University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
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Mississippi State
Cajuns Ready for Home Opener against Mississippi State
2/12/2013 4:14:00 PM | Softball
Contact: Nick Ross
Game Notes
Date: February 13
Location: Lafayette, La.
Site: Lamson Park
Radio: ESPN 1420 (KPEL)
Live Stats: www.ragincajuns.com
Opponent: Mississippi State (3-1, 0-0 SEC)
Time: 6:00 PM
CAJUN UPDATE: The Cajuns went 2-1 last weekend in the Hilton Holiday classic, defeating Lipscomb in the season opener 5-2, before falling to Iowa on Saturday evening 13-10, and then reversing their fortunes against the Hawkeyes on Sunday with an 11-0 victory. Pitcher Jordan Wallace threw two solid games for the Cajuns, combining for one earned run over 9.0 innings pitched with 14 strikeouts. Shortstop Nerissa Myers led the season off with a home run on the fifth pitch she saw, en route to a Cajun victory over Lipscomb.
MISSISSIPPI STATE BULLDOGS: The Cajuns are 11-3 all time against the Bulldogs, beating them 6-3 last season at the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Clearwater, Florida. The Cajuns are 4-2 against the Bulldogs at home all-time, and hold a five game winning streak. The two teams will face each other again on March 20, in Starkville.
LEADING OFF: Nerissa Myers sent the fifth pitch of the Cajuns' first at-bat over the left field wall on Saturday for an opposite field, lead-off home run to put the Cajuns on the board early. It was the first time this millennium that the Cajuns led the season off with a home run.
CHANGES AT THE HELM: For the first time in 13 years, the Cajuns will start the season without a Lotief as head coach. Stefni and Michael Lotief held duties as co-head coaches for the past 10 seasons, both stepped down before the start of the 2013 season. They will be replaced by Megan Granger (Louisiana, 2012) as interim head coach. Granger is no stranger to the Ragin' Cajun ways, and saw the team post a 192-48 record in her four seasons with the team.
HOW DO THEY RANK? Louisiana is ranked 15th in both the USA Today/NFCA Coaches and the ESPN.com/USA Softball polls released on February 12th. The Ragin' Cajuns were also the unanimous selection to win the Sun Belt in the SBC preseason coaches poll.
BACK AT LAMSON PARK: The Cajuns are returning to the friendly confines of Lamson Park for their 2013 home opener today. They hold an all-time record of 660-104 at home, including a 30-1 home season last year.
DEFENDING CHAMPS: Louisiana will attempt to defend their throne at the top of the Sun Belt Conference regular season standings, a spot they have held in 11 of the past 12 seasons, and five straight. They will also attempt to extend a streak of 14 straight NCAA Regional tournament berths.
ALL SUN BELT: Six Cajun's were named to the preseason All-Sun Belt Conference team earlier this month, the most of any team in the conference. Nerissa Myers, Brianna Cherry, Matte Haack and Sarah Draheim were among the seniors on the team, along with junior Natalie Fernandez and sophomore pitcher Jordan Wallace. Myers and Wallace were both named preseason Player and Pitcher of the year, respectively.
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