University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Cajuns Return to Action Monday at Northwestern State
3/5/2006 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Sunday, March 5, 2006
NATCHITOCHES –
The 11th-ranked Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns
softball team takes the field on an opponent's home turf
for the first time this season on Monday, March 6, as
the squad faces Northwestern State at the Demon Diamond
in Natchitoches, La., on the Northwestern State
University campus.
UL (13-0) is playing for the first time 10 days with the team's last action coming on Friday, Feb. 24, at the 11th Annual NFCA Leadoff Classic.
Monday's games will be the first doubleheader action of the 2006 season for the Ragin' Cajuns and the first of three doubleheaders this week. UL will face Nicholls State on Wednesday, March 8 in Lafayette and travels to Ruston on Saturday, March 11, to meet Louisiana Tech.
The Ragin' Cajuns are chasing history. Louisiana-Lafayette enters Monday's twinbill off to the second-best undefeated start in program history at 13-0 (record is 14-0 set in 1993). A possible sweep would help the 2006 version of the Cajuns set the record for best undefeated start.
Monday's games are the only ones scheduled between the two in-state schools this season.
Louisiana-Lafayette is 9-2 under co-head coaches Stefni and Michael Lotief vs. Northwestern State.
Monday'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. The Ragin' Cajuns have won the last six meetings between the two schools dating back to the 2002 season.
Louisiana-Lafayette leads the series 30-6 in Natchitoches and is 7-2 in its last nine appearances at the Demon Diamond. UL has won 14 of the last 16 meetings and nine-of-11 under co-head coaches Stefni and Michael Lotief.
Gameday Notables
►No. 11 Louisiana-Lafayette is idle the weekend of March 3-5 enjoying its lone “off weekend” of the 2006 season. Beginning on Monday, March 6 at Northwestern State the Ragin' Cajuns softball team will play four doubleheaders over a span of eight days before heading to Fullerton, Calif., for the Judi Garman Classic (formerly known as KIA Klassic).
►At 13-0 the Ragin' Cajuns are off to the second-best undefeated start in program history and are now only one win from equaling the best start (14-0 in 1993). On Monday, March 6 in Natchitoches, La., against Northwestern State the Ragin' Cajuns will go for the record for best undefeated start in program history as a sweep would improve the team to 15-0
►Northwestern State interim head coach Becky McMurtry was a two-time All-American third baseman for Louisiana-Lafayette in the 2002 and 2003 seasons. McMurtry, the Cajuns' all-time leader in batting average at .402, was a record-setting slugger who helped lead Louisiana-Lafayette to the 2003 Women's College World Series. As a senior, she became the first repeat selection as Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year. She was hired as an assistant coach at Northwestern State in September 2005 and was promoted in January 2006 after former head coach Jeff Dabney was relieved of his coaching duties.
►Louisiana-Lafayette is one of three teams (No. 3 Tennessee and No. 15 Arizona State the other two) undefeated in this week's edition of the Top 25 softball polls.
►Monday's game against Northwestern State will be UL's third and fourth games against a team from the NCAA's Midwest Region – key games for the Cajuns when building a resume for an at-large berth into the NCAA Regionals. The Cajuns are currently 2-0 against teams from the Midwest Region (two wins over McNeese State in the Ragin' Cajuns Invitational) and have 25 more games against Midwest Region teams before the regular season ends.
►The Ragin' Cajuns are playing on an opponents' home field for the first time this season. UL is making its first trip to Natchitoches since the 2004 season when the Cajuns swept a March 31 doubleheader by the count of 2-0, 8-0. The two teams were set to play in Natchitoches on March 2, 2005, but rain canceled the scheduled doubleheader.
►Louisiana-Lafayette has won 12 straight games against Louisiana schools and is 72-10 versus Louisiana teams under co-head coaches Stefni and Michael Lotief.
►The Cajuns are hitting .395 as a team with 28 doubles and 28 home runs after the first three weekends of play. Louisiana-Lafayette enters next week's doubleheaders averaging 10.7 runs per game and 2.2 home runs per game.
►Through three weekends of play Louisiana-Lafayette has eight of nine starters hitting above .350 – Danyele Gomez (.548), Holly Tankersley (.542), Lacey Bertucci (.439), Ashley Evans (.405), Deserea Griffin (.390), Karli Hubbard (.375), Codi Runyan (.371), and Brittany Bryant (.367).
►Senior pitcher Ashley Kirchberg has gone 32 1/3 straight innings without allowing a run (earned or unearned) – Kirchberg's last run allowed came in the Feb. 11 Memphis game. The Cajuns pitching staff enters the Northwestern State doubleheader on a string of 31 2/3 scoreless innings dating back to the single run allowed to Chattanooga with one out in the first inning of last Saturday's game.
►The Cajuns pitching staff has allowed only 14 walks in 76 innings of work – through 13 games and 84 1/3 innings during the 2005 season the Cajuns had allowed 34 walks. Both Krystal Lewallen and Ashley Kirchberg have combined to hold opponents to a .117 batting average. Opponents are hitting only .098 against Kirchberg after she limited opposing batters to only four hits and a .074 average in the Ragin' Cajuns Invitational and then held No. 25 Iowa to a 1-of-21 performance at the NFCA Leadoff Classic.
►The Cajuns have outscored opponents 70-2 in the first three innings. Louisiana-Lafayette has scratched for 23 runs in the first inning alone this season. The middle innings have been deadly for UL opponents as well as the Ragin' Cajuns have outscored foes 84-1 in the third, fourth and fifth innings combined.
►Both Danyele Gomez and Holly Tankersley have astronomical slugging percentages and on-base percentages. Tankersley sports a .750 on-base percentage as she has reached base 33 times in her 44 plate appearances (13 base hits, 18 walks and 2 hit-by-pitch) – was on board after every plate appearance at the NFCA Leadoff Classic. Gomez has a .627 on-base percentage (23 base hits, 9 walks). Tankersley's slugging percentage is 1.250 (30 total bases in 24 at bats) to lead the 2006 squad. Gomez is a close second with a 1.190 slugging percentage (50 total bases in 42 at bats) as 13 of her 23 total hits (6 doubles/7 home runs) have gone for extra bases.
►Eight (8) players have reached double-digit his in only 13 games played. Danyele Gomez leads the way with 23 base hits.
►Danyele Gomez, who took over the career record for home runs in the Cajuns' record books during the Ragin' Cajuns Invitational, became just the 11th player in NCAA Division I history to reach 60 career home runs when she went yard in the 6-0 win over Iowa at the NFCA Leadoff Classic.
►Danyele Gomez is the nation's leading active home run hitter with 60 career home runs. The senior left fielder recently entered the NCAA's all-time Top 10 on the career home run charts. She needs one home run to tie Tairia Mims for ninth place in the record books. Gomez needs 16 more home runs to join the Top 5.
►Through 13 games played, Louisiana-Lafayette has posted eight (8) run-rule victories.
►The Ragin' Cajuns are hitting .446 with runners in scoring position (70-of-157). Holly Tankersley is a blistering .667 (6-of-9) with runners in scoring position. Tankersley has 12 of her 15 RBI (80 percent) when runners are in scoring position.
-- Ragin' Cajuns --
