University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics

Friday, February 21
Birmingham, Ala.
1:30 p.m.

Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns

vs

Oklahoma State

Game Coverage:
Listen Live Stats
Sarah Hudek vs North Dakota 2.14.20

First Weekend Trip Provides Tough Tests for Louisiana Softball

2/20/2020 12:41:00 PM | Softball

@RaginCajunsSB to face Oklahoma State and Ole Miss twice at UAB Blazer Classic

No. 9 Louisiana (7-2) at UAB Blazer Classic
Dates: Friday-Sunday, Feb. 21-23, 2020
Location: Birmingham, Ala.
Stadium: Mary Bowers Field (1,010)
Louisiana's Schedule:
            Fri., Feb. 21 – No. 8 Oklahoma State, 1:30 p.m. (CST)
            Sat., Feb. 22 – No. 8 Oklahoma State, 10 a.m. (CST)
            Sat., Feb. 22 – Ole Miss, 12:30 p.m. (CST)
            Sun., Feb. 23 – Ole Miss, 11 a.m. (CST)
            Sun., Feb. 23 – UAB, 1 p.m. (CST)
 
MEDIA INFORMATION
Season Stats: Louisiana | Oklahoma State | UAB | Ole Miss
Streaming Video (UAB game only): Blazer Vision
Radio: ESPN 1420-AM | Talent: Steve Peloquin, PxP; Bobby Neveaux, analyst
Live Stats: UABSBStats
Twitter Updates: @RaginCajunsSB
 
SETTING THE SCENE
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Softball, ranked as high as No. 9 in the national polls, competes on the road for an entire weekend for the first time in the 2020 season, participating in the UAB Blazer Classic at Mary Bowers Field in Birmingham, Ala.
 
During the weekend event, the Ragin' Cajuns are set to face nationally ranked Oklahoma State and Ole Miss twice each.
 
No. 9 Louisiana (7-2) opens play in the Blazer Classic on Friday, Feb. 21 with matchups against No. 8 OSU (6-3) at 12:30 p.m. and host-UAB (8-3) at 5:30 p.m.
 
A doubleheader with OSU and Ole Miss (2-8), beginning at 10 a.m., follows on Saturday, Feb. 22, then the Ragin' Cajuns wrap up their stay in Birmingham on Sunday, Feb. 23 with an 11 a.m. matchup against Ole Miss.
 
The Ragin' Cajuns are in the midst of a stretch – that began with last weekend's home-and-home against No. 7 Louisiana State – in which the squad plays 11 games against Power 5 teams that were all preseason ranked, and all appeared in the 2019 NCAA Super Regionals.
 
Louisiana is currently 1-1 is this key phase of its pre-conference schedule after splitting the two games with Louisiana State last weekend, claiming a 2-1 win at Lamson Park on Saturday before being edged 4-3 in Baton Rouge on Sunday.
 
It's the first-ever visit to UAB's Mary Bowers Field for the Ragin' Cajuns. It's also the last tournament setting of the non-conference portion of the schedule, as in the final weekend of non-conference action the squad faces Florida in a three-game series.
 
QUICK HITS
  • Last Sunday's game at No. 7 Louisiana State kicked off a 12-game road swing for the Ragin' Cajuns which runs through March 1. The next home contest is a midweek game vs. Campbell on March 4.
  • It will be a rematch of the 2019 NCAA Oxford Regional finals when No. 9 Louisiana and Ole Miss meet in the UAB Blazer Classic. The Ragin' Cajuns posted a 2-0 shutout in the winner's bracket final, however on Championship Sunday the Rebels claimed a pair of wins to advance to the super regional round.
  • Louisiana and Oklahoma State are set to meet for the first time since the 2003 NCAA Regional matchup in Fullerton, Calif. It's the first regular season meeting with the Cowgirls since March 1998 (also played in Fullerton, Calif.)
  • The lone prior meeting with UAB occurred in February 2016 at the Sand Dollar Classic in Foley, Ala.
  • Reigning All-American and Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year Summer Ellyson collected her 11th career Sun Belt Pitcher of the Week award on Tuesday, a reward for a week in which she tossed a perfect game (Samford), struck out at least six batters each of her three starts and limited foes to just six hits over 17 innings.
  • Redshirt sophomore Kendall Talley shined in her debut as leadoff hitter last week, turning in a .571 average (8-for-14), with a double, triple and five RBI. Talley was 5-for-7 when leading off an inning.
  • Inserting Kendall Talley into the lineup caused a shift in the Ragin' Cajuns defensive alignment, with Talley moving into left field causing Sarah Hudek to relocate to first base.
  • Eight different Ragin' Cajuns have posted at least one home run. Four individuals – Julie Rawls, Raina O'Neal, Sarah Hudek and Melissa Mayeux – have already hit multiple home runs.
  • The All-American pitching duo of Summer Ellyson and Megan Kleist has combined to limit foes to eight earned runs and 30 base hits over 54-2/3 innings. Combined, they've issued only 10 walks and struck out 76.
  • Louisiana has utilized nine different lineups in as many games played, a credit to the depth inside the team's dugout.
  • The Ragin' Cajuns have received run production from numerous individuals, most recently six different batters collecting an RBI last Tuesday vs. Lamar. Through nine games, 10 individuals have already generated multiple-RBI.
  • Kaitlyn Alderink showed she could be the next "go-to" base stealer, after swiping three bags on Opening Day. She presently tops the squad with a 5-for-5 showing in stolen bases.
  • One of the most sure-handed shortstops in the nation, Alissa Dalton has played error-free in 34 of the past 35 games dating back to last season. In that stretch she has fielded 77 of the past 78 chances that have come her way.
  • A mere two weeks into his third season as a collegiate head coach, Gerry Glasco collected his 100th career win. The milestone triumph came Feb. 15 vs. Louisiana State at Lamson Park. Glasco's career marks stands at 100-24.
  • Louisiana is in the midst of the 40th season in program history, one founded by NFCA Hall of Famer Yvette Girouard back in 1981. At 1,690 all-time wins, Louisiana ranks No. 5 among all-time NCAA D1 Softball's winningest programs.
  • The Ragin' Cajuns were preseason ranked in the Top 10 for the sixth time since 2000. Starting off at No. 8 in the D1Softball and Softball America polls, it's was the program's highest preseason nod since 2009.
UP NEXT
No. 9 Louisiana departs on Monday, Feb. 24 for a week-long trip which features five contests all against Top 10 nationally ranked squads.
 
The Ragin' Cajuns first stop is Austin, Texas, for a Mardi Gras day doubleheader at Texas on Tuesday, Feb. 25. Action begins at 4:30 p.m. live on the Longhorn Network.
 
Following the twinbill with the Longhorns, the squad makes its way to Gainesville, Fla., for a three-game weekend series with Florida scheduled for Friday-Sunday, Feb. 28-March 1 at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium. The series will be broadcast on SEC Network Plus.
 
FOLLOW THE RAGIN' CAJUNS
Follow the Ragin' Cajuns on Facebook (/RaginCajunsSB), Twitter (@RaginCajunsSB) and Instagram (@Louisiana.SB) to stay up-to-date on all that is happening with Louisiana Softball.
 
-- RaginCajuns.com --
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Players Mentioned

22

Alissa Dalton

SS
/ Softball
9

Summer Ellyson

P
/ Softball
35

Sarah Hudek

OF
/ Softball
11

Megan Kleist

P
/ Softball
21

Melissa Mayeux

IF
/ Softball
2

Raina O'Neal

OF
/ Softball
23

Julie Rawls

C/OF
/ Softball
16

Kendall Talley

OF
/ Softball

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