University of Louisiana at Lafayette Athletics
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns
UCF
Ragin' Cajuns Close Out Florida Road Trip in Orlando
2/20/2023 7:54:00 PM | Softball
Louisiana and UCF convene after both traverse the rigors of Clearwater Invitational
Date: Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023
Location: Orlando, Fla.
Stadium: UCF Softball Complex (600)
Game Time: 5:00 p.m. (CST)
MEDIA INFORMATION
Season Stats (PDF): Louisiana | UCF
Rosters: Louisiana | UCF
Schedule/Results: Louisiana | UCF
Television: ESPN+ |Â Talent: Eric Lopez, PxP; Francesca Enea, analyst
Radio: The Goat 103.3 FM // 1420 AM | Talent: Jay Walker, PxP; Bobby Neveaux, analyst
Live Stats: CajunStats.com
Live Coverage Links: Video | Radio | Stats
Twitter Updates:Â @RaginCajunsSB
TEAM INFORMATION
LOUISIANA Ragin' Cajuns
NFCA: RV |Â USA: 22 |Â SBA: 20 |Â D1S: 21
Head Coach: Gerry Glasco (Illinois, '80)
Record at Louisiana: 210-58 (6th season)
Career Record: Same
Team Slash Line (AVG / SLG / OBP): .320 / .526 / .408
Team ERA: 4.13
UCF Knights
NFCA: 20 |Â USA: 20 |Â SBA: 18 |Â D1S: 19
Head Coach: Cindy Ball-Malone (Pacific, '02)
Record at UCF: 150-64-2 (5th season)
Career Record: 249-180-2 (9th season)
Team Slash Line (AVG / SLG / OBP): .285 / .507 / .327
Team ERA: 3.68
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LEADING OFF
>> The No. 22-ranked Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Softball concludes its seven-game road in the state of Florida with a Mardi Gras day visit to No. 20 UCF. The matchup with the Knights is scheduled to begin at 5:00 p.m. (CST) from the UCF Softball Complex.
>> The Ragin' Cajuns (5-5) and Knights (5-5) tilt comes just two days after both teams finished off a rigorous slate of games at the TaxAct Clearwater Invitational at the Eddie C. Moore Complex in Clearwater, Florida.
>> Tuesday contest marks the first-ever meeting between Louisiana and UCF on the softball diamond.
>> Louisiana, which will be playing its seventh game in six days while on the Florida trip, seeks to bounce back from a five-game losing skid at the TaxAct Clearwater Invitational. The Ragin' Cajuns finished with a 1-5 mark in Clearwater against a slate that featured four Top 10 teams. Three of the team's five defeats (Michigan, Arkansas and UCLA) were by one run.Â
>> The winner of the midweek matchup moves its record above the .500 mark.
>> For the Ragin' Cajuns, the stop at the UCF Softball Complex marks the team's first true road contest of the 2023 season.Â
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THIS 'N THAT
>> The Clearwater-opening 4-1 win over Indiana marked Louisiana's 1,800th all-time win in program history - 5th most in NCAA D1 Softball history (joining UCLA, Arizona, Florida State, Texas A&M).
>> The win over Indiana gave Louisiana a 5-0 start under Gerry Glasco for the third consecutive season and fifth time in six years.
>> Louisiana is batting .320 through the first 10 games paced by four players with 25-plus plate appearances who are batting at or above the mark (Valdez, Heath, Hayden and Campbell). Leading the way is freshman Victoria Valdez who is hitting .370 with four doubles, a home run and a team-high tying eight (8) RBI.
>> Nine (9) different players have posted at least one home run for the Ragin' Cajuns. Seven of them collected their home run during Opening Weekend at Lamson Park, then Stormy Kotzelnick and Jourdyn Campbell joined the group last weekend at the TaxAct Clearwater Invitational.
>> Louisiana's pitching arsenal gained another arm in Clearwater with the debut of freshman lefthander Chloe Riassetto. She worked 6-1/3 innings highlighted by a stretch of four consecutive scoreless innings pitched in the team's tournament finale vs. No. 7 Florida State.Â
>> Meghan Schorman led the pitching staff with a 2.81 ERA and 17 total strikeouts during the TaxAct Clearwater Invitational. She pitched 6-2/3 innings of scoreless softball with seven strikeouts while scattering five hits before Indiana broke through with two outs in the seventh in the tournament opener, then on Saturday dazzled in relief vs. No. 4 Arkansas with four innings of two-hit, scoreless softball that featured six strikeouts.
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DIAMOND NOTES
>> Louisiana was preseason ranked in three major national polls: No. 20 in D1Softball, No. 22 in Softball America and No. 24 in the ESPN/USA Softball poll. The Ragin' Cajuns were receiving votes in the USA Today/NFCA poll, third in line from No. 25.
>> Louisiana was the unanimous selection as the favorite to win the 2023 Sun Belt Conference title in a vote of the league's 12 head coaches.
>> In the pitcher's circle, the Ragin' Cajuns returned all 47 victories posted in the 2022 season headlined by the trio of Sam Landry (20), Meghan Schorman (17) and Kandra Lamb (9) who combined for all but one of the triumphs.
>> A year ago, Louisiana's pitching staff ranked Top 25 nationally in ERA (2.17), shutouts (16), strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.97) and was one of only three units in Division I Softball to amass 500-plus strikeouts (504).
>>Â Last spring, the Cajuns utilized a lineup that featured at most two upperclassmen and as many as five freshmen designed to acclimate the youthful group to the collegiate game. Fast forward to 2023, Louisiana is expected to have a more experienced group taking the field each time out.
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NUMBERS TO KNEAUX
5: The Ragin' Cajuns offense has produced at least five base hits in all but two of the season's first 10 games.Â
5-1: Louisiana's record when scoring the game's first run.
9: There are nine (9) different players who have posted at least one home run for the Ragin' Cajuns.
17: Number of non-conference games against Power 5 competition (includes six matchups at the TaxAct Clearwater Invitational).
1,800: Louisiana's number of all-time program victories (1981-present) which ranks No. 5 in NCAA D1 Softball history.
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UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
After a three-day break, the Ragin' Cajuns resume play with the LSU Crossover event from Saturday-Sunday, February 25-26 followed by a Monday (February 27) evening meeting with Ole Miss at Lamson Park.
Louisiana starts the LSU Crossover in Baton Rouge on Saturday (Feb. 25) facing Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at 12:00 p.m. and host-LSU at approximately 2:30 p.m. at Tiger Park. The Ragin' Cajuns meet the same two opponents at the exact same times on Sunday (Feb. 26) at Yvette Girouard Field at Lamson Park to complete the tournament.
The Monday matchup with Ole Miss is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. and it concludes a brief two-day, three-game homestand at Lamson Park.
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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.
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