The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns host the defending National Champions, the Oklahoma Sooners for a three-game series at Lamson Park, with a single game on Friday, March 14 at 6 p.m. and a doubleheader on Saturday, starting at 4 p.m. The Saturday games will be broadcast locally on MyKLAF and nationally on ESPN3, as well as on the radio at ESPN1420, with Steve Peloquin on the call for all three games.

About the Opponents: Oklahoma is fresh off of a visit with President Barack Obama at the White House, where they joined the rest of the 2012-13 National Champions for a ceremony on the South Lawn at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. The Sooners are led by the hitting and pitching combination of Shelby Pendley and Kelsey Stephens. Pendley leads the Sooners in almost every offensive category, driving in 33 runs in 23 games with a .434 batting average and seven home runs. Of her 33 RBI, 10 game in a single game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, becoming the seventh player in NCAA history to have 10-or-more RBI in a game. Former Cajun Tiffany Whittall holds the NCAA record with 11. Stephens leads the Sooners in the circle with an 11-3 record, picking up 90 strikeouts in 86.2 innings and a 2.26 ERA.

Last Time Out: The Ragin' Cajuns only had one game this past week, taking on Lamar in a midweek clash at Lamson Park. The Cajuns came out victorious, defeating the Lady Cardinals 14-3, with a game-ending grand slam from sophomore Lexie Elkins. Elkins finished the game 3-for-4 with seven RBI and two homers, becoming the second Cajun this season to drive in seven runs, matching Shelbi Redfearn's seven RBI against Baylor. Haley Hayden got the Cajuns started with a first-inning home run, and Kelsey Vincent hit her third homer of the season later in the game. Junior pitcher Christina Hamilton tossed 4.1 no-hit innings in the circle for the Cajuns and picked up the win.

Leading off Strong: The Cajuns have a strong 1-2 punch at the front of their batting order in senior Natalie Fernandez and freshman Haley Hayden. Fernandez leads the Cajuns with a .439 batting average (29-for-66) and 28 runs scored, and Hayden is batting .380 with a team-high 25 RBI and nine home runs. Three times this season Fernandez has led the game off by reaching base and Hayden has homered in the next at-bat to give the Cajuns an early 2-0 lead (Lamar/March 6, Texas/Feb. 8, Rutgers/Feb. 23). The early-game success from Fernandez and Hayden have led to 23 runs for the Cajuns in the first inning. As a team, the Cajuns have gone 7-0 when scoring in the first inning, and have outscored opponents 23-9 in the opening frame of games.

Leading Off With Fernandez: With a four-hit game against Lamar, senior Natalie Fernandez reached the 200-hit mark for her career, doing so in 197 career games with 167 starts. Of her 167 career starts she is currently riding a 139-game starting streak, dating back to her sophomore season. She also is riding streak of 198 straight singles, with just one extra-base hit in her career. The senior hasn't had an extra-base hit since Feb. 12, 2011, when she doubled against Prairie View A&M for her second career hit.

Where Do They Rank? The Ragin' Cajuns held their position in both the NFCA/USA Today and ESPN/USA Softball polls this week, coming in 23rd and 24th respectively. The Cajuns opened the season ranked 13 in the NFCA poll and 15 in the ESPN poll.

I've Got the Power: The Cajuns come into the game as the nation's home run per game leader, averaging 1.76 homers per game, almost 0.25 homers a game more than the nations runner-up, North Carolina, with 1.53 home runs a game. The Cajuns defeated the Tar Heels earlier this season, 6-5, with both teams hitting two home runs in the game. The Cajuns have hit 37 home runs on the season, and lead the Sun Belt by 17 home runs, with ULM coming in second with 20 homers. Individually, the Cajuns hold down the top four spots in the conference home run standings. Haley Hayen leads the conference with nine, Lexie Elkins and Sara Corbello are tied for second with seven and Shelbi Redfearn has sixth.

Elkins Tops Lamar: Sophomore catcher Lexie Elkins posted the Cajuns' second seven-RBI game of the season, hitting two homers in a 3-for-4 effort against Lamar on March 6 at Lamson Park. The Victoria, Texas native came to the plate with the bases loaded in the sixth with the Cajuns just one run away from a mercy rule victory and did the most damage possible, hitting her first career grand slam, giving the Cajuns an 11-run lead and a 14-3 win over the Lady Cardinals.

Forming a Rotation: Junior pitchers Jordan Wallace and Christina Hamilton have formed the top end of the pitching rotation for the Cajuns combining for a 13-2 record. Hamilton leads the team with a 1.58 ERA and a 6.67 K/BB ratio, and Wallace has a team-high seven wins with 70 strikeouts on the season. The duo has started 11 of the last 13 games dating back to the Memphis game on Feb. 15.

Redfearn's Big Day: Senior Shelbi Redfearn put in the best single-game performance of her career when the Cajuns took on nationally ranked Baylor, also her former team. The native of Stillwater, Okla., drove in seven runs in the game with a three-run home run and a grand slam, to help lead the Cajuns past Baylor, 12-11. Redfearn gave the Cajuns an early 3-0 lead with her three-run shot in the first inning, and added to the lead in the fourth with her first career grand slam to make it 8-2. The Cajuns would need all seven runs she produced, defeating the Bears 11-10, holding off a late four-run charge.

Brown's Back: Sophomore pitcher Victoria Brown is back in the circle for the Cajuns after missing the first 10 games of the season, recovering from off-season surgery. She made her season-debut in relief of Jordan Wallace on Feb. 21 against Illinois State, tossing 2.2 innings, allowing one unearned run on one hit and striking out three. She started the next game on a 30-minute break, throwing the first two innings against James Madison, allowing two earned runs on four hits and picking up the loss. She got her first win of the season in her third appearance, coming in relief of Christina Hamilton and throwing three innings while allowing two earned runs on one hit against Hofstra.

Not A Slapper Anymore: Despite standing at five-feet even, freshman infielder Corin Voinché launched two home runs at the Ragin' Cajuns invite on Feb. 14-16. She started against Michigan but did not see her first plate appearance until the sixth inning, and made the best of it, sending a 1-and-1 pitch just over the left field wall. She repeated that feat just hours later in the second game of the day against Valparaiso, this time sending a 1-0 pitch six rows into the bleachers in center field. Before Feb. 14, she had never hit a home run in her life.

Coming Through in the Clutch: Sophomore Gabby Felps came through in her only at bat of the weekend, driving a two-out double off the top of the wall in the seventh inning against Purdue on Feb. 9, to help send the game into extra innings. Felps also had a plate appearance against Texas in a pinch hitting effort and walked.

Our Very Own Bo Jackson: Freshman outfielder Kassidy Zeringue made her Ragin' Cajuns softball debut on opening weekend in the Louisiana Classics, but it was not her Ragin' Cajuns debut. The Lutcher native played in 16 games for the Ragin' Cajuns soccer team this fall, scoring one goal while taking five shots on goal. She was an all-Louisiana selection in both sports at Lutcher High School.

What's Next? The Cajuns remain home for a midweek doubleheader against Sam Houston State on Wednesday, March 19 starting at 4 p.m. The Cajuns will open Sun Belt Conference play next weekend, when they head to Atlanta for a three-game series against conference newcomer Georgia State on Saturday and Sunday. The Cajuns and Panthers will play a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 p.m. (EST) and a single game on Sunday at noon (EST).