Softball vs Southeastern Canceled
No. 14 Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Softball begins a five-game homestand at Yvette Girouard Field at Lamson Park on Wednesday, April 14 hosting Southeastern Louisiana in a 6 p.m. single game, a contest that was moved back one day due to inclement weather.
The SLU matchup is the precursor to another key Sun Belt Conference series that will have a determining factor in the conference's regular season title race. Third-place occupier Texas State, only two games behind Louisiana in the loss column, visits Lamson Park Friday-Sunday, April 16-18.
The Cajuns return home to Lamson Park after a concluding a 10-game Spring Break road trip on Monday (April 12) by completing a critical three-game sweep of Troy. It's the first home game for Louisiana since March 29.
Louisiana seeks to build upon the momentum gained on the recent 10-game road trek. The squad posted a .378 average, outscored foes 98-22, held a 110-44 advantage in base hits, generated 48 extra base hits (26 doubles, 6 triples, 16 home runs) and defensively committed only four errors over 239 chances during its travels.
The Ragin' Cajuns enter the week as one of the nation's hottest teams, riding a season-best, 17-game winning streak which is the third-longest active in NCAA Division I Softball trailing only Oklahoma (36) and Fordham (20). It's Louisiana's longest win streak since the record-setting, 29-game streak of the 2019 season.
Wednesday's contest features the two teams that are currently leading NCAA Division I Softball in the stolen base department with Louisiana and Southeastern Louisiana both having tallied 111 stolen bases.
It's the second matchup of the 2021 season between the Ragin' Cajuns and Lions. The two teams met on Feb. 21 in Birmingham, Ala., at the UAB Blazer Classic with Louisiana claiming a 9-1 (6 inn.) decision.
The five-game stretch at Lamson Park that begins with Wednesday's SLU contest - and concludes on Tuesday, April 20 vs. Louisiana Tech - marks Louisiana's lone homestand of April.
THIS 'N THAT
Louisiana is one of the hottest teams in the nation as its current 17-game winning streak is the third longest active streak in NCAA Division I softball trailing only Oklahoma (36) and Fordham (20). It's the longest win streak since the record-setting, 29-game streak of the 2019 season.
The recent win streak has placed the Ragin' Cajuns near the top of the charts in wins recorded in NCAA Division I Softball in the 2021 season. Entering the week, the squad's 32 wins trailed only the 33 recorded by Arkansas.
During the 17-game winning streak, Louisiana is batting .335, has outscored foes 132-29, and piled up 153 base hits of which 59 are for extra bases (30 doubles, 6 triples, 23 home runs). The production has placed the Ragin' Cajuns near the top of the charts nationally in base hits, presently inside the Top 5 with 338 total hits recorded.
Both the pitching and defense has made a tremendous upswing during the winning streak, sporting a 1.59 ERA and a .975 fielding percentage. Prior to the recent success, a stretch win which the Ragin' Cajuns went 15-6, the staff ERA was 2.90 and the fielding percentage was .960.
On Monday in Troy, Kaitlyn Adlerink posted a 2-for-3 showing at the plate for her fourth multiple-hit game in the past seven days. Dating back to last Monday at Lamar, Alderink is batting .579 (11-for-19).
Julie Rawls and Bailey Curry both drove in three runs in the Troy series finale and finished as the team leaders in RBI during the series, finishing with five and four RBI, respectively.
Ciara Bryan, who has had at least one hit in all but two games this season, has collected at least one hit in 58 of the last 66 games she's competed in dating back to the 2020 season. Bryan's 59 total hits for the season rank No. 2 nationally trailing only the 64 posted by Kentucky's Kayla Kowalik.
Kendall Talley turned in a 15-game hitting streak from March 26-April 11 in which she batted .523 (23-for-44) with 20 runs scored and 10 RBI. The solid stretch raised Talley's season average to .375, the second-highest active mark on the team.
Justice Milz ranks second on the squad with six home runs, the latest one lifting the Ragin' Cajuns out of their lone deficit on Troy during the third inning of Game 2. From that moment on, the Ragin' Cajuns wouldn't trail again on the way to the series sweep.
Summer Ellyson (13-4, 2.44 ERA) brings a personal eight-game win streak into the homestand. During the resurgence, the senior right-handed pitcher has yielded just 13 runs (11 earned) and 37 hits over 47-2/3 innings, owns a 1.62 ERA and has limited foes to a .207 average.
Kandra Lamb leads the pitching staff with 122 strikeouts over the 98 innings she's worked this season. Lamb has tallied at least five strikeouts in 12 of her 17 starts, bringing the final tally to eight or higher nine times highlighted by a career-high 12 vs. South Alabama on March 27.
SERIES HISTORY
Series Record: Louisiana leads, 50-1
At Lamson Park: Louisiana leads, 27-1
Last Meeting: 2/21/21 // LA 9, SLU 1 (6) (Birmingham, Ala.)
Streak: Louisiana, +34
Series Notables
- Vast majority of meetings were held from 1986-99 in midweek doubleheaders.
- Wednesday's meeting is just the eighth matchup since the turn of the century.
- With exception of COVID-shortened 2020 season, have met each season since 2017
- Ragin' Cajuns extended series win streak to 34 games at UAB Green and Gold Classic on Feb. 20
NUMBERS TO KNEAUX
35: Ciara Bryan has reached base all 38 games. She sports a team-best .490 on base percentage
27-0: Louisiana's record when scoring five or more runs in a game this season
2-1/2: Number of innings Louisiana has trailed in the month of April (out of 61 innings)
1: Ciara Bryan needs one hit to reach 60 in a single season for the first time in her career
23: Louisiana has hit 23 of its 43 season home runs during the win streak
59: Number of extra base hits Louisiana has recorded during its current 17-game win streak
87: Career wins for Summer Ellyson which ranks 5th in program history
23: Runs scored on a Troy pitching staff that had previously tossed four straight shutouts
A QUICK LOOK AT THE RAGIN' CAJUNS
Infield: The Ragin' Cajuns have one of the best infield units in the country, and it may have been strengthened further by the adjustments made during the final week of March. Returning shortstop Alissa Dalton remains the anchor of the unit with her astounding range at shortstop. Sure-handed defender Kaitlyn Alderink switched sides and moved to third base (from second base) to assist Dalton in locking down the left side. Jade Gortarez has settled in at second base after starting the year on the left side alternating between third and shortstop. Melissa Mayeux took over at first base in the new-look alignment, but expect Justice Milz to see time at the position as well.
Outfield: Returning center fielder Raina O'Neal (hit .329 with nearly 30 extra base hits previous two seasons) is out for the regular season with an injury. Ciara Bryan has taken over in center field and continues to be one of most dynamic hitters in the nation. Kendall Talley closed March with a six-game hitting streak and seems to have claimed the left field slot. Right field has been a rotation of Jenna Kean, who adds elite speed to the base path, Karly Heath, and Julie Rawls who provides veteran experience for late-game adjustments.
Pitchers: Efforts in the circle are led by Summer Ellyson once again. She led the nation in wins (39) in 2019, and was off to an 11-1 start (1.83 ERA) in 2020 with wins over Oklahoma State, Ole Miss and Florida. Kandra Lamb emerged as the front-runner for the No. 2 spot following solid outings in her first career starts against ranked teams (at Louisiana State, vs. Oklahoma State). Casey Dixon, Vanessa Foreman and Karly Heath provide added depth and options to shorten innings pitched for Ellyson and Lamb.
Catchers: Julie Rawls, the mainstay from the past two seasons, is joined by Bailey Curry who trained at the position in preseason practice and freshman Sophie Piskos who was called into duty the last week of March due to an injury with Rawls. Curry and Piskos allow for a rotation that can keep Rawls' legs rested for the postseason. Rawls has led Louisiana in slugging percentage the past two seasons.
UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
No. 14 Louisiana continues its April homestand Friday-Sunday, April 16-18 when Texas State (25-6, 8-3 Sun Belt) visits Lamson Park for another Sun Belt series that will have a determining factor in the conference's regular season title race. The entire series will be carried live on ESPN+ with game times set for 6 p.m. on Friday, 2 p.m. on Saturday and Noon on Sunday.
The five-game stretch of home games concludes on Tuesday, April 20 with a 4 p.m. single game against Louisiana Tech, a makeup for a contest originally scheduled for March 24 but was postponed by inclement weather.
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Re: Softball Makes Welcomed Return Home on Wednesday
Originally Posted by ragin50
Softball: Wednesday Softball Game Against Southeastern Louisiana Canceled
