University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Tangle With the Horns: Cajuns to Face Texas In Battle for Pool B Lead
3/16/2006 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Thursday, March 16, 2006
FULLERTON, Calif. – The lead in Pool B of the 2006 Judi Garman Classic will be on the line Friday morning as the 10th-ranked Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns softball team meets No. 4 Texas here at the Titan Softball Complex.
Game time is scheduled for approximately 1:15 p.m. (CST). Fans can track all of the action at www.louisiana.edu/softball.
The Ragin' Cajuns (22-0) will put their undefeated record on the line. UL extended its school-best start to 22 straight wins following Thursday night's 3-2 (10 inn.) victory over No. 9 Michigan.
Texas opened pool play with a 3-0 win over No. 15 Washington. The Longhorns received 19 strikeouts from Cat Osterman.
Friday's meeting is a matchup of two teams that are both 1-0 in Pool B. The winner will be in the driver's seat to win the pool championship.
The Ragin' Cajuns and Longhorns are meeting in the tournament for the fourth time. Texas holds a 2-1 lead. The two teams last met in the tournament on March 21, 1999, with UT eliminating UL from the winner's bracket with a 1-0 victory.
The Cajuns are seeking their second 2-0 tournament start under co-head coaches Stefni and Michael Lotief. In 2004, the Cajuns started 2-0 with wins over DePaul and Cal State Fullerton.
Friday's game is the first meeting between UL and UT since the 2003 Women's College World Series battle. On May 22, 2003, the Longhorns emerged with a 3-2 win.
NOTABLES:
►The Cajuns are 37-25 all-time in the Judi Garman Classic/KIA Klassic/PONY Invitational and won their first 12 games when they began play in 1994 before falling to Cal State-Fullerton in the 1995 championship game. The Ragin' Cajuns are 11-12 under co-head coaches Stefni and Michael Lotief in the tournament.
►Thursday's win over No. 9 Michigan extended the school-best start to 22-0 and moved the 2006 Ragin' Cajuns within two wins of tying the school record for longest winning streak (the 1994 team holds the record with a 24-game winning streak).
►Louisiana-Lafayette is one of two teams (No. 2 Tennessee the other) undefeated in this week's edition of the Top 25 softball polls.
►Friday's game with Texas will be the Ragin' Cajuns' third game against a ranked team this season. UL is 2-0 against ranked teams so far this season (defeated No. 25 Iowa and No. 9 Michigan).
► Senior second baseman Brittany Bryant has fielded exceptionally well so far this season. She enters the Judi Garman Classic with a .984 fielding percentage with only one error committed over 61 total chances (28 putouts, 32 assists, 1 error). Bryant is riding a string of five straight errorless games.
►Ashley Evans needs one more home run to make it back-to-back seasons with double digit home runs. She hit 10 last season and enters the Judi Garman Classic with nine (9) home runs.
►With one more win, the Ragin' Cajuns would tie No. 2 Tennessee (23-0) for the longest winning streak in the nation. UL's 22-game winning streak is the nation's second-longest active streak.
-- Ragin' Cajuns --
