 12 more games against Louisiana schools this season.
Historically, the Cajuns have dominated their in-state competition. Louisiana-Lafayette owns a winning record against each team in the state except for I-10 rival LSU.
Louisiana-Lafayette is 423-122 (.776) all-time against Louisiana schools that sponsor softball.
UL Lafayette is 62-10 (.857) against Louisiana teams under co-head coaches Stefni and Michael Lotief.
BROOKE MITCHELL EARNS REPEAT HONORS AS SUN BELT PITCHER OF THE WEEK:
Brooke Mitchell, the senior ace strikeout artist for the sixth-ranked Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns softball team and lone active career 100-game winner in all of NCAA Division I, put her team on her shoulders this past weekend at the NFCA Leadoff Classic pitching four complete games, tossing three shutouts and 38 strikeouts in leading the Cajuns to a 3-1 finish in the prestigious tournament.
For her tireless efforts she was honored as this week's Sun Belt Conference Pitcher of the Week – the second straight week that the 2004 first team All-American from Pasadena, Texas, won the award.
Mitchell posted three double-digit strikeout performances and totaled 38 strikeouts over 27 innings at the prestigious NFCA Leadoff Classic against the likes of DePaul, San Diego State, North Carolina and Georgia.
Mitchell tossed the fifth no-hitter in Leadoff Classic history when she no-hit DePaul on a 12-strikeout performance in the Cajuns Leadoff Classic opener on Friday. She then followed up the DePaul outing with a four-hit shutout and 10 strikeouts against SDSU.
She held opponents to just 14 hits over 27 innings and ended the weekend with a 0.52 ERA and three complete-game shutouts. Of the 14 hits allowed, at least 10 were infield singles.
MOVING UP THE CAREER VICTORIES LIST…
Brooke Mitchell is just two (2) wins shy of becoming the Ragin' Cajuns softball program's all-time winningest pitcher – a feat which possibly could happen Wednesday at the Demon Diamond..
Former All-American Kyla Hall (1991-94) currently holds the record with 104 wins; Mitchell starts Wednesday's doubleheader with 103 career triumphs.
Mitchell enters the doubleheader with Northwestern State holding an overall career record of 103-22 (.824) which includes an 18-6 mark in the month of March.
Louisiana-Lafayette Career Victories Top 5
1.
104 Kyla
Hall
(1991-94)
2. 103
Brooke Mitchell (2002-present)
3. 84
Melissa Coronado (1999-02)
4. 78 Stefni Whitton (1987-90)
5. 76 Jennifer Clendenin (1993-97)
MITCHELL MOVING UP THE NCAA CAREER STRIKEOUTS LIST:
Last weekend, Brooke Mitchell rung up 38 batters en route to increasing her career strikeout total to 1,091 – a tally which currently ranks her No. 21 on the all-time NCAA Division I career strikeout list just five strikeouts from moving into the Top 20.
Her next target to pass up is former UCLA All-American Keira Goerl who finished with 1,095 career strikeouts and ranks as No. 20 all-time. Mitchell is just 60 strikeouts away from cracking the Top 15 (No. 15 is Lauren Bay from Oklahoma State with 1,151).
ANOTHER CAREER MILESTONE FOR BROOKE MITCELL – 100 career wins:
With a 15-5 win over Purdue on Sunday, Feb. 20, Brooke Mitchell clinched the 100th win in her remarkable career. She joined former Ragin' Cajuns All-American Kyla Hall (current University of Houston head coach) as the lone pitcher's in program history to reach 100 career victories.
She is currently the lone ACTIVE Division I pitcher with 100 career victories.
Mitchell became the 39th player in NCAA Division I history to reach the career milestone joining the likes of Courtney Blades (151 wins), Britni Sneed (120 wins), Sarah Dawson (120 wins) and Jennie Finch (109 wins).
Mitchell needs 17 more wins to tie Sneed and Dawson for the second-most victories by a pitcher from a Louisiana school. Debbie Nichols (Louisiana Tech) is the all-time winningest pitcher from a Louisiana program with 149 wins.
Should Mitchell re-create her season from 2004 this year, she would finish in the Top 5 on the all-time NCAA Division I wins list.
With 13 more wins this season (still 40-plus games left plus the Sun Belt Tournament and NCAA Regionals) she will crack the Top 10.
MUSICAL POSITIONS:
Pay careful attention to three positions in the field for the Ragin' Cajuns as players may be swapped in and out between innings.
First base, third base and designated player feature the “musical chairs” theory.
Lacey Bertucci and Ashley Evans each rotate at first base. Evans and Hamilton swap out at third base with Hamilton going to DP and Evans to third or Evans to first base and Hamilton to third base. When Evans takes over at first base, Bertucci is slid into the DP slot.
In the second inning, Evans will take over at third base sending Hamilton to DP. In the third inning, Evans moves to first base with Bertucci going to DP and Hamilton back to third base. In the fourth inning, status quo is restored. The rotation starts all over again in the fifth inning.
LAYING THE (GOOSE) EGGS:
Louisiana-Lafayette's pitching staff has posted 10 shutouts this season through 17 games played. The Cajuns have allowed just 13 earned runs in 111 1/3 innings to start the season and the pitching staff has a microscopic ERA of 0.82.
Junior ace hurler Brooke Mitchell has crafted four (4) complete-game shutouts and has combined for three more. Last weekend at the NFCA Leadoff Classic, Mitchell no-hit DePaul and tossed four-hit shutouts of San Diego State and North Carolina.
This season's shutout total gives Brooke Mitchell 34 complete-game shutouts in her career which ties her for the third-most in program history trailing Kyla Hall's 56 and Stefni Whitton's (Lotief) 55.
Mitchell shut down Ole Miss 3-0 in the season opener striking out 14 Rebel batters. Heather Bobbitt and Ashley Kirchberg combined on a no-hitter in a 6-0 win over McNeese State on Saturday, Feb. 12.
Last season (2004), the Cajuns pitching staff crafted 29 shutouts. Brooke Mitchell accounted for 14 of those shutouts (solo) while combining for 10 other shutouts.
THE MIDDLE INNINGS IS WHEN THEY WARM THE ENGINE UP:
Over the past four seasons under the coaches Lotief, the Ragin' Cajuns have been a team this is quick to start. For instance, last season Louisiana-Lafayette outscored opponents 169-44 in the first three innings.
This season, the Cajuns are taking a liking to the middle innings. In the third and fourth innings combined Louisiana-Lafayette is outscoring its opposition 55-3.
SCORING FIRST USUALLY MEANS A VICTORY FOR THE CAJUNS:
Louisiana-Lafayette is 192-9 (.955) under co-head coaches Stefni and Michael Lotief when scoring first. This season, the Ragin' Cajuns are 15-0 when scoring first.
COUNTDOWN TO 1,000 WINS:
The Ragin' Cajuns softball program is just 18 wins shy of reaching the 1,000th program victory.
In the midst of the 25th anniversary season in program history, Louisiana-Lafayette sports an all-time record of 982-294 (.770).
CAJUNS VS. MIDWEST REGION TEAMS…
Louisiana-Lafayette is off to a 5-1 start this season against teams from the NCAA Midwest Region. The Midwest Region includes teams from the Big 12, Missouri Valley, Southland and Sun Belt Conferences.
Louisiana-Lafayette has 29 more games scheduled against Midwest Region teams including Wednesday's doubleheader with Northwestern State.
Games against teams from the MW Region will go a long way in determining the Cajuns status for the NCAA Regionals, considering the fact that the Sun Belt has no automatic bid.
THIS N' THAT…
*** The Cajuns offense has pounded out double-digit base hits in seven games this season. The 16 hits on Purdue on Sunday, Feb. 20 were the second-most trailing only the 17 hits racked up on Prairie View A&M.
*** The Cajuns pitching staff has allowed just 54 hits over 111 1/3 innings.
*** The Cajuns pitching staff has surrendered just 13 earned runs over 111 1/3 innings of work this season. The staff ERA after four weekends of play is 0.82.
*** Not many teams have advanced runners to or past second base on the Cajuns this season. As a result, the opponents have had just 81 chances with runners in scoring position as opposed to 174 opportunities by the Cajuns.
*** Louisiana-Lafayette sports a .331 (53-for-160) team batting average when there are two outs on the scoreboard. Lacey Bertucci is 9-for-20 (.450) in two-out situations while Danyele Gomez is 9-for-16 (.563). As a team Louisiana-Lafayette has 53 two-out hits to just 19 for the opposition.
*** The Cajuns pitching staff has posted double-digit strikeouts in all but four games this season. Cajuns pitchers have fanned 178 opposing batters in 111 1/3 innings of play. Cajuns pitching staff is averaging 11.19 strikeouts per game.
*** Continuing a trend from recent seasons, the Cajuns have already racked up 44 two-out RBI. Lacey Bertucci is leading the charge with 13 two-out RBI.
*** Cajuns pitching has held the opposition to a paltry 9-of-81 (.111) with runners in scoring position. Conversely, the Ragin' Cajuns are hitting 56-of-174 (.322) with runners in scoring position.
*** Lacey Bertucci, Brittany Bryant, Jill Robertson and Joy Webre each have seven (7) base hits when runners are in scoring position. Robertson has a team-best .538 average with runners in scoring position (7-for-13).
*** Lacey Bertucci's seven home runs are more than halfway to her total in all of last season (9 in 68 appearances).
BROOKE MITCHELL REACHES HISTORIC MILESTONE – ONE THOUSAND NO-NO'S…
Senior ace hurler Brooke Mitchell picked up the 1,000th strikeout of her career in the bottom of the first inning against Sam Houston State on Sunday, Feb. 6 when she struck out Erin Lindsey swinging to end the inning.
Mitchell, who entered the game with 998 career strikeouts, became the first player in the history of the Ragin' Cajuns softball program to reach 1,000 career strikeouts and became the 28th player in NCAA Division I history to reach the milestone.
Mitchell is the career strikeouts leader at Louisiana-Lafayette after breaking Kyla Hall's previous school record of 820 on April 14, 2004, last season.
CAJUNS PICKED AS SUN BELT FAVORITES ONCE MORE…
With one of the best pitchers in the country returning, Louisiana-Lafayette was a unanimous pick to win the Sun Belt Conference softball title according to a coach's poll.
The Cajuns, who came within one win of making their second straight trip to the Women's College World Series last year, received all six first-place votes from the Sun Belt softball head coaches.
Mitchell, a first-team All-American last year, went an astounding 45-5 with a 0.82 earned run average last season. Backing up Mitchell will be a potentially explosive lineup.
Position players returning include 2003 All-American Danyele Gomez (13 home runs, 43 RBIs last year) and Jill Robertson, a two-time All-Sun Belt standout who missed last season with a knee injury.
SUN
BELT CONFERENCE SOFTBALL COACHES POLL
As
voted on by the league's 6 head coaches
** First-place votes in parentheses
Team Pts.
1. Louisiana-Lafayette (6) 36
2. Florida International 25
3. Middle Tennessee 24
4. North Texas 15
5. New Mexico State 14
6. Western Kentucky 12
THE SUN BELT'S DYNASTY…
Like the Chicago Bulls of the early and late 1990s or Tennessee and Connecticut in women's basketball, Louisiana-Lafayette is quickly becoming the dynasty of the Sun Belt Conference's softball league.
Since the league began play in 2001, the Ragin' Cajuns have won the regular season and tournament titles each year – the only champion that the league has ever known.
Louisiana-Lafayette is 65-5 (.929) all-time in Sun Belt play and has posted a 16-0 record in the league's postseason tournament.
The Ragin' Cajuns have participated in 17 Sun Belt series since joining the league and have never lost one. The only time UL Lafayette failed to win a series was when the Cajuns split a four-game set at FIU during the 2003 season.
Last season, the Cajuns became the first team in league history to march through the regular season schedule undefeated. Louisiana-Lafayette finished the 2004 SBC slate at 18-0.
The Ragin' Cajuns will enter the 2005 season riding a 21-game regular season winning streak in Sun Belt games – the last conference loss coming on May 3, 2003 at Western Kentucky (L, 2-3 in 8 innings).
LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE YEAR-BY-YEAR SUN BELT RECORDS
2001 19-1
2002 15-1
2003 13-3
2004 18-0
Overall
65-5
MITCHELL DONNED THE RED, WHITE AND BLUE LAST SUMMER…
Louisiana-Lafayette senior ace pitcher was a member of the 2004 USA Softball Elite Team, participating with the squad over the summer months in the Canada Cup and Champions Cup.
In the two tournaments combined, Mitchell went 3-1 with a 0.91 ERA against some of the top talent in the world. She made seven appearances, striking out 33 batters over 23 innings. She had the lowest ERA among the regulars, besting Arizona's Alicia Hollowell who had a 0.96 ERA.
A “SPECIAL” SENIOR CLASS…
The 2005 senior class – Crystal George, Tiffany Hebert, Brooke Mitchell, Jill Robertson and Joy Webre – will always have a special place in the hearts of co-head coaches Stefni and Michael Lotief.
Four of the five (George, Hebert, Mitchell and Webre) were each a part of the Lotief's first recruiting class after the completion of the 2001 season. They will be a part of the first senior class to finish four seasons under the Lotief's.
Robertson wasn't a part of the 2002 class, but was recruited by the Lotief's prior to their debut season in 2001.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS - YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS THIS ONE…
Of all the games to be played at Ragin' Cajuns Softball Park this season, none will be more special than an Easter Weekend series with national power Arizona March 25-27.
The Wildcats, preseason ranked No. 2, and the Ragin' Cajuns will square off in a three-game series that should draw plenty of spectators to the Ragin' Cajuns Softball Park.
Last season, at the NCAA Regional in Tucson, Ariz., Louisiana-Lafayette posted a 5-0 victory in the semifinals of the tournament that eliminated Arizona from the Women's College World Series for the first time since the 1987 season snapping a string of 16 consecutive appearances by the Wildcats at the WCWS.
LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE VS.
ARIZONA
SERIES
Friday, March 25 6 p.m.
Saturday, March 26 6 p.m.
Sunday, March 27 11 a.m.
DID YOU KNOW???
The Ragin' Cajuns softball team has appeared in the NCAA Regionals in 14 of the last 15 seasons and the last six straight (1999-present)…UL Lafayette appeared in the 1993, 1995, 1996 and 2003 Women's College World Series…The 2003 appearance in the WCWS marked the fourth in program history and first under head coach Stefni Lotief.
DID YOU KNOW???
The Louisiana-Lafayette softball program has produced 33 All-Americans and 14 Academic All-Americans since the 1989 season…Current head coach Stefni Lotief was the first All-American in Cajuns softball history and was the first first-team member as well…Last season, Brooke Mitchell was named a first team All-American marking the sixth straight season that the Cajuns have had at least one All-American and 15th in the last 16 seasons.
-- Ragin' Cajuns --
