The Book: Lady Cajuns softball 2007 Season

[HelmutVII]

17,000 students is a good size University

Granted 17,000 is a "good size" University. My point was that for a University with only 17,000 students in a relatively small media market like Lafayette, we are fortunate that we have the radio coverage of athletic events that we have. As an example, FIU has 38,000 students witha 586 Million dollar operating budget and FAU has 26,000 students with a 240 million dollar budget. Two universities that not many people around here in Louisiana knew existed before they became members of the Sun Belt conference. Given their size, I don't think they have the local or national media coverage that we do. I don't think they have a $7 million dollar athletic budget either.

[LuLu]

9 seems like an odd number, is that the actual minimum number of teams you must have to receive the bid? To me it would seem like 8 teams would be a more logical number.

There will only be 8 teams allowed in the Conference Tournament in May.

The SunBelt Commissioner, W. Waters, addressed this question in the February edition of Ask The Commissioner. In 2008, the Conference Champs will receive a bid. See his interview.

http://www.sunbeltsports.org/ViewArt.RIBER_CONTENT=

[DaddyCajun]

Anyone know todays softball score b/t Louisiana's Ladies and Nichols?

DaddyCajun


ps Happy Valentines Ladies!!!

[CajunCherokee]

Don't know about the first game, but here is the live stat link for the second game:

http://www.louisiana.edu/softball/xlive.htm

[CajunCherokee]

Cajuns won the first game 6-1.

Have their hands full in the second game. Down 6-1 in bottom of the 5th.

[ulforlife]

Cajuns won the first game 6-1.

Have their hands full in the second game. Down 6-1 in bottom of the 5th.

this is no good, but you guys have to remember, its a young team. dont look for us to go undefeated all year. the best is yet to come

[NewsCopy]

THIBODAUX – Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns softball team split a doubleheader with Nicholls State here Wednesday afternoon taking a 6-1 victory in the opener before falling 6-1 to the Colonels in the nightcap. Freshman Brittany Cuevas posted a season-high 12 strikeouts cruising through the Nicholls lineup in game 1. She held the Colonels to three hits over seven innings. Holly Tankersley led the Cajuns (7-1) with two RBI with both of them coming in a two-run first inning that staked the Cajuns to an early 2-0 lead. Codi Runyan and Lacey Bertucci were both hit by a pitch with one out and then Melissa Verde drew a walk off Nicholls starter Krystalin Ensminger. Tankersley stepped up and ripped a single though the middle of the infield to plate Runyan and pinch runner Courtney Trahan for a quick 2-0 lead. Cuevas worked around a leadoff single by the Colonels Kat Harrell and began to take control in the second inning. She struck out the side in the second frame and proceeded to hold Nicholls without a hit through the fifth inning. UL began to pull away in the middle frames getting one run in the third and an additional two in the fourth inning. Bertucci started the fourth with a single though the left side. Verde then drew her second walk of the game advancing Bertucci to second base. Tankersley hit a grounder to shortstop forcing Verde out at second base and then the relay throw to first base got away from Amy Thibodeaux allowing Bertucci to score from third base for a 3-0 lead. Lana Bowers was hit by an Ensminger offering and moved to second on a passed ball. Karli Hubbard walked and another passed ball advanced Bowers to third and Hubbard to second base. Vallie Gaspard grounded out to Ensminger and as the throw was being made to first base Bowers broke toward home plate. Nicholls catcher Jacqueline Pacheco dropped the ball dropped the ball on the tag play of Bowers allowing her to score making it 4-0. Runyan then grounded out to second base to score Hubbard from third base giving UL a 5-0 advantage. A Bertucci RBI single in the sixth inning plated the Cajuns’ final run of the opener. For all intents and purposes Cuevas went through the game without a blemish. The only run Nicholls scored was on a Kodi Butler double in the fifth inning that scored Rachel Pugh who had reached base on a Runyan error to start the inning. Cuevas improved to 4-0 with the victory and the Cajuns ran their season-opening win streak to seven games. The Cajuns’ streak came to a close in the nightcap as the Colonels scored six runs on nine hits off of Tankersley to post a 6-1 victory of their own. Butler entered the pitcher’s circle for the Colonels (1-6) and kept the Cajuns without a hit through the first three innings. The Colonels took advantage of a pair of infield singles and a single into shallow right field to load the bases with one out in the bottom of the first inning. Thibodeaux then plated two runs when she singled up the middle. Tankersley settled down and held the Colonels to two singles in the second and third innings. The Ragin’ Cajuns got one of the runs back in the fourth inning. A two-out single to left field by Bertucci gave UL its first hit of the night. Tankersley then hit a chopped an infield single that was fielded by Pacheco. The throw, which wasn’t necessary as Tankersley was a few short steps away from the bag before the ball was picked up, sailed high out of the reach of first baseman Gabby Lemaire allowing pinch runner Courtney Trahan to motor all the way home to score cutting the Nicholls lead to 2-1. Just when the Cajuns drew one run closer, the Colonels posted four runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to set up the final margin. A one-out double by Leah Bland coupled with an infield single by Harrell and an error which allowed Butler to reach base quickly loaded the bases. The flood gates opened when Leah Peterson laced a triple into the right field corner to clear the bases and increase the Nicholls lead to 5-1. Cuevas relieved Tankersley in the circle and put the clamps down on the Colonels offense. She retired eight consecutive Nicholls batters in relief. The Cajuns offense couldn’t muster a comeback, though, as Butler retired nine of the final 10 batters that she faced from the fifth through seventh innings. The Ragin’ Cajuns return to action on Friday, Feb. 16 as they begin play in the Ragin’ Cajuns Invitational at Alfred and Helen Lamson Ragin’ Cajuns Softball Park. UL will meet Iowa State at 2 p.m., and then Ole Miss at 4:30 p.m. The Ragin’ Cajuns Invitational will run Friday-Sunday, Feb. 16-18 at Lamson Park. LOUISIANA SI

[Zeebart21]

WHEW!!! guys get use to it! With 15 talented freshmen there will be major peaks, and major valleys this year.

Z.

[El Sidonio]

I'm just curious as to why a 14th (or is it 13th) ranked team can go 7-0, only to lose 6-1 to an unranked team? Was it nerves acting up in the younger girls (aka- almost the whole team)? Was it the middle of the week, too many other distractions, away game disadvantage? What?

To me it just doesn't make much sense. Either way, our team will continue to kick butt.

God Bless

GEAUX UL LADY CAJUNS SOFTBALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

[Turner]

That's Baseball err I mean Softball

[shof]

That's Baseball err I mean Softball

I agree. If ever there was a sport when on any given day (or night) either team can win it's baseball and softball. Sweeps are tough. Keeping your focus in double-headers is tough sometimes too. Certainly that comes with maturity and experience, and we are young. I wondered if winning game 1 so easily might have led to a little mental let-down for game 2. Top teams don't let that happen; but like I said, youth could have played a part in that happening last night. Chalk it up to more learning, etc.

Hope the ladies turn in a nice weekend. I'll be in town this weekend so will try to drop by for a game or 2.

Shof

[Zeebart21]

I'm just curious as to why a 14th (or is it 13th) ranked team can go 7-0, only to lose 6-1 to an unranked team? Was it nerves acting up in the younger girls (aka- almost the whole team)? Was it the middle of the week, too many other distractions, away game disadvantage? What?

To me it just doesn't make much sense. Either way, our team will continue to kick butt.

God Bless

GEAUX UL LADY CAJUNS SOFTBALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Sid.15 freshmen on a squad of 22 total C'mon man do not crack on the softball team.

Last weekend was no fluke. 18-19 yr olds are up and down. Watch as they become 20-21 yr olds. They will kick everyones a.ss.

Z.

[CRAWFISH61]

It is also pitching. Brittany Cuevas pitched the first game and Holly Tankersly pitched the second. Holly got rocked. I think we will depend on Cuevas much of this season.

[shof]

It is also pitching. Brittany Cuevas pitched the first game and Holly Tankersly pitched the second. Holly got rocked. I think we will depend on Cuevas much of this season.

I recall reading about Cuevas last year and followed her a little into the Texas State Tournament. Figured she'd be good. I didn't want to get into "individual performances" WRT why we may have lost the other night; but I share your opinion that Brittany may become a more regular starter for us. Also, can't help but think ahead a little to next year with Brignac coming in. Boy, won't that be fun! Anyway, its about who IS here right now and I still think this will be a very good squad.

[NewsCopy]

Ah, the perils of a youthful team .and the perils of living up to incredibly high expectations. UL's 13th (ESPN.com/USA Softball) and 16th-ranked (USA Today/NFCA) softball squad blitzed through six games last weekend in its own Louisiana Classics Tournament, winning three games by run rule and beating the nation's 12th-ranked team twice by a combined 19-6 score. Wednesday afternoon, the Cajuns made it 7-0 with a 6-1 first-game win at Nicholls State, but then fell 6-1 in the nightcap. Some fans were aghast. "We're going to have games where things aren't going to go our way," said UL co-head coach Michael Lotief. "We're young, and we're still learning, but we have the potential to be very good." The rest of the story Dan McDonald dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com