Softball Players Arriving for 2021

[CajunsSball22]

Back in january the Cajuns signed Kristen Cade a pitcher from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. Does anyone know if she will be on the fall roster?

Cade has been released to play one more year in JUCO.

[du42]

Cade has been released to play one more year in JUCO.

Things are starting to thin out

[JMV JustMyView]

Cade has been released to play one more year in JUCO.

22 was it a case of her replaying her year? Did she have to decide to come to the Cajuns or return to Juco. Will she be a Cajun after next season or did her one shot go away?

[JMV JustMyView]

Things are starting to thin out

Need it to thin out a little more.Compared to most teams we will have a huge roster.

[CajunsSball22]

22 was it a case of her replaying her year? Did she have to decide to come to the Cajuns or return to Juco. Will she be a Cajun after next season or did her one shot go away?

I have no idea, and I really don't see how any of that is any of our business at this point.

[JMV JustMyView]

Shortly after the 2020 season ended prematurely in mid-March due the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, UL softball coach Gerry Glasco got to work on fortifying his roster for 2021.

It started in the circle.

Glasco soon learned that one half of his double-pronged pitching punch would return, but the other half would not.

Back will be Summer Ellyson, the 2019 Sun Belt Conference Pitcher of the Year who when the 2020 season was cut short was 11-1 with one save and a 1.83 ERA for an 18-6 Ragin' Cajuns club ranked No. 1 in national RPI ratings.

But done is Megan Kleist, a 2018 first team All-American and Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year who transferred to UL after playing her first three college seasons at Oregon.

Ellyson, a senior this year, is returning – and Kleist could have done the same, had she chosen to – because the NCAA granted an extra season of eligibility to 2020 spring sports student-athletes.

Kleist went 7-5 with two saves and a 2.31 ERA, but the numbers don't accurately reflect her importance to a team with national title aspirations.

"I believe we can replace that 7-5," Glasco said.

"But the thing Megan Kleist gives you: She gives you the ability to walk out there against Texas or against LSU and give you a really good, big game. A complete game.

"And we won't expect anyone to come in and just automatically give us a complete game," added Glasco, whose club split with No. 3 Texas, went 2-1 against No. 6 Florida, split with No. 7 LSU and split with No. 8 Oklahoma State in 2020. "But we'll try to figure out a way to improve that overall 7-5 record by having the right matchup on the field, by having the best possible person out there in the circle against a given hitter or a given ballclub."

'SOMETHING WE HAVEN'T HAD'
It starts, of course, with Ellyson, a Teurlings Catholic High product.

But to pick up all of what Kleist will leave behind, Glasco figures it will take more than one.

So in late April he announced the signing of hard-throwing righty Brinson Rogers, a product of Statesboro High in Georgia who also can play first base.

In early May he announced the addition of transfer Vanessa Foreman, a sophomore from Gahr High in California who made four appearances including two starts as a freshman for Arizona in 2019 but took a redshirt in 2020.

And later in May Glasco announced the signing of righty Karly Heath a pitcher from North Augusta High in South Carolina who spent her first two college seasons playing for South Carolina.

Heath, also a position player, was 8-0 with a 2.48 ERA over 15 appearances including 11 starts as a freshman for South Carolina in 2019 and 5-0 this year.

At Gahr, Foreman – a lanky lefty – was 11-2 with a 1.05 ERA as a senior.

"(Foreman) gives us something we haven't had," Glasco said of the southpaw.

"She'll give us an ability to match up with lefty slappers and lefty hitters with a curveball, a drop curve going away."

Heath will have three years of eligibility remaining.

"But in reality she's played almost two years of college softball," Glasco said, "So I think we're really lucky. She brings a lot of interesting things.

"She's not been in their No. 1 spot, but when they've called on her her team has always has been able to win, which I think says something about a player, when the team plays well behind you, and you're able to get wins for your ballclub.

"That's something that we need," Glasco added. "We haven't had a lot of depth in our bullpen."

IT TAKES MORE THAN ONE
Ellyson worked 76.1 innings and Kleist 72.2 this year while no one else worked more than Casey Dixon's 2.0.

And the Cajuns aren't even sure if they will be able to get Kendra Lamb, who pitched in 14 games including six starts in 2019 but was taking a redshirt in 2020, back from her native Australia due to international travels concerns prompted by the coronavirus crisis.

So the depth from Foreman, Heath and Rogers – who could take a bit of time to develop – should prove beneficial for UL in 2021.

"We've had great arms at the top of our bullpen with Summer (Ellyson), and we've been able to win games with her and Kleist this year," Glasco said last week.


"But I like getting in that position (with a full bullpen), because we know at some point that people are gonna have injuries and we're gonna have people get sick in key moments.

"It really is reassuring to me to add that type of pitcher," he added with reference to Heath. "But then you also realize she (Heath) can step out on the field and help us on an every-day basis, because of her bat. She has an outstanding bat."

Rogers, who averaged a school-record 11 home runs per season in high school, has a solid bat too.

But Heath's hitting is proven at the college level, as she went .315 with five homers and 16 RBI while appearing in 44 games including 21 starts as an outfielder at South Carolina in 2019.

"So she can help us in the outfield. She can help us with her bat," Glasco said. "She can help us at first base if we needed her to. She can play every day, and then help us in the circle when we need her or call on her.


"And who knows? You talk about developing. … By the time her senior year rolls around, she may be the ace of our staff. We'll just have to see how she develops when she gets here."

For now, though, it appears much of the onus will be on Foreman, with help from Heath and the rest, to complement Ellyson much like Kleist was paired with her this season.

"I expect Foreman to be a top-notch ace for us over the next three years," Glasco said, "and I think Heath definitely figures to help us in a lot of ways."

But much like the situation the Cajuns will face after Ellyson is done in 2021, Glasco suggested, don't think a single arm can replace that of Kleist, who was 59-18 with a 1.60 ERA over 477 innings during her three seasons at Oregon.


"Absolutely," the Cajuns coach said.

"When you lose a great talent – like when we lose Summer Ellyson – I don't think it would be fair to expect any one player to step in and replace (her). We'll have to replace (Kleist) with our bullpen."

[JMV JustMyView]

If any one read the newspaper article yesterday you can basically understand what Glasco thinks about slappers in general.