Softball: Current Season Review and Week 3 Preview

[VObserver]

Season Review

Setting aside the moans and groans over the Prairie View game, compared to last season, we were 6-3 after 9 games last year, same as this year. Our loses were to Jax St, Ole Miss and Prairie View this year and to Texas, Seton Hall and Sam Houston last year.

I did not compute 9 game stats for last year, but compared to season stats last year, with last year's numbers shown first:

HITTING

Batting Avg. .293 - .351
OPS .763 - 1.041
Runs 229 - 74
RBI 196 - 72
2B 46 - 15
3B 10 - 2
HR 22 - 15
SO 133 - 27
SF 8 - 5
SH 80 - 4

PITCHING

ERA 3.79 - 3.56
WHIP 1.61 - 1.56
K 191 - 50
BB 181 - 36
K/BB 1.055 - 1.389

FIELDING % .969 - .972

It is still very early, but it appears that pitching and defense remain similar to last year, while hitting seems to be greatly improved in every metric.

WEEK 3 REVIEW

We will find out a lot about our team this week, as we hit the road for the first time, and the schedule is brutal.

Tuesday:

@ # 6 FSU [8-2]

Friday [in Baton Rouge]:

vs Michigan State [6-2]
vs Howard [6-3]

Saturday [in Baton Rouge]

vs Howard [6-3]
@ LSU [7-4]

Sunday [in Lake Charles]

vs Missouri [4-7]
vs Houston [8-1]

If we go 3-4 we should not be too upset. 4-3 we should be satisfied. Anything better than that is cause for dancing in the streets.

Can we do better than 4-3? Yes; but it requires our players and our coaches to step up their game.

[RoarMan]

It's very difficult to set aside a loss to a SWAC team. I know it's early, but, having lost to that team lessens the chances of the Cajuns getting a spot in the field of 64 without winning the conference championship.

[Mark Hemphill]

Nice write up! With the exception of the Prairie View game, I'm liking what I have been seeing from the 2026 Cajuns. On the plus side, Haley Hart is a baller! She is leading the Cajuns in almost every offensive category. The Cajuns currently have 4 starters batting over .400 and 3 batting over .300. Coach Ship has his the ground running with the offense. On the negative, Smith is experiencing a sophmore slump right now. They need her to figure it out and get back on track. Manning also needs to be more consistent if she wants to stay as an everyday player. The pitching also needs to figure it out. Way to many walks as a staff. I would also like Alyson loosen up the choke hold she has had on the offense and try to steal more.

Big weekend coming up with a chance to get some quality wins to help wash out the loss to Prairie View.

[UL_Cajuns]

A win against FSU and that PV loss is a wash.

[RoarMan]

Nice write up! With the exception of the Prairie View game, I'm liking what I have been seeing from the 2026 Cajuns. On the plus side, Haley Hart is a baller! She is leading the Cajuns in almost every offensive category. The Cajuns currently have 4 starters batting over .400 and 3 batting over .300. Coach Ship has his the ground running with the offense. On the negative, Smith is experiencing a sophmore slump right now. They need her to figure it out and get back on track. Manning also needs to be more consistent if she wants to stay as an everyday player. The pitching also needs to figure it out. Way to many walks as a staff. I would also like Alyson loosen up the choke hold she has had on the offense and try to steal more.

Big weekend coming up with a chance to get some quality wins to help wash out the loss to Prairie View.

Mark. Spot on with the comments about the three players. As a freshman, Smith was successful at the plate from the start. However, later in the season, she only hit two home runs. I'm thinking that's because opponents did not have a book on her to start and towards the end of the season they did and maybe this year they have figured out how to pitch to her.

As a pitching coach, can you please explain why she squares up to bunt and then pulls the bat back at the last second to swing away? I absolutely hate when players do that.

[Mark Hemphill]

....As a pitching coach, can you please explain why she squares up to bunt and then pulls the bat back at the last second to swing away? I absolutely hate when players do that.

The simplest answer to your questions is that it acts as a distraction to the pitcher and is a timing mechanism for the batter. Not a fan of that technique but some players swear that it helps get them on time with the pitch.

[VObserver]

I am very encouraged by our power numbers so far this season. I realize we are very unlikely to sustain our pace over the entire season, but if we do, those numbers are staggering.

If we continue on our current pace we would end the regular season with 90 doubles, 12 triples and 90 home runs; driving in 432 runs and producing 444 runs [8.22 R/G].

[VObserver]

The simplest answer to your questions is that it acts as a distraction to the pitcher and is a timing mechanism for the batter. Not a fan of that technique but some players swear that it helps get them on time with the pitch.

Not a fan, either. I much prefer timing by pulling the hands straight back in the plane of the swing.

[CajunSID]

I have admittedly not watched every game, but I have seen enough to believe we need to get the at-large talk out of the way early.

I think they might get exposed a bit the next couple weeks, and that’s ok. Your top 2 pitchers are coming off injury and no competitive reps for 1-2 years. The rust is obvious.

They can’t really figure out a lineup because there have been a few expected top hitters simply not be top hitters.

They are not elite defensively. All of this to say I think this team, if they’ve got a little something mentally, can be pretty darn good come May.

There are so many signs this team could be good down the road. There are also a lot of signs this team is gonna stub its toe more than a few times.

I truly believe this is an NCAA Regional team. They just aren’t gonna look like one…yet.