Softball Preview: Southeastern Louisiana

Game 35: No. 16 Louisiana (29-5) vs. Southeastern Louisiana (19-19)
Tuesday, Apr. 11 • 6 p.m. (CDT) • Lamson Park (2,790) • Lafayette, La.

PROMOTIONS
Faculty/Staff Appreciation
- UL Lafayette faculty and staff members with a valid Cajun Card ID will be provided a complimentary general admission ticket at the Lamson Park Ticket Booth.
- A general admission guest ticket can also be purchased for $4.
- Professors of Ragin' Cajuns Softball team members are invited to stand alongside team members for the national anthem.
Weekday Work Perk
- Business cards will be collected at the fans services table and one lucky winner will be chosen for a prize.

Radio: Talk Radio 960-AM • Talent: Steve Peloquin, PxP
TV: None
Live Stats: CajunStats.com
Live Video (FREE): Ragin' Cajuns All-Access
Rosters: Louisiana | Southeastern Louisiana
Schedules: Louisiana | Southeastern Louisiana
Season Stats: Louisiana | Southeastern Louisiana
Ragin' Cajuns Twitter: @ULRaginCajuns | @RaginCajunsSB
Opponents Twitter: @slulionsoftball

THE COACHES
Louisiana: Michael Lotief (Louisiana, 1985)
Career Record: 713-173-1 (15th season) Record at Louisiana: Same

Southeastern Louisiana: Rick Fremin (Belhaven, 1999)
Career Record: 366-279 (12th season) Record at SLU: 42-51 (2nd season)

5 THINGS TO KNOW
1 – 16th-ranked Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Softball is riding a season-high, 12-game winning streak. It's the fourth-longest active streak in the nation trailing only Arizona (25), Florida State (24) and Tennessee (14).

2 – Louisiana and Southeastern Louisiana are meeting for the first time since February 2004. The Ragin' Cajuns have won the last 29 matchups with the Lions.

3 – The Ragin' Cajuns defense has been at its finest the past two weeks. The squad played error-free against Troy to extend the string of error-free games to six (145 consecutive chances fielded cleanly.)

4 – It's the second midweek game of the season for Louisiana. The squad fell 5-4 to then-No. 15 Baylor back on March 9 in the lone prior midweek outing.

5 – The Ragin' Cajuns offense, which leads the nation in scoring and home runs, has produced multiple home runs in 16 in the past 20 games. The squad has hit 59 home runs through 34 games.

FOR STARTERS
16th-ranked Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Softball, winners of 12 straight dating back to March 18, remains at Lamson Park for one more game before traveling to San Marcos, Texas for a key Sun Belt series at Texas State. The Ragin' Cajuns are hosting in-state foe Southeastern Louisiana in a 6 p.m. single game on Tuesday. It's Faculty/Staff Appreciation Night with all UL Lafayette employees showing a valid Cajun Card ID receiving a complimentary general admission ticket.

RENEWING ACQUAINTANCES
The Ragin' Cajuns and Lions meeting on the softball diamond is nothing new as there have been 46 all-time meetings between the two programs dating back to March 1986. However, Tuesday's contest marks the first matchup between the two programs since SLU visited Lamson Park in February 2004 for the Mardi Gras Classic.

HIGH-PERFORMANCE MACHINE
Louisiana's offense is hitting .350 during the current 12-game winning streak. The Ragin' Cajuns have generated six or more runs in all but two of the games and outscored foes 100-23. The squad has strung together 110 base hits (38 for extra bases) and reached double digits in five of the last seven games.

PREMIER SLUGGER
DJ Sanders is the nation's leader in home runs (19) and slugging percentage (1.019). Of her 41 hits, a total of 28 have gone for extra bases (9 doubles, 19 homers).

REACHING NEW HEIGHTS
With two home runs in the Troy series, DJ Sanders increased her season total to 19 which represents a new career-high figure. The Cajuns shortstop surpassed her previous high of 18 set just last season.

BEYOND THE NUMBERS
The offensive statistics are what pop out when you glance at DJ Sanders' stat line. However, head coach Michael Lotief points out that her impact extends to defense and leadership qualities. "It's the total package that is impressive, not just home runs." Lotief said. "She's making some incredible plays that are not easy to make and she's making them look easy. Unlike in years past, she's become vocal and is becoming a leader helping our younger kids feel comfortable playing the game."

Sanders' defensive statistics back up Lotief's claim. She's committed only four errors over 94 chances (35 PO, 55 A, 4 E) and sports a .957 fielding percentage. She's enters the Southeastern game having played error-free in nine straight games (since South Alabama series opener) and has just two errors since opening weekend (Feb. 10-12).

HERE COMES CRAIGHTON
The Ragin' Cajuns are heading for the stretch run of the regular season and it appears that Aleah Craighton is finding her swing. Pitched around the entire first month of the season (23 walks alone in February) she's now seeing more pitches and beginning once again become a deadly weapon in the Cajuns arsenal. Last weekend against Troy, Craighton hit three home runs – one in each game of the series – as part of a five-hit effort. She hit .625 (5-for-8), scored multiple runs each game in tallying seven runs total, posted a series-high six RBI and collected 14 total bases off of Trojans pitching.

HERE COMES CRAIGHTON (Part 2)
The home run production against Troy increased Aleah Craighton's season home run total to 10. It's the third straight season she's reached double digits. The Cajuns outfielder has homered seven times in the past 13 games.

STEWART'S STRONGHOLD
Alex Stewart has yielded just four runs and 14 hits over her past 25 innings of work dating back to the March 25-26 series at South Alabama.

STEWART'S STRONGHOLD (Part 2)
In her two starts last weekend, both combined shutouts, Alex Stewart limited Troy to just one hit, struck out 12 and faced only two over the minimum in seven innings of work. She wound up striking out 12 of the 23 total batters she faced and retired the Trojans in order in five of the seven innings. Dating back to the 2016 series in Troy, Alex Stewart has held the Trojans scoreless, allowed just eight hits and struck out 28 over 19 innings pitched.

RELIABLE PERFORMANCE
The Ragin' Cajuns pitching staff has yielded no more than five runs in a single game through the first 34 games. The unit has kept the opposition two runs or less in 22 of those 34 outings, tossed 10 shutouts and ranks 23rd nationally with a 1.82 ERA (one of only 27 staffs with a sub-2.00 ERA).

MAGIC NUMBER
Louisiana is undefeated (25-0) when scoring at least six runs. The Ragin' Cajuns have produced six runs or more in 25 of the season's 34 games.

DANIELLA DELIVERS
Daniella Chavez is once again providing the Ragin' Cajuns with key contributions from the middle of the lineup. The No. 5-hole hitter ended the Troy series with four RBI, and when added to her six RBI from the Georgia Southern series has produced 10 RBI the last two weekends. Earlier this season, the Kansas transfer provided 21 RBI over a span of 15 games from Feb. 23-Mar. 18.

Chavez ranks second on the team and Top 5 in the Sun Belt with 37 RBI. She ranks Top 30 nationally in RBI per game (1.09). Being a run producer is nothing new for the Kansas transfer, as she piled up 122 RBI over her two-year stay with the Jayhawks.

ASCENDING TO THE TOP
Haley Hayden enters the week with 226 career runs scored, leaving her five runs shy of passing Jerie Alexander (230 runs from 1999-2002) for second place on the program's career list. After Alexander, the march to catching Nerissa Myers' record total 243 runs scored from 2010-13 ensues. The odds are in her favor: in her previous three seasons she reached 60 runs.

SWITCH AT SEVEN
Corin Voinchè has filled the No. 7 spot in the lineup the past two weekends and solidified the position with productive plate appearances. The senior infielder, who started at first base, picked up four hits each of the last two weekend series (Georgia Southern, Troy). She hit .400 (4-of-10), drew a pair of walks and struck out only once at Georgia Southern, then followed up with a 4-for-9 showing that included a home run and double against Troy. Voinchè has hit .421 (8-for-19), doubled twice, homered and provided five RBI over the past two weekends.

Voinchè previously saw time at the spot during the UTA series (Mar. 18-19). In Sun Belt play she's given Louisiana solid plate appearances, delivering nine hits, drawing four walks and striking out only twice in 33 appearances.

GROUP EFFORT
While the bulk of the innings pitched have been by Alyssa Denham (93.0 IP) and Alex Stewart (71.1 IP) one cannot overlook the role the remaining pitchers on staff contribute. From Macey Smith and Kylee Jo Trahan finishing a complete game shutout at Georgia Southern to Summer Ellyson working the final two innings of Game 2 vs. Troy, the Ragin' Cajuns are getting valuable rest for Denham and Stewart to buy them more innings come postseason play.

UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
The Ragin' Cajuns travel to San Marcos, Texas, for a three-game Sun Belt series at Texas State that begins with a 5 p.m. doubleheader on Good Friday and wraps up Saturday with a 2 p.m. single game. The series features two of the three teams in the Sun Belt (Georgia State also included) in the race for the regular season championship. Louisiana currently sits first in the league standings at 12-0, while Texas State is two games back in second place with an 11-3 mark. With the App State series cancellation resulting in the league champion being determined by percentage points this season, the results at Bobcat Field should play a key factor in the race.

LOUISIANA-SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA SERIES
Series Record: Louisiana leads 45-1
In Lafayette: Louisiana leads 24-1
In Hammond, La.: Louisiana leads 20-0
Neutral Site: Louisiana leads 1-0
Current Streak: Louisiana won 29
Last Meeting: 2/21/04 at Lamson Park
(Louisiana 3, SLU 2)

Last 10 Series Meetings
3/25/98         LA 3, SLU 2               Hammond, La.
3/25/98         LA 12, SLU 0             Hammond, La.
4/2/98           LA 14, SLU 2             Lamson Park
4/2/98           LA 5, SLU 2   Lamson Park
3/9/99           LA 11, SLU 1             Hammond, La.
3/9/99           LA 10, SLU 1             Hammond, La.
4/15/99         LA 9, SLU 1   Lamson Park
4/15/99         LA 9, SLU 1               Lamson Park
2/16/03         LA 9, SLU 3   Monroe, La. (ULM Mardi Gras Classics)
2/21/04         LA 3, SLU 2 (10)       Lamson Park

Series Notes
First met in March 1986 in a doubleheader at Lamson Park…The Ragin' Cajuns and Lions would go on to play midweek, home-and-home doubleheaders for the majority of the years from 1986-1999…Cajuns have won the last 29 meetings between the two schools since SLU's lone victory on March 22, 1991…Programs have met only twice previously in the Lotief era: Feb. 2003 at ULM's Mardi Gras Classic and Feb. 2004 at Lamson Park…

Last Meeting (Feb. 21, 2004 – Lamson Park)
Danyele Gomez broke up a tie that had lasted for the previous six innings when she lifted a home run into the left field bleachers in the 10th inning giving No. 10 Louisiana a 3-2 victory over Southeastern Louisiana in the Mardi Gras Classic at Lamson Park. Junior pitcher Brooke Mitchell, pitching in relief of Cajuns starter Holly Tankersley, tossed six innings of no-hit softball striking out 15 of the 19 SLU hitters she faced en route to picking up the win in relief. Louisiana built a 2-0 lead early in the contest on solo home runs by Gomez (1st inning) and Hillary Guidry (3rd inning). The Lions drew even with two unearned runs in the bottom half of the third inning, then reliever Summer Delaneuville tamed the Cajuns bats until Gomez's heroics in the 10th inning.

#GeauxCajuns

Softball Preview: Southeastern Louisiana

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Players Mentioned

Aleah Craighton

Alyssa Denham

Summer Ellyson

Haley Hayden

DJ Sanders

Macey Smith

Alex Stewart

Kylee Jo Trahan

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University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics

Softball Preview: Southeastern Louisiana

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Aleah Craighton

Alyssa Denham

Summer Ellyson

Haley Hayden

DJ Sanders

Macey Smith

Alex Stewart

Kylee Jo Trahan

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