Softball Preview: at Baylor

Games 28-29: No. 5 Louisiana (25-2, 7-1 Sun Belt) at No. 20 Baylor (26-6, 2-0 Big 12)
Tuesday, Mar. 29 (DH) • 5 p.m. (CDT) • Getterman Stadium (1,250) • Waco, Texas

Game Notes (PDF): Louisiana
Radio: Talk Radio 960-AM • Talent: Steve Peloquin, PxP
TV: Fox Sports Southwest Plus (DirecTV 676-1, Cox Cable 79 and 1079)
Live Stats
Live Video ($)
Rosters: Louisiana | Baylor
Schedules: Louisiana | Baylor
2016 Stats: Louisiana | Baylor
Ragin' Cajuns Twitter: @ULRaginCajuns | @RaginCajunSB
Opponents' Twitter: @BaylorSoftball

THE COACHES
Louisiana: Michael Lotief (Louisiana, 1985)
Record at Louisiana: 663-161-1 (14th season) Career Record: Same

Baylor: Glenn Moore (Northwestern State, 1993)
Record at Baylor: 633-300 (16th season) Career Record: 772-342 (19th season)

ROAD TRIP COMES TO A CLOSE IN WACO
No. 5 Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns softball (25-2, 7-1 Sun Belt) finishes an eight-game road trip, which began March 19 in Arlington, Texas, with a trip to Waco, Texas on Tuesday, March 29 for a 5 p.m. doubleheader with the 20th-ranked Baylor Bears (26-6, 2-0 Big 12) at Getterman Stadium. The doubleheader will be televised on Fox Sports Southwest Plus.

REGIONAL REMATCH
Tuesday's Louisiana-Baylor doubleheader is a rematch of the 2015 NCAA Lafayette Regional finals held at Lamson Park. The Ragin' Cajuns won the winner-take-all game 9-1 (6 inn.) on the tournament's final day to advance to the NCAA Auburn Super Regional.

CAJUNS, BEARS BOTH CRUISING
Tuesday's twinbill in Waco features two of the nation's hottest teams: No. 5 Louisiana has won 19 of its last 20 games and No. 20 Baylor has won of 17 of its last 20 games.

FAMILIAR FACES
No. 5 Louisiana and No. 20 Baylor meet in the regular season for the third straight season. The current string of yearly meetings began with an April 22, 2014 doubleheader in Waco and continued last season with the Bear's trip to Lamson Park for a weekend series in April. Both sides return several players from last season's five meetings (2 regular season, 3 NCAA Regional) with the Ragin' Cajuns having returned eight hitters from their starting lineup and the Bears returning seven on their nine hitters.

DOMINANT WEEKEND IN TROY
No. 5 Louisiana bounced back strong from a series finale loss at UT Arlington (March 20) during the Easter Weekend series in Troy. The Ragin' Cajuns outscored the Trojans 27-1, scoring in the first inning each game, and held a 29-10 advantage in hits. Aside from a solo home run in Game 2, the pitching combination of Alex Stewart (two shutouts) and Kylee Jo Trahan did not allow a single Trojans baserunner past second base.

STEWART SHUTS 'EM DOWN
Following two complete game shutouts in Troy, Alex Stewart has now pitched a shutout in three straight starts (began March 19 at UTA). Stewart limited Troy - which entered the series hitting .321 and had 10 games with double digit hits - to seven hits in 12 innings and struck out 16.

ELKINS NEARING NCAA CAREER TOP 10 LIST
Lexie Elkins (73 career home runs) sits three home runs shy of entering the NCAA's career home run Top 10 list. She presently ranks 12th on the overall list.

NCAA CAREER HOME RUNS TOP 10
1.         95       Lauren Chamberlain, Oklahoma
2.         90       Stacey Nuveman, UCLA
3.         87       Stacie Chambers, Arizona
4.         85       Leah Braatz, Arizona
            85       Laura Espinoza, Arizona
6.         84       Shelby Pendley, Oklahoma
7.         83       Danyele Gomez, Louisiana
8.         79       Kristen Rivera, Washington
9.         76       Megan Baltzell, Longwood
            76       Jenny Dalton, Arizona
---------
T12.    73       Lexie Elkins, Louisiana

TRACKING ELKINS' RECORD PURSUIT
Lexie Elkins' 73 career home runs ranks second all-time in Ragin' Cajuns history, leaving only Danyele Gomez's 83 left to top.

RAGIN' CAJUNS SOFTBALL CAREER HOME RUNS CHART
1.    83    Danyele Gomez (2003-06)
2.    73    Lexie Elkins (2014-present)
3.    71    Holly Tankersley (2004, 2006-08)
4.    70    Christi Orgeron (2009-12)
5.    66    Gabriele Bridges (2008-11)

MIGHTY BATS
The Ragin' Cajuns have hit at least one home run in 21 of 27 games, tallying multiple home runs 16 times (had multiple HR all three games in Troy). Louisiana leads the nation with 2.19 home runs per game (59 HR in 27 games).

LOUISIANA-BAYLOR SERIES
Series Record: Louisiana leads 14-7
In Lafayette: Louisiana leads 9-3
In Waco, Texas: Tied 2-2
Neutral: Louisiana leads 3-2
Current Streak: Louisiana won 1
Last Meeting: 5/17/15 at Lamson Park
(Louisiana 9, Baylor 1 - 6 inn.)

Series Notes
First meeting took place in 1983 in Irving, Texas (UTA Tournament)...Met in Irving again in 1984 and back-to-back seasons in Houston from 1987-88...Baylor participated in the Louisiana Classics at Lamson Park each season from 1996-98, with the teams playing five times during that span...Wouldn't meet again until 2007 Ragin' Cajuns Invitational at Lamson Park...First meetings in Waco took place in May 2009 during an NCAA Regional at Getterman Stadium, with Baylor winning both meetings...Cajuns took all three meetings in 2014 - one at the Gulfport (Miss.) College Classic (Feb. 28) and two in a doubleheader in Waco (Apr. 22)...Teams met five times in 2015 with Louisiana sweeping a doubleheader at Lamson Park (April 11) and claiming 2-of-3 matchups in the NCAA Lafayette Regional including the winner-take-all finale...Cajuns and Bears split previous four matchups at Getterman Stadium...Meeting in a doubleheader in Waco for the second time in the past three seasons (2014, 2016).

Last Meeting (May 17, 2015 at Lamson Park - NCAA Lafayette Regional Final)
After Baylor avoided elimination in the first game of the Lafayette Regional championship round by posting a 6-2 victory, the Ragin' Cajuns bounced back with a 9-1 (6 inn.) triumph in the winner-take-all finale. A bases-loaded sacrifice fly by Aleah Craighton broke a scoreless tie and plated the first of two Cajuns runs in the second inning. A 7-2 DP initiated by Shellie Landry kept the lead 2-0 in the third. Lexie Elkins' home run in the third, which upped the lead to 3-0, was her 31st of the season establishing a new single-season record. After Baylor cut the lead to 5-1 in the fifth, Jordan Wallace started a 1-2-3 DP to close the inning and end the rally.

Last Time in Waco (April 22, 2014)
The Cajuns swept a doubleheader at Getterman Stadium on April 22, 2014 by scores of 5-2 and 7-4. After Baylor jumped ahead 1-0 on a solo home run by Holly Holl in the fourth inning of Game 1, the Cajuns responded with three runs in the fifth behind a Haley Hayden double and a two-run homer by Lexie Elkins to take the lead. With Game 2 tied at 4-4 after five complete, the Cajuns put together two runs in the sixth and one in the seventh to complete the sweep of the Bears. Hayden was hit by a pitch from Heather Stearns with the bases loaded in the sixth to break the tie.

UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
Following Tuesday's doubleheader at Baylor, No. 5 Louisiana returns to Lamson Park this weekend (April 2-3) for a Sun Belt Conference series against Texas State (23-11, 4-5 Sun Belt). The Ragin' Cajuns and Bobcats are scheduled to play a 2 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday, April 2 and a 1 p.m. single game on Sunday, April 3.

#GeauxCajuns

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Players Mentioned

Aleah Craighton

Lexie Elkins

Haley Hayden

Shellie Landry

Alex Stewart

Kylee Jo Trahan

Jordan Wallace

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