Softball: Louisiana Opens Sun Belt Title Defense in Hattiesburg

**NewsCopy** · March 17th, 2023, 10:40 am

Sun Belt Conference plays begins for No. 23-ranked Louisiana Softball as the squad faces league newcomer Southern Miss from Saturday-Sunday, March 18-19 in Hattiesburg, Mississippi at the USM Softball Complex.

It's the start of the 23rd season of softball within the Sun Belt Conference. The Ragin' Cajuns have captured their Sun Belt-opening series in all but four of the seasons (2007, 2008, 2009, 2013) since the league began regular season play in 2001.

Louisiana, the three-time defending regular season champion, begins its Sun Belt Conference title defense and the quest for the program's 19th regular season SBC title.

The Ragin' Cajuns carry a streak of 73 consecutive Sun Belt Conference series won into the USM series – the nation's longest active streak of consecutive conference series won, which dates back to March 2013.

The visit to Hattiesburg concludes a a stretchof 13 out of 14 games away from home to start the month of March. It's the third consecutive weekend the Cajuns spend on the road.

Expected inclement weather on Friday delayed the start of the series with the Golden Eagles by one day. Louisiana and USM start the series with a 1:00pm doubleheader on Saturday, followed by the series finale at 12:00pm on Sunday.

The Ragin' Cajuns, coming off a 4-1 weekend in Gainesville, Florida at the Bubly Invitational that included a three-hit shutout of then-No. 12 Florida, have won 13 of their last 17 games.

The USM series opener officially marks the halfway point of the season, the 28th out of 56 games scheduled this spring. The Cajuns cross over into the back half of the slate with Game 2 of Saturday's doubleheader.

A LOOK AT THE SERIES
Series Record: Louisiana leads, 45-5
Sun Belt Regular Season Games: First Meeting
Last Meeting: 2/12/17 // USM 5, LA 3 (Lamson Park)
In Hattiesburg: Louisiana leads, 16-1
Last Time in Hattiesburg: 3/6/16 // LA 6, USM 2
Streak: Southern Miss, +2

First-ever matchup as conference foes (USM joined Sun Belt in July 2022) and in the Gerry Glasco era.
Last met in 2017 Louisiana Classics at Lamson Park; Golden Eagles took both matchups on the final day of the tournament (4-3, 5-3).
In the last matchup in Hattiesburg, the Ragin' Cajuns swept a three-game non-conference series from March 5-6, 2016.
The Ragin' Cajuns are 7-0 vs. the Golden Eagles at the Southern Miss Softball Complex which opened in 2002.
All-time series spans two time frames: the first from March 1987-April 1992 and the second from April 1999-present which began when USM reinstated its softball program.
Louisiana built decisive series advantage with a 24-game win streak from 1988-92 and a 19-game win streak from 2001-16.

THIS 'N THAT
Louisiana is 3-3 in true road games with wins at UCF, LSU and Florida. The Ragin' Cajuns went 8-5 in neutral site contests, winning the last seven in pre-conference tournament play.

The Ragin' Cajuns were weathered and tested for Sun Belt play, having faced eight ranked teams in the early portion of non-conference action.

In pre-conference tournament play, Louisiana claimed three wins over ranked teams, six wins over Power 5 foes and nine wins over Top 100 RPI teams.

To date, Louisiana has played the third (3rd) toughest schedule in D1 Softball based upon games already played. Entering Sun Belt Opening Weekend, the teams faced thus far had a combined 400-197-5 (.669) record.

In the NCAA's latest official release of the RPI (Wednesday, March 15), the Ragin' Cajuns were ranked No. 16 - the highest ranking among Sun Belt programs.

In a strong finish to pre-conference tournament action, the Ragin' Cajuns finished 4-1 at Florida's Bubly Invitational recording three Power 5 wins, pitching three shutouts (including No. 12 Florida) and turning in a streak of 23-2/3 consecutive scoreless innings pitched.

Freshman Lauren Allred has become an emerging impact player over the past two weeks. Since March 1, Allred is batting .429 (9-of-21) with a double, triple, three home runs and 11 RBI. She posted home runs against No. 11 Texas and No. 12 Florida.

Despite missing 10 games with a hand injury following Opening Day, freshman Mihyia Davis has already swiped 25 stolen bases (in 26 attempts) with her elite speed. Since returning to play on Feb. 25, Davis is hitting .431 (22-of-51) with 22 stolen bases and 16 runs scored over the last 16 games.

Mihyia Davis is one of collegiate softball's most electrifying center fielders as is evidenced by her diving catch into the wall on Feb. 25 at LSU. Davis, whose play is comparable to former LSU outfielder Aliyah Andrews, already has four outfield assists including throwing out a McNeese runner attempting to score last Wednesday.

Louisiana is set to have staying power in the national landscape in coming years, as the lineup typically features a combination of at least six to eight freshmen and sophomores. The last two recruiting classes were ranked Top 15 by Extra Inning Softball.

The Ragin' Cajuns handed then-No. 14 LSU (currently 23-2, 2-1 SEC) itsonly non-conference loss of the season back on Feb. 25 at Tiger Park in Baton Rouge (won 5-4) and last weekend handed then-No. 12 Florida itsfirst home loss of the 2023 season.

The TaxAct Clearwater Invitational-opening 4-1 win over Indiana marked Louisiana's 1,800th all-time win in program history - 5th most in NCAA D1 Softball history (joining UCLA, Arizona, Florida State, Texas A&M).

DIAMOND NOTES
Louisiana was preseason ranked in three major national polls: No. 20 in D1Softball, No. 22 in Softball America and No. 24 in the ESPN/USA Softball poll. The Ragin' Cajuns were receiving votes in the USA Today/NFCA poll, third in line from No. 25.

Louisiana, the three-time defending regular season and tournament champions, was the unanimous selection as the favorite to win the 2023 Sun Belt Conference title in a vote of the league's 12 head coaches. The Ragin' Cajuns have a history of dominating the Sun Belt, having won 18 regular season titles and 17 conference tournament titles since the inception of the league in 2000.

In the pitcher's circle, the Ragin' Cajuns returned all 47 victories posted in the 2022 season headlined by the trio of Sam Landry (20), Meghan Schorman (17) and Kandra Lamb (9) who combined for all but one of the triumphs.

A year ago, Louisiana's pitching staff ranked Top 25 nationally in ERA (2.17), shutouts (16), strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.97) and was one of only three units in Division I Softball to amass 500-plus strikeouts (504).

NUMBERS TO KNEAUX
1: Louisiana's pitching staff has lowered its ERA over one full point since the Clearwater Invitational (from 4.13 to 2.70).
2: Number of shutouts pitched vs. ranked teams by Meghan Schorman (no-hit UCF, three-hit blanking of Florida).
2: As of March 15, Mihyia Davis ranked No. 2 nationally in stolen bases with 25 swipes.
5: The Ragin' Cajuns offense has produced at least five base hits in all but two of the season's first 27 games.
10: There are 10 different players who have posted at least one home run for the Ragin' Cajuns.
14: Number of times (in 27 games) that the Ragin' Cajuns have scored in the first inning.
17: Number of non-conference games against Power 5 competition (six matchups at the TaxAct Clearwater Invitational).
20: Number of times the Ragin' Cajuns have scored the game's first run (16-4 record).
23-2/3: Consecutive scoreless innings pitched by Louisiana's pitching staff last weekend at the Bubly Invitational.
25: Number of stolen bases for Mihyia Davis in only 16 games of action.
35: Combined Sun Belt regular season (18) and tournament (17) championships for the Ragin' Cajuns.
1,813: Louisiana's number of all-time program victories (1981-present) which ranks No. 5 in NCAA D1 Softball history.