Softball Preview: at McNeese State

Game 39: No. 7 Louisiana (32-6, 13-1 Sun Belt) at McNeese State (30-10, 15-3 Southland)
Wednesday, Apr. 20 • 6 p.m. (CDT) • Cowgirl Diamond • Lake Charles, La.

Game Notes (PDF): Louisiana
Radio: KROF 960-AM • Talent: Steve Peloquin, PxP; Bobby Neveaux, color
TV: None
Live Stats
Live Video ($)
Rosters: Louisiana | McNeese State
Schedules: Louisiana | McNeese State
2016 Stats: Louisiana | McNeese State
Ragin' Cajuns Twitter: @ULRaginCajuns | @RaginCajunSB
Opponents' Twitter: @McNeeseSoftball

THE COACHES
Louisiana: Michael Lotief (Louisiana, 1985)
Record at Louisiana: 670-165-1 (14th season) Career Record: Same

McNeese State: Joanna Hardin (Biola University, 2005)
Record at McNeese: 66-30 (2nd season) Career Record: Same

CAJUNS CLOSE ROAD TRIP WITH TRIP TO LAKE CHARLES
No. 7-ranked Ragin' Cajuns softball (32-6, 13-1 Sun Belt) wraps up its current seven-game road trip and stretch of 15 out of 18 away from Lamson Park on Wednesday, April 20 in Lake Charles at Southland Conference-leader McNeese State (30-10, 15-3 SLC). The game is a rematch of a 5-4 (9 inn.) affair won by the Ragin' Cajuns back on March 16 at Lamson Park.

WHAT A NIGHT BACK IN MARCH
In the previous meeting with McNeese State in March at Lamson Park, the Ragin' Cajuns erased a 4-3 deficit in the bottom of the seventh on an RBI single by Lexie Elkins (second rally of the night; trailed 3-1 earlier). Emily Vincent kept the Cowgirls in the game, tossing 167 pitches over eight-plus innings before being relieved in the ninth. Taylor Terrio delivered a bases loaded walk-off single for the Ragin' Cajuns in the bottom of the ninth.

CHALLENGING FOES
Including McNeese State, six of the last seven Ragin' Cajuns opponents have entered the matchup with 20-plus victories. The Cowgirls are the second 30-win team Louisiana has faced in the past five days (No. 1 Florida).

HOME ON THE HORIZON
The No. 7-ranked Ragin' Cajuns will be at Lamson Park this weekend (April 23-24) hosting Appalachian State in a Sun Belt Conference series. The Cajuns and Mountaineers will play a doubleheader on Saturday at 2 p.m. and single game on Sunday at 12 p.m.

STURDY STEWART
Alex Stewart held No. 1 Florida to three earned runs in both of her starts last weekend in Gainesville. She has surrendered no more than three earned runs in all six starts vs. ranked foes.

STURDY STEWART (Part 2)
Alex Stewart has yielded 33 earned runs over 134 innings and has limited foes to three earned runs or less in 21 of 22 games started.

QUIETLY AT WORK
While the offense stands out in producing 7.58 runs per game and two-plus home runs per game, the Cajuns pitchers have worked their way into one of the nation's top units. The group ranks sixth nationally in ERA (1.92), has allowed five earned runs or more only twice (No. 5 Oregon and No. 1 Florida), and handcuffed foes to a .216 batting average.

QUIETLY AT WORK (Part 2)
Haley Hayden (.349, 6 HR, 35 RBI) has reached 40 hits for the third straight season. In doing so, she's pieced together nine different hit streaks and has gone the entire season without back-to-back hitless outings. She has hit safely in 29 of 38 games.

WISE BEYOND HER YEARS
Kara Gremillion finished 4-for-7 in the series at No. 1 Florida, tops in hits among the Ragin' Cajuns roster. Gremillion is now 7-for-18 (.389) vs. ranked teams in her collegiate debut season.

CRAIGHTON CRANKS 'EM OUT
Aleah Craighton tops the Cajuns with 25 extra base hits (10 doubles, 1 triple, 14 home runs) out of her 40 hits total (63 percent). She's reached 25 extra baggers a second straight year (26 in 2015).

ONE LAST HOMECOMING
For senior Sara Corbello, Wednesday's game at McNeese State marks the final trip to her hometown to compete as a collegian. Corbello, who prepped at Lake Charles-based Barbe High School, last played in her hometown on Feb. 20, 2013 when the Cajuns defeated the Cowgirls, 5-1.

THE TIES THAT BIND...SOFTBALL THAT IS
Longtime friends and high school teammates Sara Corbello (Louisiana) and Taylor Goree (McNeese State) step onto the softball diamond together for possibly the final time as collegiate opponents. The duo started playing softball together at age 11 and competed together at Barbe High School in Lake Charles before taking their separate paths in college.

SEND 'EM IN SANDERS
DJ Sanders posted multiple RBI in each game of the Sun Belt Conference series at Georgia State. That increased her season multiple-RBI total to a team-leading 12 and her career figure to 20.

NEARING TWO GRAND
Shellie Landry joins Lexie Elkins and DJ Sanders in multiple-RBI games with 12. Landry enters the week's action just five RBI shy of collecting her 200th career tally.

MIGHTY BATS
Just how powerful is the Ragin' Cajuns offense as a collective unit? The team has hit at least one home run in 29 of 38 games, tallying multiple home runs 22 times (had multiple home runs in each game in three straight weekend series). Seven different players have hit at least six home runs.

THE GOLD STANDARD
The Ragin' Cajuns have belted 78 home runs in 38 contests for an average of 2.05 per game, which leads the nation. In 2015, UL produced a nation-best 2.15 home runs per game.

STOPPING 'EM IN THEIR TRACKS
The Cajuns' pitching staff has held foes to two runs or less in 26 of 38 games (25-1 record). In back-to-back Sun Belt series against Troy and Texas State, the staff yielded no more than two runs. Opponents have surpassed five runs only three times (Feb. 19 vs. Oregon; March 13 vs. South Alabama; April 16 at Florida).

A BAND OF HEROES
Lexie Elkins hit five home runs in the season-opening weekend in Gulf Shores. Kelsey Vincent tallied 12 RBI the weekend of Feb. 25-28. DJ Sanders hit four home runs and posted a series-high seven RBI at Southern Miss. Aleah Craighton hit key home runs in the South Alabama sweep, the second straight weekend she homered twice in both games of a doubleheader. Shellie Landry had a game-winning RBI and momentum-shifting single vs. South Alabama. Taylor Terrio slapped a walk-off single into left field to secure a 5-4 win in nine innings over McNeese State. Craighton (at UTA) and Landry (at Troy) both recently homered three times in a doubleheader. Sara Corbello homered each game of the Troy and Texas State series. Sanders homered both games of the doubleheader at Georgia State, both time providing the winning runs. All proof that the Ragin' Cajuns batting lineup can have any one given player deliver key performances.

THE STRETCH RUN
Three weeks remain in the 2016 collegiate softball regular season. As positioning for seeding in the NCAA Tournament begins, Louisiana sits at No. 7 in the latest NCAA RPI rankings. Also, the careers of seniors Sara Corbello, Lexie Elkins, Gabby Felps, Shellie Landry, Meagan Thomas and Kelsey Vincent begins to near completion (Senior Day is Sunday, May 8 at Lamson Park).

LOUISIANA-MCNEESE SERIES
Series Record: Louisiana leads 98-24
In Lafayette: Louisiana leads 54-9
In Lake Charles: Louisiana leads 37-13
Neutral: Louisiana leads 7-2
Current Streak: Louisiana won 8
Last Meeting: 3/16/16 at Lamson Park
(Louisiana 5, McNeese State 4 - 9 inn.)

Series Notes
Second oldest series in program history (122 meetings) trailing only ULM (126)...Louisiana has won the last eight meetings, a streak which began on April 14, 2010 in Lake Charles...Since 1991, when UL led series 21-20, Cajuns have won 77 of 81 meetings to take command of the series
(won 38 straight from 1994 to 2004)...Louisiana's 11-3 win in five innings in last season's Ragin'
Cajuns Invitational finale snapped a string of seven straight reuglation-length matchups...The Ragin' Cajuns have won the last five meetings at Cowgirl Diamond...First meeting in Lake Charles since Feb. 20, 2013...Programs have met once in NCAA postseason play, a 3-0 Cajuns win in an NCAA Regional held at Lamson Park in May 1994.

Last Meeting (March 16, 2016 - Lamson Park)
The Ragin' Cajuns erased a 4-3 deficit in the seventh inning on a one-out RBI single by Lexie Elkins, forging extra innings, and eventually outlasted visiting McNeese State in nine innings. McNeese's Emily Vincent, who logged eight-plus innings and tossed 167 pitches, escaped a bases-loaded jam with Elkins at the plate in the 8th inning to extend the game to the ninth frame. Kelsey Vincent, Aleah Craighton and DJ Sanders all drew walks for Louisiana in the ninth to load the bases, then Taylor Terrio slapped a walk-off single off the top of McNeese third baseman Erika Piancastelli's glove to give the Ragin' Cajuns the victory.

Last Meeting in Lake Charles (Feb. 20, 2013)
The Ragin' Cajuns wasted no time getting on the board, striking with four runs in the first inning en route to a 5-1 triumph. Brianna Cherry (solo) and Shellie Landry (three-run) both homered in the first inning explosion. Jordan Wallace tossed a complete game, allowed just four hits and struck out a season-high 13 batters. McNeese scored its lone run in the bottom of the first off an RBI by Taylor Goree. Bianca Lilly was the losing pitcher for the Cowgirls after giving up four runs on three hits in 1/3 of an inning. Jamie Allred relieved Lilly and allowed seven hits, one run and struck out 10.

DIAMOND NOTES
#PickMeUp: Brittany Nollkamper (catcher) and Taylor Terrio (right field) have filled in for Lexie Elkins (thumb) and Kassidy Zeringue (ankle) who are recovering from injuries.

#CatchMeIfYouCan: Louisiana is 27-0 when scoring first. In those 27 wins, the Ragin' Cajuns have relinquished the lead only twice (4th inn. of Game 1 vs. TTU; 5th inn of Game 2 at GSU).

#DefenseBacksThemUp: The Ragin' Cajuns defense has committed only 29 errors in 944 chances and had multiple errors only six times through 38 games.

#HeyItsHaley: With 44 runs, 42 hits and 35 RBI, Haley Hayden is on pace to reach 60 runs, 60 hits and 50 RBI for the third straight season.

#StrengthInNumbers: Every starter in the Ragin' Cajuns lineup has posted at least 20 base hits. The numbers range from 25 to 44. The team average of .336 ranks No. 12 in the NCAA stats.

#KsForKylee: Kylee Jo Trahan has posted at least eight strikeouts in five of her eight starts that she pitched at least five innings. She tied her career-high of 10 vs. Rutgers (Feb. 26).

#SteadyAlex: Alex Stewart began the season with 35 2/3 consecutive walk-free innings. She's yielded only 20 walks in 134 innings pitched through her first 25 appearances (22 starts).

#GrowingUpFast: Freshman Kara Gremillion has displayed poise at the plate and the results have backed that up. Gremillion posted five doubles through her first seven collegiate hits, one of which broke open a scoreless game vs. No. 5 Oregon on Feb. 19. She's shined on defense as well, fielding all but three of 97 chances cleanly (44 PO, 50 A, 3 E, .969 FLD%). She had a string of 21 straight error-free games from Feb. 26 through April 23.

#NationalPower: Dating back to the start of the 2015 season, Louisiana has been in the Top 10 of the NFCA rankings in 22 of the past 25 polls and Top 10 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll in 21 of the past 25 polls. Since the completion of opening weekend this season, the Ragin' Cajuns have been inside the Top 10 each of the last 10 weeks.

#FamilyTies: Being members of the Ragin' Cajuns softball team has added meaning for three families. Sisters Shellie Landry and Jaime Landry are competing together collegiately for the first time (Jaime redshirted in 2015). Kara Gremillion is following in the footsteps of her aunts, Stacie Gremillion and Sandy Percle, who donned the Cajuns uniform in the mid-1980s. And, Chelsea Lotief joins her father, head coach Michael Lotief, in the dugout while suiting up for the Ragin' Cajuns like her mother, Stefni (Whitton) Lotief, did from 1987-90.

#GeauxCajuns

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Players Mentioned

Sara Corbello

Aleah Craighton

Lexie Elkins

Gabby Felps

Kara Gremillion

Haley Hayden

Jaime Landry

Shellie Landry

Chelsea Lotief

Brittany Nollkamper

DJ Sanders

Alex Stewart

Taylor Terrio

Meagan Thomas

Kylee Jo Trahan

Kelsey Vincent

Jordan Wallace

Kassidy Zeringue

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