Farewell to Lady Cajun Seniors

#6# Brittany Bryant
#8# Krystal Lewallen
#1##5# Ashley Kirchberg
#1##9# Ashley Evans
#2##2# Danyele Gomez
#2##5# Leslie Pierce

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<table bgcolor=#eaeaea> <td> <font color=#000000> <blockquote> <p align=justify>Brittany Bryant: (2B, 5-8, Sr., Beaumont, Texas-West Brook High)

UL's all-time leader in career walks ... Currently hitting career-high .301 with 10 homers and a career-high 42 RBIs ... Has started all but two games at second base and recently moved into leadoff slot in batting order.

Lotief on Bryant: "She's been our second baseman since she got here as a freshman. When she came in, I'm not sure if she really believed in herself and thought she could play on this level, but she's continued to get better. She's the type that is never satisfied with what she did yesterday."

Ashley Evans: (RF, 5-7, Sr., West Monroe-W. Monroe)

Currently ranks fifth nationally in home runs (19) and fifth in UL career lists ... Two-time All-Sun Belt selection ... Hitting .327 with career-high 47 RBIs and has not committed an error this year.

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Lotief on Evans: "She's had to deal with a lot of injuries and nagging things, so this year is really the first chance she's had to show what she can do. She's done some big things for us, not just this year. She was in our first class, so she's held to a higher standard since she's been here longer."

Danyele Gomez: (LF, 5-9, Sr., Metairie-Cabrini High)

UL's all-time career leader in homers and RBI ... Set single-season homer record this year (25) which also is the nation's top mark ... No. 5 all-time on NCAA career home run list with 78 and could move up ... Two-time All-American and returning Sun Belt Player of the Year.

Lotief on Gomez: "She came as a freshman and played a lot of positions, and now she's developed into one of the premier hitters in the country. If you're fifth all-time, that says a lot. She's a fierce competitor, and she battles every day to improve herself and make herself a better player. That's why she's so successful."

Ashley Kirchberg: (P, 5-7, Sr., Houston, Texas-Galveston College)

Three-time Sun Belt Pitcher of the Week this season and ranks among national leaders in winning percentage (19-1) ... Has 11 shutouts and threw her first career no-hitter last weekend against North Texas ... Opponents hitting only .160 against her this year.

Lotief on Kirchberg: "She came in from a junior college and had a lot of work to do, but she's continued to develop as a pitcher and in her understanding of the game. She's been a huge factor for us this year with how far she's come and how much she's been able to improve."

Krystal Lewallen: (P, 5-7, Sr., Crestwood, Ky.-Northern Kentucky)

Transferred for senior season after stellar three-year career at Northern Kentucky, where she was national Division II Player of the Year ... Ranks among national leaders in wins (21-7) and has eight shutouts along with 1.72 ERA.

Lotief on Lewallen: "She came in from a highly-successful Division II program and stepped right in here, which was tough to do in joining a new team and new surroundings for one year. But she accepted the challenge, she trusted this program and her teammates in helping her chase goals in her senior year."

Leslie Pierce: (C, 5-10, Sr., Pasadena, Texas-Sam Rayburn High)

Four-year letterman who has served as a backup catcher and designated hitter along with providing power in a pinch-hit role ... Started 24 games in first two seasons, mostly as DH, and hit .346 last season.

Lotief on Pierce: "She is the consummate team player. She's played a role for us, and done a lot of the things that a lot of people don't want to do ... help pen the pitchers and help them improve, get the pinch hits. She's worked very hard for four years and she's been a big part of a very successful program."





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<! 2006 senior class leaves legacy of broken records. ->

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&nbsp; The six seniors on this year's University of Louisiana softball team make up what coach Stefni Lotief calls a very special class.
It has also been a very productive one.

The Class of '06 includes the program's all-time home-run and RBI producer, a three-year starter who ranks among the top five homer hitters, a four-year infield starter who has reached base more than any Cajun in recent memory, and both halves of this year's pitching tandem that has combined for 40 wins and a 1.70 ERA.

The class has also been responsible for an overall record of 199-38 over the past four years.

But Lotief looks less at the numbers and more at the individuals.

"The biggest thing to me is how much they've matured as people," Lotief said. "I still remember when most of them came here as freshmen, and now they're all on track to graduate.

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Dan McDonald
dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com
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"The process they've gone through has been one of going out there day in and day out, trying to get better and continuing to learn, and trusting us as coaches to help them chase their dreams."

Those dreams have included Sun Belt Conference regular-season and tournament titles every season and trips to the NCAA Tournament each year, including a Women's College World Series journey in 2003 for the foursome that came as freshmen - Danyele Gomez, Ashley Evans, Brittany Bryant and Leslie Pierce.

They'll be trying to add to those dreams in the final home games of the 2006 season today, a Sun Belt Conference doubleheader against Western Kentucky beginning at noon at Lamson Park. "Senior Day" festivities begin at approximately 11:50 a.m. with Gomez, Evans, Bryant, Pierce and pitchers Ashley Kirchberg and Krystal Lewallen honored.

"They know that today's not their last games," Lotief said. "We've got another series, the conference tournament and hopefully a regional. But it may be the last chance they get to enjoy the atmosphere here and be a part of how much people here care about the softball program."

Evans, a product of West Monroe, was the first to arrive in the 2002 season. She had an injury redshirt season in 2003 when she broke her hand early in the season, but has started for three years since returning for 2004.

"She was in our first real class since we started so late," said Lotief, who took over the program in time for the 2001 season. "We've sort of held her to a higher standard because of that."

Gomez, Bryant and Pierce came one year later out of high school, with Gomez and Bryant playing virtually every game since their freshman seasons and Pierce seeing extensive action as a backup catcher and pinch hitter.

Kirchberg came through the junior college route, arriving for the 2005 season after two years at Galveston College. Lewallen joined the UL program for her senior season after three years at Division II Northern Kentucky, where she was the D-II national player of the year in 2005.

"For most of them, their college careers will be the biggest stage they'll play on," Lotief said. "Some may have a chance to play more, and the others will take a different path. But all of them are going to be special in whatever community they wind up in."





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