Softball Wraps Up Home Slate Hosting Coastal Carolina in Sun Belt Series

Louisiana (35-11, 17-4 Sun Belt) vs. Coastal Carolina (18-24, 4-14 Sun Belt)
Dates: Friday-Saturday, April 29-30, 2022
Location: Lafayette, La.
Stadium: Yvette Girouard Field at Lamson Park (2,790)
Series Schedule:
Fri., April 29 – 6:00 p.m. (CDT)
Sat., April 30 (DH) – 2:00 and 4:30 p.m. (CDT)

MEDIA INFORMATION
Season Stats (PDF): Louisiana | Coastal Carolina
Rosters: Louisiana | Coastal Carolina
Schedule/Results: Louisiana | Coastal Carolina
Television: ESPN+ | Talent: Dan McDonald, PxP; Brennan Breaux and Yvette Girouard, analyst
Radio: ESPN Lafayette 103.3 FM // 1420 AM | Talent: Steve Peloquin, PxP; Bobby Neveaux, analyst
Live Stats: CajunStats.com
Live Video: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
Live Audio: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
Live Stats: Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
Twitter Updates: @RaginCajunsSB

TEAM INFORMATON
Louisiana RAGIN' CAJUNS
NFCA: RV | USA: RV | SBA: -- | D1S: -- | RPI: 33
Head Coach: Gerry Glasco (Illinois, '80)
Record at Louisiana: 193-51 (5th season)
Career Record: Same
Team Slash Line (AVG / SLG / OBP): .358 / .603 / .434
Team ERA: 2.18

Coastal Carolina CHANTICLEERS
NFCA: -- | USA: -- | SBA: -- | D1S: -- | RPI: 159
Head Coach: Kelly Green (Northwestern, '96)
Record at Coastal Carolina: 393-295 (13th season)
Career Record: 739-429 (23rd season)
Team Slash Line (AVG / SLG / OBP): .259 / .470 / .332
Team ERA: 4.56

THE BASICS
>> The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Softball team (35-11, 17-4 Sun Belt) wraps up its 2022 home schedule at Yvette Girouard Field at Lamson Park hosting Coastal Carolina (18-24, 4-14 Sun Belt) in a three-game Sun Belt Conference series from Friday-Saturday, April 29-30 for Senior Weekend.

>> The team's seniors, Melissa Mayeux, Ari Quiñones and Raina O'Neal, are being recognized on Saturday in a pregame ceremony.

>> Louisiana seeks to maintain its lead in the Sun Belt Conference standings. The Ragin' Cajuns are in first place for the second straight week, gaining the conference lead following a three-game series sweep of South Alabama from April 14-15 in Mobile.

>> The Ragin' Cajuns are coming off another signature midweek win, topping Houston 5-1 on Wednesday, April 27 as the season's final homestand got underway. The UH win marked Louisiana's fourth consecutive non-conference victory over the last two weeks, following up wins over Big 10 foes Illinois and Indiana.

>> With the Houston win, Louisiana has now won 20 of its past 24 games dating back to March 16.

>> Wednesday's win over Houston stretched the Ragin' Cajuns home winning streak at Lamson Park to seven games. The streak began with Sun Belt sweeps of UT Arlington (March 25-27) and Troy (April 8-10).

>> Louisiana and Coastal Carolina meet at Lamson Park for the first time since the 2019 season – a series which also occurred on Senior Weekend.

>> Louisiana carries an active streak of 71 consecutive Sun Belt Conference series won into the Coastal Carolina series – the nation's longest active streak of consecutive conference series won, which dates back to March 2013.

A LOOK AT THE SERIES
Series Record: Louisiana leads, 15-2
Sun Belt Regular Season Games: Louisiana leads, 13-2
Last Meeting: 5/2/21 // LA 10, CCU 2 (5) (Conway, S.C.)
At Lamson Park: Louisiana leads, 6-0
Last Time at Lamson Park: 4/28/19 // LA 3, CCU 2
Streak: Louisiana, +5

>> Series began with Coastal Carolina's entry into the Sun Belt Conference in 2017.
>> Ragin' Cajuns swept the previous two series held at Lamson Park (2017, 2019).
>> Louisiana won the rubber game in trips to Conway in 2018 and 2020, keeping alive the streak of consecutive Sun Belt series won.
>> Two programs met five times in 2019 including the SBC Tournament title game, then in the lone conference series played in 2020.
>> Louisiana posted its first-ever sweep in Conway during the 2021 series meeting, culminating with clinching the Sun Belt regular season title with a 10-2 (5 inn.) win in the series finale.

THE FINAL CURTAIN CALL
>> Louisiana is putting the finishing touches on the 38th season of play at Lamson Park which first hosted games back in 1985.

>> Entering the weekend at 18-5 at Lamson Park, the Ragin' Cajuns are two wins shy of posting the first 20-win season at home since 2019.

>> Melissa Mayeux, Ari Quiñones and Raina O'Neal are set to play their final home games as a Ragin' Cajun.

THE PATH TO THE TOP
>> The journey to the top of the Sun Belt Conference standings saw the Ragin' Cajuns post an 8-1 combined record over the three series against the Sun Belt's other 2021 NCAA Tournament participants: Texas State (2-1), Troy (3-0) and South Alabama (3-0).

>> The Ragin' Cajuns used the exact same formula against the Sun Belt's three challengers (an 8-1 mark) to capture the 2021 regular season championship.

SCOREBOARD WATCHING
>> Louisiana controls its own destiny – even in the loss column with South Alabama (20-17, 12-4 Sun Belt) and extra games in hand due to schedule cancellations – in the race for the SBC's regular season title.

>> The Ragin' Cajuns simply need to match the Jaguars' results the rest of the way to secure the conference championship.

>> Since the Sun Belt began regular season play in 2001, the Ragin' Cajuns program has claimed 17 of the 20 regular season titles.

PEAKING AT THE RIGHT TIME
>> Since the second half of season began with the March 25-27 UT Arlington series, Louisiana has turned in an 18-3 mark.

>> As a result, the Ragin' Cajuns enter the Coastal Carolina series outing a season-high 24 games above the .500 mark.

>> The pitching staff's ERA in the second half, currently at 1.54, has experienced a turnaround. During the first half of the season (Feb. 11-March 20) the staff ERA was 2.77.

POSITIVE GAINS
>> The strong second half run has raised Louisiana's RPI from No. 57 back on March 21 to the current standing at No. 33.

DO THE KARLY KRUSH
>> Karly Heath launched five home runs during the team's week-long Spring Break trip, capped off by homering each day and totaling four home runs in the Sun Belt series at App State, earning her the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week award on Tuesday, April 26.

>> The home run production lifted Heath into the team lead with 11 home runs, moving her into a tie with Sarah Hudek (in 2019) for the most by an individual in the Glasco era.

>> The week's performance continued a season-long trend of extra base hits for Heath, who has seen 17 of her 24 total hits go for extra bases (4 doubles, 2 triples, 11 home runs).

BEAST MODE
>> The Ragin' Cajuns offense posted a .375 batting average with 53 runs scored off of 63 base hits on the Spring Break road trip (April 18-24).

>> The unit recorded double-digit base hits in five of the six games on the trip and totaled 20 extra base hits (8 doubles, 1 triple, 11 home runs).

STRIKEOUT ARTISTS
>> The combined 10 strikeouts from Kandra Lamb and Sam Landry on Sunday, April 24 at App State gave the Ragin' Cajuns pitching staff double-digit strikeouts in all three games of the series. The unit collected 37 strikeouts of App State batters over the 20 innings worked.

>> The pitching staff totaled 65 strikeouts over the 39 innings worked on the Spring Break road trip (April 18-24): Meghan Schorman (28), Kandra Lamb (23) and Sam Landry (14).

>> For the season, each member of the Ragin' Cajuns trio has tallied 100-plus strikeouts: Kandra Lamb (131), Sam Landry (126) and Meghan Schorman (126).

STRIKEOUT ARTISTS (Part 2)
>> The 12 strikeouts combined between Meghan Schorman and Kandra Lamb marked the pitching staff's fourth consecutive game and eighth time in the past 10 outings with double-digit punchouts.

THREE'S COMPANY (IN THE CIRCLE)
>> Since April 1, the Ragin' Cajuns pitching trio of Sam Landry, Kandra Lamb and Meghan Schorman has recorded a 1.56 ERA and combined to limit foes to a .166 average, 26 earned runs and 70 hits over 117 innings.

>> A recurring theme has been to see each pitcher throughout a weekend series – both in starting roles and relief roles. Since April 1, each one has thrown at least 31 innings in the circle.

>> Sam Landry (15-3, 2.23 ERA overall) began conference play undefeated (8-0) through her first 10 starts. She leads the staff in wins both overall (15) and in Sun Belt play (9).

>> Dating back to April 6 at McNeese, Kandra Lamb has yielded just 13 base hits and four earned runs over her last 29-2/3 innings of work. She is 2-0 with a 0.94 ERA and has held foes to a .129 average during the stretch.

>> Meghan Schorman has shined in relief efforts throughout the entire season. Entering the App State series, she has worked 48-2/3 innings in relief recording a 6-1 record and 1.58 ERA while limiting foes to just 35 base hits and 11 earned runs.

IT TAKES A VILLAGE
>> There are 12 different players who have combined to give Louisiana its 57 home runs. Eight members of the group have posted multiple home runs.

>> A total of 15 Ragin' Cajuns have produced double digits in base hits. There are seven players who have posted 30-plus base hits led by Stormy Kotzelnick's team-leading 54 base hits.

>> The two RBI picked up by Sophie Piskos on Wednesday vs. Houston allowed her to join the 30 RBI-club. She's the fifth Ragin' Cajun to reach the mark, joining Stormy Kotzelnick (35), Karly Heath (34), Alexa Langeliers (32) and Jourdyn Campbell (31).

NUMBERS TO KNEAUX
.191: The Ragin' Cajuns pitching staff has limited the opposition to a .191 average. Opponents hit sub-.200, combined, over the first five weeks of the season and have been back below the mark since the Troy series (April 8-10).
2.18: Team ERA for Louisiana which leads the Sun Belt Conference and ranks Top 25 nationally.
2.50: Louisiana enters the weekend ranked No. 4 nationally averaging 2.50 stolen bases per game (115 swipes in 46 games).
5: Of the six base hits Karly Heath posted on the Spring Break road trip, five were home runs.
6: The six triples posted by Stormy Kotzelnick are two shy of the program record (8) set by Lana Jimenez both in 1995 and 1997.
9: Prior to the App State series, the Ragin' Cajuns tallied a season-high, nine-game winning streak. The streak, which ran from April 8-20, coincided with the return of Alexa Langeliers from injury.
11: The 11 home runs hit by Karly Heath tie her with Sarah Hudek (11 in 2019) for the most by an individual in the Glasco era.
15: Freshman Sam Landry leads Louisiana's pitching staff in overall wins (15), and is also the leader in Sun Belt play (9 wins).
18-3: The Ragin' Cajuns record in the second half of the season (since March 25).
18: The Ragin' Cajuns offense has generated double-digit runs in 18 games (17-1 record). Louisiana ranks Top 5 nationally averaging 7.2 runs per game.
20: The team total of 20 triples produced marks the most by a Louisiana Softball squad since the exact amount was recorded in 1998.
21: Team-leading RBI total in Sun Belt Conference play for Sophie Piskos.
23: Louisiana's pitching staff has yielded only 23 home runs to the opposition through 295 innings.
24: The Ragin' Cajuns offense has produced double-digit hits in 24 games.
25: Quick strikes are not uncommon for the Ragin' Cajuns who have scored in the first inning in 25 of the season's 46 games.
25: Stormy Kotzelnick leads the Ragin' Cajuns with 25 extra base hits (13 doubles, 6 triples, 6 home runs).
27: Team-leading stolen base total for Maddie Hayden (15 swipes in SBC play).
28: Meghan Schorman recorded 28 strikeouts over the 14 innings she pitched on the Spring Break road trip.
30-2: Louisiana's record when scoring first.
.358: Louisiana ranks second nationally with a .358 team batting average, trailing only Oklahoma (.380). The figure has been .350 or above the entire season.
.363: The Ragin' Cajuns' batting average in Sun Belt Conference play leading to an average of 7.6 runs per game.
57: Home runs generated by the Ragin' Cajuns offense, the third straight completed season of the Glasco era surpassing 50 home runs (2019, 2021, 2022).
71%: Of the 24 total hits posted by Karly Heath, she's seen 71 percent go for extra bases (17 out of 24).
71: Nation-leading total of consecutive conference series won for Louisiana, a streak which began in March 2013, that was extended with the series win at App State.
113: Number of strikeouts Louisiana's pitching staff has posted over the last 10 games (67 innings of play). The staff is averaging 11.8 strikeouts per seven during the stretch.
159-51: Louisiana's runs-scored advantage over the opposition in Sun Belt Conference play.
155/142: The Ragin' Cajuns hitters have drawn more walks (155) than they have struck out (142).
165: Total number of extra base hits produced by Louisiana's offense (88 doubles, 20 triples, 57 home runs).
193: Number of wins for Gerry Glasco as a collegiate head coach and at Louisiana.
3,319: When the Coastal Carolina series begins on Friday, April 29 at Lamson Park, a total of 3,319 days will have passed since Louisiana's streak of 71 consecutive Sun Belt Conference series won began back on March 29, 2013.

DIAMOND NOTES

Louisiana was preseason ranked in all four major national polls: No. 19 in Softball America, No. 22 in D1Softball and No. 23 in the ESPN/USA Softball poll.
Louisiana, the two-time defending Sun Belt regular-season and tournament champion, was selected as the favorite to win the 2022 Sun Belt Conference softball title in a vote of the league's 10 head coaches.
Kandra Lamb, Raina O'Neal and Sophie Piskos were voted onto the 2022 Sun Belt Conference Softball Preseason All-Conference Team.
Kandra Lamb represented Louisiana Softball on the Extra Inning Softball Elite 100 list and Sam Landry was named on of D1Softball's Top 75 Impact Freshman. The duo was ranked among D1Softball's Top 150 Players.
With the exception of Sophie Piskos at catcher, Raina O'Neal returning in center field and Taylor Roman at first base, the Ragin' Cajuns are using a new starter at every other position.
For Gerry Glasco, his fifth season in Louisiana has a different look and feel: the team largely consists of players he recruited and went from being one of the oldest in the nation to one of the youngest. The Ragin' Cajuns went from a roster in 2021 that was predominantly sixth-year and fifth-year players to a group in 2022 that includes eight freshmen and 12 total newcomers.
Louisiana is in a transition year in the pitching circle following the departure of former All-American and two-time Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year Summer Ellyson. After working alongside Ellyson last season to lead the Ragin' Cajuns to repeat champions in the Sun Belt, Kandra Lamb takes her turn as the pitching staff's leader.
The 2022 season has brought the much-anticipated debut for Louisiana's 2021 recruiting class, which was ranked No. 1 by Extra Inning Softball and includes the No. 4-rated recruit in pitcher Sam Landry and the No. 15-ranked prospect in Louisiana native Maddie Hayden.

ABOUT LOUISIANA
During the 2021 season, the Ragin' Cajuns reached the 40-win mark for the 22nd consecutive completed season, closing out the regular season winning 25 of the final 29 games, and advanced to Championship Sunday of the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional. Louisiana repeated as Sun Belt Conference regular season and tournament champions highlighted by an 11-1 record, regular season and tournament combined, against the league's other three NCAA Tournament participants (Texas State, Troy and South Alabama).

Moving forward into the 2022 season, Louisiana is armed with the nation's No. 1-ranked recruiting class of the 2021 recruits by Extra Inning Softball including the No. 4-rated recruit in pitcher Sam Landry and No. 15-rated recruit in outfielder Maddie Hayden, has first team All-Sun Belt performer Kandra Lamb back in the circle seeking to pick up where Summer Ellyson left off, and welcomes back Raina O'Neal and Taylor Roman and their power bats back to the lineup.

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.

Fans are encouraged to stay engaged with the Ragin' Cajuns by downloading the #GeauxCajuns app. Click here for iOS/Apple platforms and here for Android platforms.

-- RaginCajuns.com --

Softball Wraps Up Home Slate Hosting Coastal Carolina in Sun Belt Series

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jourdyn Campbell

Summer Ellyson

Maddie Hayden

Karly Heath

Stormy Kotzelnick

Kandra Lamb

Sam Landry

Alexa Langeliers

Melissa Mayeux

Raina O'Neal

Sophie Piskos

Taylor Roman

Meghan Schorman

Footer

University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics

Softball Wraps Up Home Slate Hosting Coastal Carolina in Sun Belt Series

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jourdyn Campbell

Summer Ellyson

Maddie Hayden

Karly Heath

Stormy Kotzelnick

Kandra Lamb

Sam Landry

Alexa Langeliers

Melissa Mayeux

Raina O'Neal

Sophie Piskos

Taylor Roman

Meghan Schorman

Related Videos

Footer