University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
Appalachian State
Players Mentioned
Softball Preview: at Appalachian State
4/16/2015 2:59:00 PM | Softball
Saturday, April 18 (DH) • 12 p.m. (CDT) • Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium (1,000) • Boone, N.C.
Sunday, April 19 • 11 a.m. (CDT) • Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium (1,000) • Boone, N.C.
Game Notes: Louisiana
Radio: ESPN 1420-AM • Talent: Steve Peloquin, PxP
TV: None
Live Stats
Live Video (purchase necessary)
Rosters: Louisiana | Appalachian State
Schedule/Results: Louisiana | Appalachian State
Statistics: Louisiana | Appalachian State
Ragin' Cajuns Twitter: @ULRaginCajuns | @RaginCajunSB
Opponents Twitter: @AppStateSB
THE COACHES
Louisiana: Michael Lotief (Louisiana, 1985)
Career Record: 628-152-1 (13th season) Record at Louisiana: Same
Appalachian State: Janice Savage (Delaware State, 2005)
Career Record: 67-78 (3rd season) Record at APP: 10-26 (1 season)
FIRST SUN BELT SERIES WITH APP STATE THIS WEEKEND
The No. 9 Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns softball team returns to Sun Belt Conference play in Boone, N.C., visiting Appalachian State Saturday-Sunday, April 18-19 for the first-ever Sun Belt series between the two programs. It's also the first time the program competes in a contest in the state of North Carolina.
TAKING THE SHOW ON THE ROAD
For the remainder of the 2015 regular season, and then the Sun Belt Conference Tournament in San Marcos, Texas (May 6-9), the Ragin' Cajuns will be away from Lamson Park. After the App State series, Louisiana concludes the regular season with trips to Oregon (April 24-25) and ULM (May 2-3) before heading to San Marcos.
RECIPE FOR SUCCESS
Louisiana has won all six Sun Belt series played, sweeping three. As a result, the squad is in sole possession of first place in the league standings and on the doorstep of clinching a bye in the tournament quarterfinals and a regular season title.
RAGIN' ON OFFENSE
The Cajuns have scored double-digit runs in six of the last nine games (dates back to Troy finale on March 22). The squad is hitting .370 during the stretch.
LEXIE JOINS PROGRAM'S GREAT SLUGGERS
With 20 home runs, Lexie Elkins reached the mark for the second straight season (hit 24 in 2014). She joins Danyele Gomez (UL Hall of Famer), Christi Orgeron and Holly Tankersley as the only players in school history to reach 20 home runs twice in a career.
THE SELECT FEW
Lexie Elkins and Oklahoma's Shelby Pendley were the only two players in the nation with 20 home runs at the start of the week. Pendley led the way with 21, followed by Elkins' 20. Elkins ranked No. 1 from March 29-April 11.
TEAM EFFORT
It's not just one "star" carrying the load for the Ragin' Cajuns. Each starter in the lineup has posted at least 24 hits (ranges from 24-48). Six players have posted 20-plus RBI, and that number will be seven on DJ Sanders' next RBI.
TRIPLE THREAT IN THE CIRCLE
Alex Stewart's emergence in the pitching circle during the Texas State and Georgia State series has further strengthened Louisiana's pitching efforts. She registered the two wins that won both series, allowing just five runs and striking out 34 in 21 innings. Stewart adds to a pitching rotation that includes two-time first team All-Sun Belt pick Jordan Wallace and 2014 All-American Christina Hamilton.
WALLACE CLIMBING THE CHARTS
With her win in the Georgia State series finale on April 4, Jordan Wallace picked up career win No. 85 allowing her to take sole possession of fourth place on the career list, passing Melissa Coronado. Her first strikeout of the game, the 821st of her career, moved her past Kyla Hall for third place on the career list.
CAREER VICTORIES
1. Brooke Mitchell (2002-05) 119
2. Kyla Hall (1991-94) 104
3. Ashley Brignac (2008-12) 94
4. Jordan Wallace (2012-pres.) 86
5. Melissa Coronado (1999-02) 84
CAREER STRIKEOUTS
1. Brooke Mitchell (2002-05) 1,309
2. Ashley Brignac (2008-12) 862
3. Jordan Wallace (2012-pres.) 834
4. Kyla Hall (1991-94) 820
5. Kim Eisnagule (1983-86) 812
CHASING HISTORY
With 20 home runs and still three weeks left in the regular season, plus postseason, Lexie Elkins might challenge the single-season record 30 home runs hit by Danyele Gomez in 2006. Through 37 games in 2006, Gomez had hit 19 home runs.
SPARKLING SEASON FOR SHELLIE
Shellie Landry's double in Game 2 vs. Baylor was her 25th extra-base hit, setting a new career-high. Her 15 home runs match her career-best set as a freshman in 2013. Landry is four RBI shy from reaching 50 for the second time in her career and 15 shy of tying her career-high 61 RBI in 2013.
HEY, IT'S HALEY
Haley Hayden has an active reached-base streak of 26 games. The career-best streak began Feb. 21 vs. Hofstra. It's the longest reached-base streak since Sarah Draheim had a 26-game streak in 2013. The record streak is 53 games by Holly Tankersley in 2008.
SETTLED ON THE LINEUP
Before the season began, head coach Michael Lotief found a lineup he believed would give his team the best chance to succeed. No. 1-5 in the lineup has remained the same order since opening day. No. 6-9 in the batting order was the same Feb. 7-Mar. 17. Position-wise, the starters at each spot in the field have started all 37 games.
ELKINS NAMED TOP 26 FINALIST FOR USA SOFTBALL AWARD
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns softball junior catcher Lexie Elkins has been named one of the 26 finalists named for the 2015 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award. It's the first time in her career that Elkins was selected as a finalist for the award. She's the first Ragin' Cajuns player since Christi Orgeron in 2012 to make the cut.
Just prior to the start of postseason play on May 6 the list will be narrowed to the Top 10 Finalists. The Top 3 Finalists will be announced May 20, while the winner of the 2015 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award will be revealed on May 26 prior to the start of the NCAA Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City.
UP NEXT
No. 9 Louisiana is scheduled to face No. 1 Oregon in Eugene, Ore., in a three-game series Friday-Saturday, April 24-25. It will be Louisiana's fourth weekend series against a ranked team and third against a 2014 WCWS participant (Alabama, Baylor, Oregon).
LOUISIANA-APPALACHIAN STATE SERIES
Series Record: First Meeting
In Lafayette: 0-0
In Boone, N.C.: 0-0
Neutral: 0-0
Series Notes
The Ragin' Cajuns and Mountaineers are meeting for the first time in program history...It's also the first-ever Sun Belt Conference series between the two programs...Louisiana makes its first trip to the state of North Carolina.
DIAMOND NOTES
• #ThinkingOfCoachMike: Louisiana head coach Michael Lotief is presently attending to a medical situation with his throat which caused him to miss the Texas State and Georgia State series. He will not accompany the team for the App State series due to a surgery on Friday, April 17.
• #AddedPower: Kelsey Vincent's 11 home runs (nine in Sun Belt play) are a career-high. She currently has 27 RBI, equaling her career-best output from 2014.
• #InARhythm: Lexie Elkins has homered in six of the last eight games, generating eight home runs. Kelsey Vincent has homered in five of the last eight games, collecting five home runs.
• #SweepingUpAtShort: True freshman DJ Sanders has shined at shortstop this season after taking over for last season's starter Corin Voinche who is injured. She's made just three errors through the first 100 chances that have come her way (49 PO, 48 A, 3E).
• #NotAnEasyOut: Opponents have found it tough to keep Haley Hayden, Shellie Landry and Lexie Elkins off the base path. The Cajuns' 1-2-3 hitters have combined for 132 hits and 78 walks. Add in a combined 10 times being hit by a pitch, they've been on base a combined 220 times in a combined 435 plate appearances (51 percent).
• #AmazingAleah: Redshirt freshman Aleah Craighton hit above .400 through the first five weeks and has been no lower than .367 since.
• #NiftyNinety: With 68 home runs hit so far and the current pace of 1.84 HR/game, the Cajuns could be in striking distance of the third 90 HR season in school history (102 in '06, 90 in '14) before the postseason arrives (on pace for 85 by regular season's end).
• #CatchMeIfYouCan: Louisiana is 28-3 when scoring first. The lone losses: Mar. 8 at South Alabama, Mar. 21 vs. Troy (Game 1) and Mar. 28 at Texas State (Game 1).
• #WelcomeBack: Louisiana returned to the Top 10 of the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 poll on April 7. The Cajuns moved up two spots from No. 12 and returned to the Top 10 after falling out for the first time all season in the previous poll (March 31).
#GeauxCajuns
