<table bgcolor=#eaeaea> <td> <font color=#000000> <blockquote> <p align=justify>
UL — Former University of Louisiana catcher Joy Webre said she was completely content when she put her degree in chemistry to good use, working as a lab analyst for more than a year at a local company.
“I loved my job, but I felt something was missing,” Webre said. “I had thought about coaching because I liked teaching children and that’s what I wanted to do.”
So when UL co-head coaches Michael and Stefni Lotief approached Webre about an opportunity to return to the program as an assistant coach for the 2008 season, it didn’t take the former Denham Springs standout very long to consider.
<center><p><a href="http://www.2theadvocate.com/sports/19312489.html?showAll=y&c=y" target="_blank">The rest of the story</a>
By WILLIAM WEATHERS
Advocate sportswriter
<!--
Webre’s first season back at her alma mater has gone from truly successful to memorable when UL-Lafayette advanced to its fifth Women’s College World Series with a super regional series win over Houston. That sends the Ragin’ Cajuns into a first-round matchup with top-seeded Florida at noon Thursday at ASA’s Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City.
“It’s everything and more than I expected,” Webre said. “I’m grateful to have this opportunity to come back and coach here. I’m enjoying every minute of it and it’s been extremely fulfilling.”
Webre played catcher at UL-Lafayette from 2002-05, playing in 248 games. Webre still holds the school’s record for total chances (2,004) and putouts (1,818) in a career and her .990 fielding percentage is tied for third best.
Webre now has the rare distinction of being able to coach and participate in the World Series. She was the starting catcher for the Cajuns when they advanced in ’03 and lost to Texas and UCLA.
“It was a fantastic feeling as a player,” said Webre, “but it’s even more rewarding I think as a coach because you’re helping kids fulfill their dreams and do what they’ve always dreamed about doing when they were younger.”
Been there, won that
There are few, if any, venues that UL-Lafayette freshman pitcher Ashley Brignac has yet to experience during an ultra-successful career that includes summer travel ball and a stint with the United States’ Junior National team.
That includes ASA’s Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, where Brignac has yet to lose a game and where she believes she’s pitched five or six times. She helped the New Orleans Voodoo U18 team to the a championship during ASA gold nationals in July of 2006.
Now Brignac could find herself starting in UL-Lafayette’s opening-round game of the College World Series against top-seeded Florida when the two teams meet at noon Thursday.
“Going there in the summer and going to the College World Series is going to be a totally different atmosphere,” Brignac said. “Once you get on the field, it’s like another game. You don’t really pay attention to the outside of the fence. You’re on the field playing a game you’ve played since you were eight years old. It’s another game with a few more people there to watch.”
Brignac, the winning pitcher in Sunday’s 4-0 super regional-clinching win over Houston, brings in an impressive 30-6 record, 1.38 earned run average and 308 strikeouts in 213.1 innings. She’s also recorded 13 shutouts and saved three games.
“To be able to walk on that field is something special,” Brignac said. “Going to the World Series, it’s going to be another memory that can never be taken away from you. It’s something that’s special and meaningful to be able to be on that field.”
Something in common
UL-Lafayette is one of five of the eight teams in the World Series field that took part in an exhibition against the U.S. Olympic team during the spring.
The Cajuns dropped a 1-0 game in nine innings March 20 at the Judy Garman Invitational in Fullerton, Calif., and 2-0 decision April 19 in Sulphur.
The U.S. team, which is 37-1 in its preparation for the Beijing games, went 5-1 against the teams that qualified for the World Series, losing only 1-0 to Virginia Tech, whose pitcher Angela Tincher fired a no-hitter at the defending gold medalists. They also defeated Arizona (16-0), Alabama (7-0) and UCLA (8-2).
-->
</td> </table>
