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UL - Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns softball team heads north to Monroe to close out the 2009 regular season with a three-game Sun Belt Conference series against in-state rival ULM. The two teams open up the series with a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon starting at 2:00 p.m. before concluding the series with a single game Sunday afternoon at noon.
The Cajuns enter the weekend ranked No. 22 according to the USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll. UL is also receiving votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll.
The Cajuns softball team improved to 16-5 in Sun Belt Conference play with a perfect 3-0 record last weekend with an SBC series sweep of North Texas. With the sweep, the Ragin’ Cajuns clinched their eighth regular season Sun Belt Conference Title.
For the second week in a row, Donna Bourgeois and Christi Orgeron have earned Sun Belt Conference Pitcher and Player of the Week honors for their efforts on the week. Joining the duo this week was FIU’s Kasey Barrett who shared Pitcher of the Week accolades with Bourgeois.
Bourgeois helped the Cajuns to a perfect 4-0 record on the week, making three appearances, en route to a 3-0 record. The sophomore won all three games she pitched against North Texas. She scattered six hits over 14.0 innings surrendering just a pair of earned runs for a 1.00 ERA. Bourgeois struck out 17 batters on the weekend and held opponents to a .130 batting average in three games. She made two starts with one complete game and a combined shutout to her credit. The Lafayette native had at least five strikeouts in each appearance.
Orgeron hit .615 on the week, going 8-for-13 with four extra base hits. The redshirt freshman hit three home runs on the week to go along with a double. She scored six runs in four games, while driving in seven more runs. The New Orleans native had a 1.385 slugging percentage and a .667 on-base percentage. Orgeron hit safely in every game this week, scoring and driving in at least one run in each game. She had multiple hits in three games of the four games on the week; multiple RBI in three games; and multiple runs scored in two games. Orgeron also drew a pair of walks on the week.
Offensively, Karli Hubbard leads the Ragin’ Cajuns with a .456 batting average. The senior has recorded hits in 40 of the 46 games Louisiana has played this season. She has reached base safely in 43 games this season. Hubbard has scored 38 runs on the year and has stolen 19 bases. Hubbard enters the week two stolen base shy of tying Stacie Gremillion (1984-87) for fifth all-time in career steals with 50.
Melissa Verde enters the weekend with a team-best 41 walks. The junior is fourth all-time in the Cajuns’ record books for career walks with 113. Verde is just 14 walks shy of tying former UL standout Brittany Bryant (2003-06).
Gabriele Bridges currently leads the team with 13 home runs. In addition, the sophomore has belted out two grand slams on the year and boasts a team-best .618 slugging percentage.
Scouting the Opposition
ULM continues its longest standing rivalry with any school it has ever played. The Warhawks and Ragin’ Cajuns will meet for the 103rd time in the first game on Saturday. Louisiana holds a 77-25 advantage in the all-time series and won the most recent match up between the two schools in last season’s Sun Belt Tournament championship game, 13-0.
The Warhawks’ losing skid continued to five games as they were swept by FIU. Roxane Cassel continued her impressive freshman season with her first-career home run, but ULM was outscored 16-7 in the three-game series.
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