Postseason play for No. 14 Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Softball begins Wednesday, May 12 at 10:00 a.m. when the squad begins competing in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament at the Troy Softball Complex in Troy, Ala.

LEADING OFF
>> Postseason play for No. 14 Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Softball begins Wednesday, May 12 at 10:00 a.m. when the squad begins competing in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament at the Troy Softball Complex in Troy, Ala.

>> Louisiana, regular season champions for the 17th time in the 20 seasons of completed play, seek a sweep of the Sun Belt's 2021 season titles.

>> The top-seeded Ragin' Cajuns defense of the 2019 SBC Tournament crown claimed in San Marcos begins against the same foe the regular season concluded with: ULM.

>> Louisiana's half of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament bracket also includes No. 4 seed South Alabama and No. 5 seed Appalachian State.

>> It's the second trip to Troy for the Ragin' Cajuns this season. In April, Louisiana claimed a three-game series sweep of the host-Trojans.

>> Louisiana enters the Sun Belt Conference Tournament after a strong second half run that saw the squad win 24 of its last 28 games. During the stretch, the Ragin' Cajuns batted .326, generated 86 extra base hits (44 doubles 7 triples, 35 home runs) and averaged 7.0 runs per game.


THIS 'N THAT
>> Louisiana placed a league-high eight individuals on the 2021 All-Sun Belt Conference Team. Ciara Bryan captured Player and Newcomer of the Year honors, Summer Ellyson was honored as Pitcher of the Year and Gerry Glasco was named Coach of the Year.

>> The Sun Belt regular season championship was claimed by winning every conference series for the seventh consecutive season (2014-19, 2021). As a result, Louisiana extended its nation-leading streak of consecutive conference series won to 64 straight dating back to March 2013.

>> Louisiana is one of only eight teams in NCAA Division I Softball to enter the postseason having reached 40 wins. The list also includes Oklahoma (42), Alabama (42), Clemson (40), Arkansas (40), Florida (40), Miami (OH) (40) and Oklahoma State (40).

>> The Ragin' Cajuns have reached the 40-win mark for the 22nd consecutive season, a streak which began back in 1999. It's the 30th time overall in program history (1981-present) accomplishing the benchmark.

>> Louisiana's lineup and defensive alignment received a boost just in time for the postseason when senior shortstop Alissa Dalton return to action in the regular season-ending series vs. ULM. Dalton, hitting .378 and fielding .960 prior to a hand injury, had missed 16 consecutive games.

>> The offense is paced by Ciara Bryan who posted at least one base hit in all but three of the 50 regular season games Louisiana played. Bryan (.434, 75 H, 52 R, 36 RBI, 19 extra base hits, 31 SB) delivered a 70-plus hit season in which her average has been above .430 throughout its entirety.

>> In her last 21 appearances (15 starts), Summer Ellyson is 15-2 with a 1.49 ERA. In that timeframe, she's yielded just 27 runs (21 earned) and 65 hits over 98-2/3 innings, struck out 107 and held foes to .181 average.

>> Summer Ellyson turned in a personal 11-game win streak with a 1.41 ERA from March 21-April 20 and factored into key SBC series wins by claiming two wins over both Troy and Texas State and combining with Kandra Lamb to shutout South Alabama over 21 innings.

>> During her career-best, 16-game hitting streak from April 5-May 2, Kaitlyn Alderink hit .522 (24-for-46) with 15 runs scored, 10 doubles and 11 RBI. The performance raised her season average from .260 to well above the .300-mark (presently .338).

>> Charged by 24 RBI in the month of April, Julie Rawls surged to the top of the Sun Belt Conference and into the nation's Top 20 in RBI. It also carried her to the first 50-RBI season of her collegiate career.

>> Kandra Lamb earned her spot on the All-Sun Belt First Team posting career-highs in wins (15) and strikeouts (139), punctuated by a 9-1 record and 1.93 ERA over 58 innings in SBC play.

>> Kendall Talley produced 23 of her season total of 39 base hits in Sun Belt play, posting at least one base hit in 16 of the 21 league games she's been a primary starter in the outfield.

>> The move to third base by Kaitlyn Alderink and second base by Jade Gortarez back on March 26 triggered a turnaround in the Ragin' Cajuns defense. Since then Alderink has fielded cleanly all but seven of the 74 chances she's seen, while Gortarez has successfully fielded all but two of the 78 chances that she's seen.


SUN BELT TOURNAMENT HISTORY
All-Time Record: 61-9 (.871)
Championships: 15
Last Championship: 2019 (San Marcos, Texas)
Louisiana is the No. 1 seed for the 18th time in the 21-year history of the event, and has been at least a Top 2 seed in all but one of the previous SBC Tournaments (2013).
The Ragin' Cajuns have advanced to the winner's bracket following their tournament opener each year since 2010, and have played for the championship each of the past six tournaments (2014-19).
Louisiana seeks to defend its 2019 title claimed in San Marcos and capture the program's 16th overall SBC Tournament championship.
This is the fourth time the Troy Softball Complex hosts the tournament (2008, 2013, 2017, 2021).


NUMBERS TO KNEAUX
57: Sun Belt-leading total number of home runs for Louisiana (also led with 36 homers in conference play).
2: With two more home runs the Ragin' Cajuns will set a new benchmark for the Gerry Glasco era (posted 58 in 2019).
16: Number of individuals who have hit at least one home run for Louisiana.
3: Ciara Bryan ranks No. 3 nationally with 75 hits. It's the first 70-hit season of her career.
7: Current hitting streak for Ciara Bryan – the fourth different hit streak of six-plus games.
35-0: Louisiana's record when scoring five or more runs in a game this season.
94: Number of career wins for Summer Ellyson over 151 appearances, tied for third place in program history with Ashley Brignac.
200: Louisiana's roster features six players who have logged 200-plus career games (Ciara Bryan, Kaitlyn Alderink, Justice Milz, Julie Rawls, Jade Gortarez, Alissa Dalton).
0.90: The ERA for Summer Ellyson in the month of May.


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.