University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Cajuns Host La. Tech Saturday in Afternoon Doubleheader
3/4/2005 12:00:00 AM | Softball
The set will mark the first doubleheader of the season for the Ragin' Cajuns (15-2) who were rained out in their last attempt to return to action on Wednesday at Northwestern State in Natchitoches.
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. In their last competitive game at counted toward the record, the Cajuns were dealt a 2-1 loss to No. 16 Georgia. Last Sunday's game with Seton Hall was called off in the third inning due to rain and the Cajuns haven't hit the playing field against a team other than themselves since.
Senior ace hurler Brooke Mitchell pitched three complete-game shutouts and fanned 38 batters over 27 innings at the Leadoff Classic. 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 along.
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.
Fans in attendance Saturday may bear witness to another Mitchell record-breaker. The Cajuns all-time career leader in strikeouts could become the all-time career leader in victories. Mitchell needs just two more wins to pass up former All-American Kyla Hall who currently holds the career victories record with 104. Mitchell enters the La. Tech doubleheader with a career mark of 103-22.
The Lady Techsters (8-11) enter the doubleheader on a three-game losing streak after dropping their final three outings in the Compass Bank Invitational in Waco, Texas, last weekend. Tech lost to Birmingham-Southern College 3-2 in their last outing.
Acadiana native and Teurlings Catholic High School product Ashley Cameron leads the Techsters in every power-hitting category. Cameron is tops on the Tech team with six doubles, four home runs, 13 RBI and a .611 slugging percentage. As a team, La. Tech is hitting .236 but has had trouble at the plate drawing just 39 walks to 124 strikeouts.
Pitching-wise Lindsey Meadows is tops with five victories and 74 strikeouts. Kristin Rupp leads the staff in ERA with a 2.93. Meadows has issued just eight free passes over 80 2/3 innings.
One of the most competitive in-state series for the Cajuns softball program in the early stages of the rivalry, Louisiana-Lafayette has dominated the Lady Techsters over the past 11 years.
The Cajuns lead the series 34-30, but the edge can be a bit misleading. Since 1993, Louisiana-Lafayette has won 25 of the 30 meetings between the two schools including the last 13 straight. UL Lafayette is 9-0 under head coach Stefni Lotief against the Lady Techters.
Louisiana-Lafayette beat Tech three times during the 2004 season. The Cajuns won 11-0 in Lafayette during the 18th Annual Louisiana Classics then swept an April 14 twinbill in Ruston by identical counts of 4-1.
La. Tech's last win came on April 25, 1998, a 3-1 win in Ruston.
ON DECK:
The Ragin' Cajuns play their final road doubleheader of the month of March next Wednesday as they travel to Lake Charles to face McNeese State in a 4 p.m. doubleheader. That will be followed by a 1 p.m. Saturday twinbill against Centenary College at Ragin' Cajuns Softball Park.
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 15 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.
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.
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).
-- Ragin' Cajuns --
