HOUSTON - Louisiana’s Lady Cajuns face a familiar foe in the 2008 NCAA Houston Super Regional as they face off against the Houston Cougars at 7:00 p.m. on Friday night at the Cougar Softball Complex.

The two teams will continue the best of three series on Saturday afternoon beginning at 12:00 p.m., and play the “if necessary” game at 3:00 p.m.

The Lady Cajuns advanced to the first NCAA Super Regional since the NCAA reformatted the playoffs in 2005. The Cajuns edged East Carolina, 2-1, before defeating No. 9 national seed LSU, 9-4. On Championship Sunday, UL was once again victorious over the Tigers, advancing to the NCAA Houston Super Regional with a 6-3 win.

Louisiana is 7-2 all-time against Houston. The Cajuns won the first six games of the series including a pair of victories at Lamson Park last season. The first win of the series for the Cougars came in game one of the 2007 NCAA College Station Regional. Houston edged UL 4-3 in nine innings in the contest.

This season the two teams met for a doubleheader on April 30. The two teams split the twin bill with Houston claiming the first game and the Cajuns rebounding for a shutout victory in game two.

The 2-0 loss snapped the Ragin’ Cajuns 18-game winning streak. The streak was the longest of the season for the Cajuns and the longest streak since the Cajuns opened up the 2006 season with 22 consecutive wins.

In the nightcap of the doubleheader, the Cajuns scored a pair of runs in the first inning and tacked on a two more runs in the seventh inning to claim a 4-0 shutout victory against the No. 9 Cougars.

The game will be a homecoming of sorts for a number of Cajuns players. The Cajuns have always prided themselves on going after local Louisiana talent, but have managed to acquire several players from Texas. Of the 24 players on the roster, 18 players are from the Pelican State, but five of the remaining six players call the Lone Star State home.

Senior Holly Tankersley (Kirbyville, Texas) and sophomores Lana Bowers (Crosby, Texas), Brittany Cuevas (Brazoria, Texas), Amanda Hill (Tomball, Texas) and Melissa Verde (Beaumont, Texas) all hail from Texas.

RaginCajuns.com

Chris Whtiehead