University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
Texas State
Cajuns Welcome Texas State for Series at Lamson Park
3/28/2014 12:27:00 PM | Softball
Date: March 29-30
Location: Lafayette, La.
Radio: ESPN 1420 (Steve Peloquin & Bobby Neveaux)
Live Stats: www.RaginCajuns.com
Time: 2 p.m. Saturday (DH), 1 p.m. Sunday
Game Notes
What's On Tap? After getting their two games against Houston rained out, the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns softball team will return to Sun Belt action to take on Texas State at Lamson Park. The Cajuns and Bobcats will play a Saturday doubleheader with the first pitch for game one at 2 p.m., and a stand alone game on Sunday at 1 p.m.
About the Opponents: Texas State brings a 19-15 record into this weekend's series, and a 2-1 mark in Sun Belt games, defeating ULM in a series in San Marcos. The Bobcats are led by the conference leader in wins, Rayn House, in the circle, and Courtney Harris and Kendall Wiley in the batters box. House boasts a 16-10 record, pitching in 27 of the teams 34 games, posting a 2.10 ERA with 160 strikeouts. House pitched against the Cajuns last season in the Louisiana Classics, allowing two runs on one hit without recording an out. Harris and Wiley combine for seven of the Bobcats' 23 home runs on the season, with Harris batting .341 with 19 runs scored.
Rain Drops Falling on our Heads: The Ragin' Cajuns made the trip to Houston on Wednesday and were welcomed with a heavy downpour of rain. After waiting for two hours for the clouds to clear and field to dry, the teams decided to cut their losses and call the doubleheader, cancelling both games with no makeup game planned.
The Week That Was: The Ragin' Cajuns went 5-0 over the past week sweeping Sam Houston in a Wednesday doubleheader, 6-0, and 4-2, and Georgia State in their Sun Belt opening series, 8-3, 4-2, and 13-0. Natalie Fernandez continued her strong play, going 11-for-14 over the week, batting .786 with five runs scored, andChristina Hamilton tossed 18.1 shutout innings, allowing just seven hits and five walks, holding opponents to a .109 batting average. She went 3-0 on the week with one save to her credit. Kelsey Vincent picked up eight RBI over the week, slugging three home runs while batting .412 on the weekend, and Haley Hayden picked up six RBI to add to her conference lead of 35 RBI, hitting a home run for 10 on the season, also a conference best.
...Over The Last Two Weeks: After Natalie Fernandez and Christina Hamilton earned All-LSWA honors and Hamilton picked up Sun Belt Player of the Week honors, the duo continued what would be come a very strong two-week span, against Sam Houston and Georgia State. Hamilton tossed 18.1 shutout innings this week, and has allowed one earned run over the past two weeks in 32.1 innings pitched for a 0.22 ERA. Fernandez is batting .739 over the past two weeks with 17 hits in 23 at-bats and seven walks. She holds a .826 on-base percentage with 10 runs scored in eight games. The duo earned All-LSWA honors for the second straight week, with Fernandez earning SBC Player of the Week as well.
Fernandez Earns Sun Belt POW: After here 11-for-14 performance over the week senior Natalie Fernandezpicked up her first career Sun Belt Player of the Week honors, and the Ragin' Cajuns third of the season. She made it back-to-back weeks for the Ragin' Cajuns earning POW honors, with Christina Hamilton picking up pitcher of the week honors last week.
Where do they Rank? The Ragin' Cajuns held their ground in this weeks set of softball rankings, maintaining their No. 20 ranking in the NFCA/USA Today poll and their No. 23 ranking in the USA Softball/ESPN poll. The Cajuns started the season as the 13th ranked team in the nation in the NFCA poll, their highest ranking of the season and 15th in the ESPN poll.
Going for the Record: If the season were to end today, Natalie Fernandez would break the Ragin' Cajuns record for batting average in a career and a season. She is currently hitting at a .517 clip for the season, improving her career batting average to .406, which is four points ahead of Becky McMurtry's .402, from 2002-03. The highest average for a four-year player is .392, set by Katie Smith (2008-12).
Fernandez Among Actives: Here is where Cajuns senior, Natalie Fernandez's career stats rank among active players:
| ## | D-I | Overall | D-I Leader | ## | |
| Games Played | 205 | 20th | 20th | Madison Shipman, Tennessee | 219 |
| Batting Average | .406 | 11th | -- | Haylie McCleney, Alabama | .484 |
| Runs Scored | 166 | 6th | 13th | Jennifer Gilbert, Ball State | 191 |
| Hits | 217 | 14th | 23rd | Jill Barrett, Tulsa | 275 |
Wallace Among Actives: Here is where Cajuns junior, Jordan Wallace's career stats rank among active players:
| ## | D-I | Overall | D-I Leader | ## | |
| Victories | 67 | 17th | 21st | Hannah Rodgers, Florida | 110 |
| Strikeouts | 646 | 15th | 22nd | Whitney Canion, Baylor | 1,286 |
| Strikeouts/7 inn. | 8.83 | 6th | 12th | Miranda Kramer, IPFW | 9.77 |
| Shutouts | 16 | 34th | 50th | Sara Moulton, Minnesota | 44 |
Leading off Strong: The Cajuns have a strong 1-2 punch at the front of their batting order in senior Natalie Fernandez and freshman Haley Hayden. Fernandez leads the Cajuns with a .517 batting average (46-for-89) and 38 runs scored, and Hayden is batting .350 with a team-high 35 RBI and 10 home runs. Three times this season Fernandez has led the game off by reaching base and Hayden has homered in the next at-bat to give the Cajuns an early 2-0 lead (Lamar/March 6, Texas/Feb. 8, Rutgers/Feb. 23). The early-game success from Fernandez and Hayden have led to 23 runs for the Cajuns in the first inning. As a team, the Cajuns have gone 7-0 when scoring in the first inning, and have outscored opponents 23-9 in the opening frame of games.
Getting Offensive: The Cajuns boast the 25th-most potent offense in the NCAA this season, averaging 6.28 runs per game. That ranks second among all Sun Belt teams, behind only ULM (6.56). The Cajuns run output can be credited to their nations-best 1.59 home runs per game and their 13th-ranked slugging percentage (.525).
Say Hey! Haley Hayden: Freshman Haley Hayden has put together a strong start to her college career, batting .350 with 35 RBI on 10 home runs, including a pair of multi-home run games against Memphis (2/15) and Rutgers (2/23). She currently ranks 21st in the country in home runs per game (0.34) and has the second-most home runs among freshmen, trailing Milly Martinet of Campbell (13).
We've Got the Power: With seven home runs against this past week, the Cajuns were able to hold on to their national lead in home runs per game, averaging 1.59 homers a game, leading runner-up Arizona by 0.04 home runs a game. The Cajuns' 46 homers lead the Sun Belt by 20 home runs and hold down the top five of the top six spots on the individual leader board. Haley Hayden leads the conference with 10, with Sara Corbello, Lexie Elkinsand Shelbi Redfearn tied for second with eight a piece and Kelsey Vincent tied for fifth with Lauren Coleman of GSU with six.
Grabbing LSWA Honors: The Ragin' Cajuns swept the LSWA awards for the second week in a row, with Natalie Fernandez picking up player of the week honors and Christina Hamilton grabbing pitcher of the week honors. Last week, Hamilton was named pitcher of the week and Fernandez earned co-player of the week kudos. The Cajuns have now won five LSWA honors, with Haley Hayden earned LSWA Player of the Month honors in February.
What's Next? The Cajuns take to the road for their second away series in Sun Belt play with a trip to Bowling Green, Ky. to take on Western Kentucky. The Cajuns and Lady Toppers will play two games on Saturday (1 p.m. EST), and one on Sunday (noon EST). The Cajuns will return to Lamson Park after a midweek game at Northwestern State on April 9, with another Sun Belt series, this time against South Alabama (April 12-13).
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