The Book: 2003 Softball

[NewsCopy]

Lady Cajuns maintain mastery of Middle Tennessee.

LOUISIANA La. — The beat goes on for Louisiana’s Lady Cajuns.

Coach Stefni Lotief’s squad combined 15 hits with a solid 1-2 punch at pitcher to sweep Middle Tennessee 10-0, 6-3 on Sunday to finish a four-game weekend conquest in the Sun Belt Conference opener for both teams.

The eighth and ninth straight wins of the season gave Louisiana (24-5, 4-0) its 15th and 16th victories over MT without a loss, as well as a ninth straight Sun Belt twinbill sweep and 18 league victories in a row.

In addition, the Lady Cajuns will be riding a 16-game home win streak when they return to action next weekend against Sun Belt foe New Mexico State.

Freshman Brittany Bryant wielded a big stick for the Cajuns in the opener, going 2-for-3 and driving in five runs, while Becky McMurtry scored three times and Summar Lapeyrouse and Crystal George each collected a pair of RBI.

Sophomore Brooke Mitchell improved to 11-4 with four innings of work, while Afton Thoms finished up the mercy rule-shortened opener with a perfect frame.

The rest of the story

South Louisiana Publishing
Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com

[1stTake]

The Lady Cajuns ROCK

[NewsCopy]

Senior All-American extended her season-high hitting streak to 11 games
and scored nine runs as Cajuns went 6-0 last week

LOUISIANA La. - For the second time this season, Louisiana's 25th-ranked Lady Cajun softball All-American third baseman Becky McMurtry was named the Sun Belt Conference Hitter of the Week, announced by the league office Monday afternoon.

McMurtry was 7-for-12 with nine runs scored, two doubles, one home run and six RBI last week as the Cajuns swept doubleheaders from La.-Monroe April 2 and Middle Tennessee on April 5 and April 6 giving Louisiana a 6-0 mark.

The North Platte, Neb., native picked up at least one hit in each game last week, extending her season-high hitting streak to 11 games.

McMurtry has collected at least one hit in every game since the March 14 Florida State game in which she hit the game-winning home run. During the streak, she is batting 15-for-26 (.577 avg.) with five doubles, three home runs, 11 runs scored and 11 RBI.

She is currently the Cajuns leading hitter with a .421 average through 29 games. McMurtry leads the Cajuns in runs scored with 32 and is tied for tops in the Sun Belt in that category. Her batting average ranks second in the Sun Belt and her 11 doubles are second to Middle Tennessee's Cortney Mitchell.

McMurtry has recorded astronomical numbers in terms of slugging percentage and on-base percentage. Her slugging percentage is .882 while her on-base percentage climbed to .554 after this past week's action. She has walked 17 times and struck out just nine times in 101 plate appearances this season.

Last week her slugging percentage was 1.000 and her on-base percentage was .714. For the week she drew five walks and did not strike out once in 21 plate appearances.

McMurtry also played errorless ball allowing her to extend her streak of games without an error to 19 straight - a span of 59 chances. She has committed only four errors all season long in 100 chances for a .960 fielding percentage.

McMurtry was 5-for-9 over the weekend against Middle Tennessee with seven runs scored in the four-game set. She was 2-for-4 with four runs scored in Sunday's sweep of the Blue Raiders. She was 2-for-3 with three RBI, a home run and two runs scored in the ULM doubleheader.

Since joining Louisiana's softball program in 2002, McMurtry is hitting .410 (112-for-273) which would stand as a school record for career batting average if the season were to end today. She is chasing Tiffany Clark's .391 career mark. Last season McMurtry hit .406.

Her 32 runs scored this season give her 90 as a Ragin' Cajun and 146 for her four-year career (scored 56 runs in two seasons at Illinois State).

McMurtry and her Lady Cajun teammates will take a break from action this week as no midweek contests are scheduled.

The 25th-ranked Lady Cajuns will be back in action this weekend as they host New Mexico State (7-40, 0-4 Sun Belt) in battle of the first and last place teams in the Sun Belt Saturday and Sunday at Lady Cajun Park. The twinbills will begin at 1 p.m. each afternoon.

LOUISIANA SI

[NewsCopy]

Louisiana ranked No. 22 in ESPN poll.
Move up to No. 21 in NFCA rankings

LOUISIANA La. - Louisiana's Lady Cajun softball team is picking up steam on the playing field. They're also making strides in the rankings.

Louisiana's Lady Cajuns softball team gained significant ground in the USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches Association Top 25 poll and joined the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25, as both polls were released Tuesday afternoon.

The Cajuns (24-5, 4-0 Sun Belt) jumped four spots to No. 21 from the previous week in the NFCA poll in which they were ranked 25th. Louisiana earned 106 votes compared to 39 last week - a 67 point gain. It is the highest ranking for the Cajuns this season.

The Cajuns, who had been receiving votes throughout the season, entered the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll at No. 22. The Cajuns are tied with South Florida in the weekly poll which debuted this season. This week's ranking marks Louisiana's first in the newly formed poll.

Last week Louisiana went 6-0 with doubleheader sweeps of UL-Monroe and Middle Tennessee. The Cajuns opened Sun Belt play over the weekend, sweeping MT in four games to extend their season-high win streak to nine games and home win streak to 16.

Louisiana owns two wins over teams ranked in the Top 25. The Cajuns defeated No. 14 Florida State (30-9) 3-0 at the KIA Klassic and No. 17 Alabama (32-13) 2-0 at home on March 27. Louisiana also hung tough with No. 4 Oklahoma, limiting the Sooners to one hit and falling 1-0 on a sacrifice fly in the sixth inning.

No. 21 Louisiana will return to action on Saturday, April 12 in a 1 p.m. doubleheader against New Mexico State (7-40, 0-4 Sun Belt). The twinbill is the opening games of a four-game Sun Belt series with the Aggies. The series will conclude on Sunday at 1 p.m.

LOUISIANA SI

[NewsCopy]

The USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division I Top 25 is voted on by 23 NCAA Division I head coaches. Records are as of April 7.
(First Place votes are in parentheses.)

Rank Team             Record     Points     Last Week 

1. Arizona (23)         37-3       575          2

2 UCLA                  32-4       551          1

3. Washington           34-5-1     529          3

4. Oklahoma             32-6       495          4

5. Texas                29-7       470          5

6. California           32-9       460          7

7. Nebraska             28-9       448          6

8. Cal State Fullerton  25-12      406          9

9. DePaul               24-4       394         10

10. Georgia             39-7       377          8

11. LSU                 29-11      340         11

12. Arizona State       26-12      308         12

13. Michigan            21-8       276         15

14. Florida State       30-9       250         16

15. South Carolina      28-10      243         14

16. Stanford            28-14      234         13

17. Alabama             32-13      205         18

18. Texas A&M           28-13      181         19

19. Oklahoma State      27-9       177         17

20. Florida             31-11      149         24

21. Louisiana           24-5       106         25 

22. Oregon              18-11       83         21

23. South Florida       41-12       52         22

24. Illinois            24-8        50         NR

25. Ohio State          17-12       34         20

Dropped Out: Kansas

Others receiving votes: Southern Illinois 20, Tennessee 15, Oregon State 12, Northwestern 7, Kansas 6, Texas-Arlington 5, Massachusetts 4, Missouri 4, Southwest Texas 3, Iowa 3, Florida Atlantic 2. One other team (totaling one point) received votes but was only listed on one ballot.

LOUISIANA SI

[NewsCopy]

Louisiana's 21st-ranked Lady Cajuns softball team
entertains New Mexico State in Sun Belt series

LOUISIANA La. - Two teams positioned at different ends of the Sun Belt Conference softball spectrum meet this weekend for a four-game series at Lady Cajun Park beginning Saturday at 1 p.m.

Louisiana's first place, 21st-ranked Lady Cajun softball team which sports an overall record of 24-5 and SBC mark of 4-0 will play host to last place New Mexico State which features a 7-40 overall mark and is 0-4 in SBC play.

The Lady Cajuns will enter the weekend set riding a season-high nine-game winning streak and has won its last 16 outings within its friendly confines.

NMSU enters the series suffering through a seven game losing streak.

Louisiana leads the Sun Belt with an earned run average of 1.24 while NMSU is a conference worst 5.42.

The Cajuns batting average is second in the league at .277 while the Aggies are the only team hitting below .200, stuck at .193.

Louisiana is the best team in the Sun Belt fielding-wise and sports a .974 fielding percentage.

New Mexico State, meanwhile, has struggled defensively and sports a Sun Belt worst .920 fielding percentage and has committed 115 errors - 95 more than the Cajuns have themselves.

The Cajuns pitchers have allowed the fewest hits in the league with just 111 surrendered.

NMSU has given up 423, a figure which ranks at the bottom of the Sun Belt and is an average of 9.0 hits allowed per outing.

Louisiana gives up just 3.8 hits per game and averages nearly seven themselves.

If ever the statement were true, this series would apply. Opposites do indeed attract.

Need proof - just make the trip out to Lady Cajun Park.

To put the whole picture in perspective all one has to do is look at the batting averages of both squads.

New Mexico State has just four players hitting above .200. On the other hand, Louisiana features eight-of-nine starters with averages better than .220.

Pitching-wise, the Cajuns sport the Sun Belt's top two in Brooke Mitchell (11-4, 0.88 ERA, 2 SV) and Michael Parrott (6-0, 1.16 ERA) and each Cajuns pitcher has an ERA below 3.00. NMSU's lowest ERA is 4.64.

Louisiana is led at the plate by senior All-American Becky McMurtry. The North Platte, Neb., native is hitting .421 for the season and enters this weekend's four-game set riding an 11-hit streak which dates back to March 14. She is batting 15-for-26 (.577 avg.) with five doubles, three home runs, 11 runs scored and 11 RBI during the streak.

In Sun Belt play, McMurtry is 5-for-9 with seven runs scored, three RBI and two doubles. She sports a .778 slugging percentage and .733 on-base percentage in SBC play. She has drawn three walks and struck out zero times.

Overall, McMurtry's slugging percentage is .882 and on-base percentage is .554. She has drawn 17 walks and struck out just nine times.

She is joined by true freshman Danyele Gomez in the hitting highlights. Gomez leads the Cajuns with 10 home runs and 33 RBI. Her RBI total is tops among all Sun Belt players. She needs just two home runs to tie All-American Alana Addison's freshman record for home runs.

Gomez was 6-for-14 with three doubles, four runs scored and six RBI in last weekend's Sun Belt sweep of Middle Tennessee.

Brittany Bryant and Jill Robertson have seen their fortunes look up since Sun Belt play began. Both are batting above .400 in league play with Bryant at .444 and Robertson .417. Bryant has driven in six runs during SBC play while Robertson leads the way with two home runs and eight runs scored.

Louisiana features five players hitting above .400 in Sun Belt action.

In the pitching circle, Brooke Mitchell continues to impress. The sophomore hurler from Pasadena, Texas, earned three wins and one save in last weekend's sweep of Middle Tennessee.

In her last seven appearances in the circle, the All-American candidate has tossed a one-hitter. On the Cajuns current homestand, Mitchell is 5-0 in five starts and six appearances with one save during the stand. She has posted a 0.24 ERA and has given up just six hits in 29 2/3 innings while allowing only one earned run and striking out 33 during the homestand.

In the process, she has lowered her season ERA to 0.88 and has struck out 125 batters in 95 innings.

The Cajuns can also rely on the arm of senior Parrott and redshirt freshman Afton Thoms.

NMSU has struggle at times during the 2003 season. Much of that can be attributed to the newness of the squad as a bevy of junior college transfers and freshmen dot the roster.

The Aggies opened the season on an eight-game losing streak and were 2-26 at one point following a season-high 16-game losing streak from Feb. 19-March 9.

NMSU has struggled producing runs as well. The Aggies have scored just 90 runs through 47 games - an average of 1.9 runs per outing. Opponents have shutout the Aggies 20 times.

At the plate, the Aggies struggles are easy to see. As a team they are hitting .193 and average only four hits a game. Only four batters are hitting better than .200.

NMSU is led by the plate by Christine Stephens. Stephens is hitting .341 and has hit 11 home runs and brought home 29 runs. The next best batter is hitting .222.

In the circle, Jennie Bride has garnered six of the seven NMSU wins. She is 6-18 with a 4.64 ERA in 22 starts and 38 appearances. She has logged 188 2/3 innings for NMSU and has a team-best 151 strikeouts.

Defense has been an adventure for head coach Lea Ann Jarvis' squad. The Aggies are committing more than two errors per game and have a .920 fielding percentage. They have committed 115 errors in 47 games. Five players have committed double-digit errors.

NMSU opened Sun Belt play last weekend with Florida International and was swept in the four-game series by a count of 39-3 - including 15-0 and 9-0 scores on Sunday. The Aggies have lost eight straight Sun Belt games dating back to last season.

Louisiana leads the all-time series 9-0 with all meetings having taken place in Sun Belt play. The Cajuns lead the series 4-0 at Lady Cajun Park and have not allowed the Aggies to cross home plate in the friendly confines.

Louisiana is 19-1 at home in Sun Belt play since 2001 and 38-2 overall. The Cajuns have swept the last 11 doubleheaders they've participated in.

Following Saturday's games, the series will wrap up on Sunday with a 1 p.m. twinbill. The series marks the Cajuns final Sun Belt home games of the season. Louisiana will also honor its four seniors before Sunday's first game.

LOUISIANA SI

[Crawfish]

The Cajuns won the first game 17-0. (no it was not women's football) I have not heard the score in the 2nd game yet.
Fish

[NewsCopy]

LOUISIANA La. — The New Mexico State Aggies finally scored on Louisiana at Lady Cajun Park — on Senior Day, no less.

All that did was reawaken the Lady Cajuns’ bats, though, as coach Stefni Lotief’s squad completed a near-perfect weekend on Sunday with a 9-0, 18-3 doubleheader sweep before 438 fans.

The Cajuns (28-5, 8-0 Sun Belt) were leading 8-0 after three innings in the second game and seemed to be headed for another mercy-rule victory, when NMSU erupted for three runs in the top of the fourth off winner Michael Parrott (7-0).

Louisiana’s answer resembled an annoyed hornets’ nest, as the Lady Cajuns exploded for 10 runs in the bottom of the frame to outscore the visitors 58-3 for the four-game series.

Freshman sensation Danyele Gomez capped the 10-run fourth with her second home run of the game and third of the day, going 4-for-4 with three runs scored and six runs batted in for the contest.

Gomez tied Alana Addison’s freshman record of 12 home runs in the first game, then eclipsed her in the second.

The rest of the story

South Louisiana Publishing
Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com

[NewsCopy]

LOUISIANA — Unless Louisiana is able to host an NCAA Softball Regional, Lady Cajun seniors are looking at their last few chances to play before appreciative home fans at Lady Cajun Park for 2003.

First baseman Summar Lapeyrouse, third baseman Becky McMurtry and pitchers Michael Parrott and Rachel Reese were all honored before Sunday’s Sun Belt Conference doubleheader against New Mexico State.

That foursome will be out to extend the team’s 13-game win streak when Louisiana hosts Nicholls State in a 5 p.m. doubleheader today, and the regular-season home slate ends Thursday with a single 7 p.m. contest against Texas-San Antonio.

The 21-19 Colonels face a stiff task against coach Stefni Lotief’s Lady Cajuns, who impropved to 28-5 overall and 8-0 in Sun Belt play with last weekend’s decimation of NMSU that helped them climb to No. 20 in one national poll.

Louisiana outscored NMSU 58-3 in the four games, collecting 51 hits, 13 home runs and 9 doubles.

The Lady Cajuns hit .526 as a team (51-for-97), with four batters hitting over .500 and McMurtry and freshman sensation Danyele Gomez each over .700 for the weekend.

Gomez has earned Hitter of the Week honors from both the Sun Belt Conference and Louisiana Sports Writers Association for her 10-for-13 performance. She now has 14 home runs, exceeding the school record of 12 for freshmen set in 1999 by Alana Addison.

The rest of the story

[CajunCall]

Geaux Lady Cajuns

[CDeb]

It wasn't but five or six years ago that Nicholls was routinely ranked and was one of our tougher series every year. How times have changed!

[sandra]

Originally posted by CDeb
It wasn't but five or six years ago that Nicholls was routinely ranked and was one of our tougher series every year. How times have changed!

Without Stephni praytell where we would be. On another note, why can't I catch the Lady Cajuns on the web?