Softball Preview: UT Arlington

Games 21-23: #7 Louisiana (17-3, 2-1 SBC) vs. UT Arlington (14-10, 0-0 SBC)
Friday, March 13 • 6 p.m. (CDT) • Lamson Park (2,790) • Lafayette, La.
Saturday, March 14 (DH) • 1 p.m. (CDT) • Lamson Park (2,790) • Lafayette, La.

Game Notes: Louisiana
Radio: ESPN 1420-AM • Talent: Steve Peloquin, PxP; Bobby Neveaux, color
TV: MyKLAF/ESPN3 (March 14 only) • Talent: Mike Mitchell, PxP; Tom Brown, color
Live Stats
Live Video (purchase necessary)
Rosters: Louisiana | UT Arlington
Statistics: Louisiana | UT Arlington
Ragin' Cajuns Twitter: @ULRaginCajuns | @RaginCajunSB
Opponents Twitter: @UTASoftball

THE COACHES
Louisiana: Michael Lotief (Louisiana, 1985)
Career Record: 613-150-1 (13th season)   Record at Louisiana: Same

UT Arlington: Kristie Fox (Arizona, 2007)
Career Record: 60-71 (3rd season)   Record at UTA: Same

CAJUNS RETURN TO LAMSON PARK
No. 7 Louisiana is back at Lamson Park for the first time in three weeks as the Ragin' Cajuns open a Sun Belt series with UT Arlington on Friday, March 13. UL last played at Lamson Park the weekend of Feb. 20-22, having spent the last two weekends in the state of Alabama for series with No. 4 Alabama and No. 24 South Alabama.

LAMSON ON MY MIND
The UTA series begins a nine-game homestand, during which the Ragin' Cajuns host three Sun Belt series March 13-22. UL welcomes UT Arlington (March 13-14), Georiga Southern (March 16-17) and Troy (March 21-22) to Lamson Park during the stretch.

OFF TO A GREAT START
Louisiana's Sun Belt Conference-opening doubleheader sweep of No. 24 South Alabama last Saturday allowed the team to claim the series and tiebreaker from the Jaguars.

KELSEY WAS KEY
Kelsey Vincent powered the Cajuns to the doubleheader sweep that locked up the series win at South Alabama. Vincent went 5-for-8 with a double, a home run and three RBI.

LEANDRA'S LOCKED IN
Leandra Maly tied Kelsey Vincent for team-high honors in hits in the doubleheader sweep of South Alabama, finishing 5-for-6 at the plate. Since taking over as designated player on Feb. 21, Maly is hitting 10-for-19 (.526) with only two strikeouts.

PITCHING DEPTH ON DISPLAY
In addition to starts by Jordan Wallace and Christina Hamilton in the circle, Alex Stewart and Kylee Jo Trahan each made their Sun Belt debut at South Alabama. All four have made at least six appearances this season, with Wallace's 12 leading the way.

SETTLED ON LINEUP
While most teams make numerous lineup changes early in the season, head coach Michael Lotief has found a lineup that he believes gives his team the best chance to succeed. With the exception of changes at designated player, all other eight spots in the lineup have remained the same since opening day.

MIGHTY SWINGS
The Ragin' Cajuns' lineup remains as powerful as ever. A season after hitting 90 home runs, the squad has already reached 33 through the first 20 games. The team's 1-2-3 hitters - Haley Hayden (7), Shellie Landry (9), Lexie Elkins (7) - have combined for 23 of the 33 home runs.

HOME WIN STREAK
Louisiana brings a 21-game home win streak at Lamson Park into the upcoming nine-game homestand. The streak dates back to the 2014 Sun Belt Tournament. It's the longest win streak at Lamson Park since a 39-game streak that overlapped between the 2011 and 2012 campaigns. The record win streak at Lamson Park is 53 games set over the 1993 and 1994 seasons.

BLAST FROM THE PAST
It was March 1990 the last time that Louisiana (then-USL) and UT Arlington met on the diamond at Lamson Park.

WALLACE ENTERING ELITE COMPANY
Jordan Wallace's win vs. South Alabama marked her 80th career victory and moved her within four victories of tying Melissa Coronado for fourth (4th) place in career victories in program history. Wallace needs 24 more strikeouts to become only the fifth (5th) pitcher in program history to amass 800 career strikeouts.

CHART YOUR COURSE CAREFULLY
The No. 1-6 hitters in the Cajuns lineup pose a stern test for opposing pitchers. Five of the six are hitting above .300. Five have launched at least four home runs. The first third (Hayden, Landry, Elkins) have combined for 23 home runs. The latter third (Walsh, Vincent, Craighton) features one of the team's top clutch hitters, the highest on base percentage and top average among the sluggers.

JORDAN IS BACK
After the first three weekends of play it was evidently clear that Jordan Wallace had regained the ace-like qualities of her freshman (2012) and sophomore (2013) seasons, after an abnormal junior campaign a year ago. She began the year with 38-1/3 scoreless innings pitched. She tossed a no-hitter and three seven-inning, one-hit shutouts.

AMAZING ALEAH
Redshirt freshman Aleah Craighton has hit the ground running in her debut season. She has led the squad in hits since opening weekend (now at 26) and is hitting at .400 after five weeks. Craighton topped the team in hits during the Louisiana Classics (7) and Mardi Gras Classic (10), then cranked two triples during the Ragin' Cajuns Invitational.

HUMAN HIGHLIGHT REEL
True freshman Kelli Martinez has turned in several "web gem" quality plays in center field. Including a home-run saving catch in the South Alabama opener, Martinez has registered 17 putouts through the first 20 games.

TAYLOR TO THE PLATE
In recent pinch hit situations, Taylor Terrio has shown she can add another productive bat coming off the Cajuns bench. Terrio executed a sacrifice bunt in the South Alabama opener and led off with a single in the seventh inning of the finale as Louisiana made one final push for a rally.

CHRISTINA MAKING HER WAY
All-American and reigning Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year Christina Hamilton is beginning to return to form. She turned in her first complete game of the season last Saturday in the series-clincher vs. South Alabama. The previous two weeks saw her heaviest workload (14-2/3 innings in Ragin' Cajuns Invite) and a five-inning stint in the Alabama series opener.

UP NEXT
No. 7 Louisiana remains at Lamson Park and continues the current nine-game homestand by hosting Georgia Southern for a Sun Belt series Monday-Tuesday, March 16-17. The Cajuns and Eagles meet for the first time as conference foes.

LOUISIANA-UT ARLINGTON SERIES
Series Record: Louisiana leads 16-4
In Lafayette: Louisiana leads 5-2
In Arlington, Texas: Louisiana leads 6-0
Neutral: Louisiana leads 5-2
Current Streak: Louisiana won 8
Last Meeting: 4/27/14 in Arlington, Texas
(Louisiana 8, UT Arlington 0)

Last Season's Series (April 26-27, 2014 in Arlington, Texas)
Louisiana swept UT Arlington by a 28-0 count in the first-ever Sun Belt series. The sweep locked up the 2014 Sun Belt title for UL. Lexie Elkins posted five RBI and Gabby Felps tallied five hits during a doubleheader sweep on Saturday (7-0, 13-0). In game two, Victoria Brown carried a no-hitter into the fifth and final inning. On Sunday, Corin Voinche led the charge at the plate going 2-for-4, with two runs and two RBI while Christina Hamilton tossed six shutout innings for the 8-0 triumph.

Series Notes
Programs first met as members of the Southland Conference (1983-87)...First meeting took place in April 1983 in UTA Invitational...Met in UTA-hosted tournaments in 1984 and 1985...Last meeting as Southland foes came in 1987 league tournament in Denton, Texas (Cajuns won 6-1 to claim tournament title)...Prior to last season's Sun Belt series in Arlington, UL and UTA had last met during a March 1990 doubleheader at Lamson Park...Initial Sun Belt series was in 2014 in Arlington...First Sun Belt meetings at Lamson Park...Cajuns posted three shutouts last season, outscoring UTA 28-0, and have shutout the Mavericks each of the last four meetings, overall.

DIAMOND NOTES

• #HomeSweetHome: After back-to-back weekend trips to the state of Alabama for series with No. 4 Alabama and No. 24 South Alabama, the Ragin' Cajuns are staying in the Pelican State until a trip on March 27 takes them to San Marcos, Texas.

• #HomeCooking: Louisiana's offense has clicked on all cylinders at Lamson Park, averaging 8.6 runs per game through 14 contests in the friendly confines.

• #OppositesAttract: The UTA series features the current top team ERA in the Sun Belt (Louisiana) and current second-ranked team batting average (UT Arlington).

• #AmongTheNationsBest: In the initial NCAA statistical rankings (released March 9), the Cajuns pitching staff ranked seventh (7th) in ERA (1.27).

• #TeamEffort: All nine starters reached double digit hits by the season's 18th game.

• #RockSolid: Haley Hayden (2B), DJ Sanders (SS) and Kelli Martinez (CF) - each debuting at their position - have helped solidify the "spine" of the team's defense. Thus, UL has committed only 12 errors through 499 chances (.976 FLD%).

• #StartMeUp: The Ragin' Cajuns have scored in the first inning 10 times (9-1). Louisiana holds a 26-6 advantage in runs scored in the opening frame.

• #FantasticStart: At 14-0, Louisiana was off to its best undefeated start since beginning the 2012 season a program-record 29-0.

• #DepthOnDisplay: Louisiana has utilized four pitchers in the circle. Alex Stewart and Kylee Jo Trahan have stepped up while Jordan Wallace and Christina Hamilton (shoulder ailments) began the season working on pitch counts.

• #SameFaceNewPlace: Haley Hayden moved from center field to second base. Shellie Landry (right field in '14) is back in left field where she starred as a freshman.

• #SteppingInAtShort: A knee injury has 2014 starting shortstop Corin Voinche sidelined indefinitely. Freshman DJ Sanders, recently selected to the U.S. Junior National Team, is handling shortstop duties in Voinche's absence.

#GeauxCajuns

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Players Mentioned

Victoria Brown

Aleah Craighton

Lexie Elkins

Gabby Felps

Christina Hamilton

Haley Hayden

Shellie Landry

Leandra Maly

Kelli Martinez

DJ Sanders

Alex Stewart

Taylor Terrio

Kylee Jo Trahan

Kelsey Vincent

Jordan Wallace

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