Cajuns to Face McNeese in Midweek Bout at Lamson Park

#17 Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (30-7-1, 11-1 SBC) vs McNeese State(30-11, 13-4 Southland)
Date: April 16
Location: Lafayette, La.
Radio: ESPN 1420 (Steve Peloquin & Bobby Neveaux)
Live Stats: www.RaginCajuns.com
Television: MyKLAF/ESPN3 (Dan McDonald & Gerald Broussard)
Time: 6 p.m.

Game Notes

What's On Tap? The Cajuns take on their first non-conference opponent since starting Sun Belt play on March 22, as they face McNeese State in a game originally scheduled for March 16, on April 16 at Lamson Park. The Cajuns have dropped just two games in their past 24 contests, both to Nationally ranked opponents in Oklahoma (13 at time), and South Alabama (15 at time).

About the Opponents: The Cowgirls come in as the leader of the Southland Conference, boasting a 30-11 record, winning 14 of their last 16 games. The Cowgirls have picked up wins against three ranked opponents in Texas A&M (8th), Alabama (9th), and UAB (21st), and are one week removed from their third victory all-time against LSU, defeating them 2-1 at the Lady Tiger Park on April 9.

The Week That Was: The Ragin' Cajuns picked up their fourth straight Sun Belt series victory, winning two of three games against No. 15 South Alabama, winning the bookends of the series, 6-2, and 5-1, and losing the middle contest 8-4. The Cajuns got great weeks out of pitcher Christina Hamilton and catcher Lexie Elkins, with Hamilton picking up two wins and Elkins hitting two home runs. Elkins, the reigning Sun Belt Player of the Week, went 6-for-9 at the plate with two home runs and six RBI, including the game-tying runs in the first Cajuns win and the game-winning runs in the second win. Hamilton put in a pair of complete games for the Cajuns, allowing just one earned run in each outing, while fanning eight batters.

Adding to the Win Column: The Ragin' Cajuns saw their season-high 14 game winning streak snapped in game two against South Alabama, but have still won, and 22 of their last 24 games, with both losses coming against Nationally ranked opponents. In the last 24 games, senior Natalie Fernandez is batting .519 (41-for-79) with 33 runs scored, and junior pitcher Christina Hamilton has gone 12-0 with a 1.14 ERA and 90 strikeouts. The Cajuns have had a few notable streaks in the past few seasons. In 2013 they put together a 23 game winning streak, and in 2012 they opened the season with a 28-game winning streak.

More Honors for Lexie: After earning her second Sun Belt player of the week award following the WKU series, sophomore catcher Lexie Elkins earned LSWA Co-Player of the Week honors for her performance against then No. 15 South Alabama. Elkins had another solid week, leading the Ragin' Cajuns to a series victory over No. 15 South Alabama at Lamson Park. Elkins picked up two hits in each game including a pair of home runs, while driving in six. She drove in the game-tying run in the series opener and the game winning runs in the series finale, to help propel the Cajuns to victory.

Walsh's Emergence: After batting .135 (7-for-52) in the first 21 games this season, sophomore Samantha Walsh has hit .320 (16-for-50) in the past 17 games, including a seven-game hitting streak, with four home runs and 13 RBI. She has also been one of the Cajuns' most reliable defenders making two errors on 44 chances at third base. A career .237 hitter with 10 home runs, Walsh holds a .939 fielding percentage between second base, third base and shortstop.

Where do they Rank? The Ragin' Cajuns come in ranked 17th in both the NFCA/USA Today and the ESPN/USA Softball polls which were both released on Tuesday, April 15. The Cajuns have been on a steady rise in the rankings since falling to 25th, after starting the season ranked 13th and 15th in the polls. The Cajuns highest ranking is in the RPI rankings, however, in which they sit 7th in the nation.

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 .475 mark for the season, improving her career batting average to .402, which is two 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), the sister of current Cajuns outfielder, Kendall Smith. The Ragin' Cajuns single season record his held by Katie Smith in 2012, a .447 clip.

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	214	29th	35th	Courtney Senas, Florida State	230
Batting Average	.404	19th	--	Haylie McCleney, Alabama	.472
Runs Scored	176	5th	12th	Jennifer Gilbert, Ball State	200
Hits	229	16th	27th	Jill Barrett, Tulsa	295

Wallace Among Actives: Here is where Cajuns junior, Jordan Wallace's career stats rank among active players:

	##	D-I	Overall	D-I Leader	##
Victories	72	16th	20th	Hannah Rodgers, Florida	115
Strikeouts	674	15th	24th	Whitney Canion, Baylor	1,337
Strikeouts/7 inn.	8.81	6th	13th	Aimee Creger, Tulsa	9.98
Shutouts	16	40th	- -	Sara Moulton, Minnesota	45

Getting Offensive: The Cajuns boast the 19th-most potent offense in the NCAA this season, averaging 6.32 runs per game. That mark tops the Sun Belt, with ULM coming in second with 5.27 runs per game. The Cajuns run output can be credited to the nations second-best 1.58 home runs per game and their 14th-ranked slugging percentage (.522).

We've Got the Power: The Ragin' Cajuns have put on an impressive power display at Lamson Park this season, hitting 47 of their 60 home runs at Lamson Park. The Cajuns are one of three teams, joining Arizona and Georgia with 60-or-more homers, doing so in the fewest games. The Cajuns have 16 more home runs than the next-highest in the Sun Belt, Georgia State, and hold down the top three individual spots in the conference lead, with Haley Hayden leading the way with 13, Lexie Elkins in second with 12, and Shelbi Redfearn is in third with 11.

Triple-Double of Homers: The Ragin' Cajuns already have three players with 10-or-more homers in Haley Hayden (13), Lexie Elkins (12) and Shelbi Redfearn (11), , marking the fourth time in the last ten seasons that the Cajuns have had three-or-more players with double-digits in the home run column. Last season the Cajuns had four players go deep more than ten times, a feat that the Cajuns look likely to achieve in 2014 with Sara Corbello already at eight home runs and Kelsey Vincent at six. The Cajuns trio are the only three players in the Sun Belt with ten-or-more homers.

Solid Starters: Both Christina Hamilton and Jordan Wallace have won double-digit games, achieving a feat the Cajuns did not get to last season, with Wallace winning 32 games and Victoria Brown winning the second most with nine. Prior to last season, the Cajuns only failed to have two double-digit winners in a season twice since 2000, coming in 2012 and 2007. The Cajuns had three double-digit winners in 2002 and 2000.

What's Next? The Cajuns will head to Troy, Alabama to take on SBC foe, Troy, in a three-game series. The Cajuns and Trojans will play on April 18-19 with Friday doubleheader (4 p.m.) and a single game on Saturday (Noon), a break from normality in the SBC schedule, to accommodate for the Easter holiday on Sunday. The three game set at Troy opens up an eight-game roadtrip, with the Cajuns heading to Baylor on April 22 for a non conference doubleheader at 4 p.m., and then to Arlington, Texas to take on UT Arlington in their final scheduled road games of the season. The Cajuns will return to Lamson Park on April 30 for a midweek bout with Nicholls State at 6 p.m.

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