University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
ULM
Cajuns Finish Regular Season With Senior Weekend and ULM
5/2/2014 5:48:00 PM | Softball
Date:Â May 3-4
Location:Â Lafayette, La. (Lamson Park)
Radio:Â ESPN 1420Â (Steve Peloquin & Bobby Neveaux)
Live Stats:Â Â www.RaginCajuns.com
Television:Â Saturday - MyKLAF/ESPN3 (Kevin Cantrelle & Dan McDonald)
Time:Â Saturday (DH) 2 p.m., Sunday, Noon
Game Notes
What's On Tap? The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns softball team will finish up their regular season schedule with a three-game series against the ULM Warhawks, with a doubleheader on Saturday at 2 p.m. and a single game on Sunday at 1 p.m. Prior to Sunday's game, the Cajuns will honor their two seniors in Natalie Fernandez and Shelbi Redfearn, in the duo's final regular season game at Lamson Park of their career.
About the Opponents: The Warhawks come into the series with a 22-22 record and a 6-12 record in the Sun Belt, in fifth place of the Sun Belt standings. They are led by the left side of their infield, in Miyuki Navarette and Alixis Cacioppo. Navarette leads the team with a .375 batting average, and Cacioppo leads the team with seven home runs and 36 RBI. In the circle the Warhawks have four pitchers with 10-or-more appearances, led by one-time SBC Pitcher of the Week Samantha Hamby. Hamby is 14-13 with a 3.48 ERA and 76 strikeouts in 142.2 innings pitched, half of the teams innings.
Clinching the SuN Belt: The Ragin' Cajuns went swept their Sun Belt series against UT Arlington, effectively clinching the Sun Belt Conference for their 12th Sun Belt Regular Season title in school history, and their 16th Conference Championship between the Sun Belt (2000-present) and the Southland (1983-1988). The Cajuns have failed to win the regular season title in just two seasons since joining the Sun Belt, 2007 and 2013, advancing to the NCAA Tournament as an at-large bid each season. Â
If The SBC Tournament Started Today... The Cajuns also clinched the top seed in the 2014 Sun Belt Conference Championships, which they will host at Lamson Park from May 7-10. The Cajuns have a bye in the first two rounds of the tournament. If the tournament started today, the Cajuns would face either ULM (5th), UT Arlington (8th) or Georgia State (4th). As the No. 5 and No. 8 seeds, coming into this weekend, ULM and UT Arlington will play in a single elimination game at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, with the winner taking on No. 4 seeded Georgia State at 5:30 p.m., for the rights to take on the Cajuns on Thursday. The game between the ULM and UTA winner and Georgia State will also be single elimination, with double elimination starting on Friday with the Cajuns first game. Â
The Week That Was: The Ragin' Cajuns went 5-0 in the past week, defeating nationally ranked Baylor in a midweek doubleheader, 5-2 and 7-4, and swept UT Arlington with three shutouts, winning 7-0, 13-0 and 8-0. The Cajuns got timely hits against Baylor including a pair of two-hit games from Shelbi Redfearn and five RBI from Lexie Elkins, including a home run in game one, and a double in the second game. The Cajuns didn't miss a beat over the weekend, outscoring UTA 28-0 in three games, and got a near-no-hitter from Victoria Brown in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader.
Adding to the Win Column: The Ragin' Cajuns saw their season-high 14 game winning streak snapped in game two against South Alabama, but rebounded to win their last nine games and 30 of their last 32 games, with both losses coming against nationally ranked opponents. Long streaks are nothing new to the Cajuns, winning 23 straight games in 2013 and opening the season with 28 consecutive wins in 2012.
Where do they Rank? The Ragin' Cajuns come in ranked 13th in the ESPN/USA Softball Poll and 14th in the NFCA/USA Today Poll, as released on April 28th. 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 5th in the nation.
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 | 222 | 25th | 36th | Courtney Senas, Florida State | 238 |
| Batting Average | .402 | 25th | -- | Karley Wester, Notre Dame | .471 |
| Runs Scored | 182 | 5th | 14th | Jennifer Gilbert, Ball State | 209 |
| Hits | 239 | 14th | 30th | Jill Barrett, Tulsa | 305 |
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 | 23rd | 28th | Hannah Rodgers, Florida | 118 |
| Strikeouts | 676 | 23rd | 32nd | Whitney Canion, Baylor | 1,377 |
| Strikeouts/7 inn. | 8.79 | 6th | 19th | Miranda Kramer, IPFW | 9.96 |
| Shutouts | 16 | 43rd | - - | Sara Moulton, Minnesota | 46 |
Getting Offensive: The Cajuns boast the 16th-most potent offense in the NCAA this season, averaging 6.5 runs per game. That mark tops the Sun Belt, with Georgia State coming in second with 5.12 runs per game. The Cajuns run output can be credited to the nations second-best 1.52 home runs per game and their 15th-ranked slugging percentage (.521).
We've Got the Power: The Ragin' Cajuns have put on an impressive power display at Lamson Park this season, hitting 39 of their 70 home runs at Lamson Park.  The Cajuns have played the fewest amount of games among all teams with 70-or-more home runs, and are one of just four teams to reach that mark, joining Arizona (92), Georgia (74) and Auburn (74). The Cajuns lead the Sun Belt in home runs by 19, with Georgia State coming in second with 51 on the season. Individually, the Cajuns hold down the top three spots in the conference with Lexie Elkins leading with 14, Haley Hayden with 13 and Shelbi Redfearn in third with 12 on the season.
Triple-Double of Homers: The Ragin' Cajuns already have three players with 10-or-more homers in Lexie Elkins (16), Haley Hayden (13) and Shelbi Redfearn (12), 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, Samantha Walsh at seven and Kelsey Vincent at six.
Another Conference Player of the Week: After posting a 0.70 ERA over 20 innings, including 13 shutout innings against Troy, pitcher Christina Hamilton has been named the Sun Belt Conference Pitcher of the Week. Hamilton picked up her second Pitcher of the Week honor of the season on April 21st, winning her first on March 17, and fifth weekly honor of the season for the Cajuns. Lexie Elkins won the Player of the Week award twice (Feb. 10, April 7) and Natalie Fernandez won on March 24. Hamilton went 3-0 on the week with a 0.70 era, tossing the complete game and allowing two earned runs against McNeese State on Wednesday, and nearly throwing back-to-back complete game shutouts against Troy. Hamilton was also named the LSWA Player of the Week for the third time this season.
What's Next? The Cajuns will host the 2014 Sun Belt Conference Championships at Lamson Park, with an automatic bye to the third round, and one of two teams with a guarantee of double elimination play. The Cajuns first game of the tournament will be Thursday, May 8 at 5 p.m.
-- www.RaginCajuns.com --
