SB: Louisiana Travels to Marshall for Sun Belt Opening Weekend
Louisiana begins Sun Belt Conference play on the road from Friday-Sunday, March 14-16 against Marshall in Huntington, West Virginia.
It's the first regular season matchup between Louisiana and Marshall.
This weekend starts the 25th season of softball within the Sun Belt. UL enters as the five-time reigning SBC regular season champion.
The Cajuns have an active streak of 89 consecutive Sun Belt Conference series won, dating back to March 2013.
Louisiana is winding down its season-long, 15-game road trip that will end on Tuesday, March 18 in Lake Charles at McNeese.
UL was tested in the weeks leading up to the SBC opener, the team's strength of schedule ranking No. 10 as of March 12.
UL has protected leads, standing 10-0 when leading after five, and owns two comeback wins in the seventh or later (Ole Miss, Houston).
Louisiana enters the weekend No. 2 nationally in double plays turned per game (0.96). The 22 double plays rank No. 1 in total number turned.
The Cajuns batters usually make adjustments the second time around, as a result the third inning is the most-scored in this season (24 runs).
A LOOK AT THE SERIES
Series Record: Louisiana leads, 1-0
Last: 5/13/23 – UL 1, MAR 0 (Lamson Park)
In Huntington: First Meeting
Streak: UL, +1
First regular season meeting in the all-time series.
Only prior meeting occurred in 2023 Sun Belt Tournament title game at Lamson Park.
It's the first SBC series between the two programs since Marshall joined the conference in 2023.
Marshall was not on Louisiana's SBC schedule the previous two seasons.
UL used a Lauren Allred solo home run and a one-hit shutout from Sam Landry to claim a 1-0 decision in the 2023 SBC Tournament matchup.
THIS 'N THAT
Louisiana has won its SBC opening series each year since 2014.
Cajuns are 8-2 when scoring first and stand at 3-1 in one-run games.
UL can go four-deep in the circle, the innings pitched among the four active pitchers ranging from 27.0 as fewest and 48.0 as the high mark.
In last Saturday's sweep, Mallory Wheeler and Tyra Clary combined to work all 14 innings and held Iowa and Alabama to 10 hits on a .204 average.
Maddie Hayden captured her 200th career hit on Friday in Tuscaloosa. She joins older sister Haley Hayden (2014-17) in posting 200 hits as a Cajun.
Kayla Falterman reached base each of the first 19 games (has .535 OB%).
Cecilia Vasquez, with a team-best 24 RBI, has posted at least one RBI in 14 of 23 games and has a team-leading seven (7) multiple-RBI games.
RBI total (24) for Cecilia Vasquez marks her personal single-season best.
Maddie Hayden, Kayla Falterman and Cecilia Vasquez, Nos. 1-3 in the lineup, have combined for 71 hits on a .372 average.
Freshman pitcher Mallory Wheeler has had a hand in both of UL' s shutouts. She leads the pitching staff in wins (5) and innings pitched (48.0).
Bethaney Noble has thrived in relief situations, yielding only five (5) runs and tallying 22 strikeouts over 19.0 IP as a reliever.
Bethaney Noble is 2-0 with 1.84 ERA over her six relief appearances.
Mallory Wheeler (D1Softball and Softball America) and Emily Smith (Softball America) were named to national Freshmen Watch Lists.
Maddie Hayden, Sam Roe and Cecilia Vasquez represented Louisiana on the 2025 Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference team.
UL, picked second, had the most first-place votes in the SBC Coaches Poll.
UL has recorded 1,903 wins, a total that ranks Top 5 in NCAA history.
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