Lady Cajun softball ranked No. 9
Cajun softball ranked No. 9 in preseason
LOUISIANA La. — The University of Louisiana’s Lady Cajun softball team will begin the 2004 regular season in the Top 10 of the national rankings.
The first softball poll of the 2004 season was released Wednesday and the Cajuns were ranked No. 9 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 poll.
UL, coming off a 47-11 season in 2003 and an appearance in the Women’s College World Series, was ranked eighth in the final 2003 poll.
The Cajuns were the only Sun Belt school to garner the preseason honor, and the ranking marks the highest preseason recognition during head coach Stefni Lotief's tenure.
“The preseason ranking is in recognition for the outstanding season we had last year and acknowledgment that we return an awesome team for 2004,” Lotief said.
“We are building a program that has as one of its goals to be recognized nationally as one of the best in the country.
“It is great to start the year in the top 10 — we are honored.”
Louisiana returns six position starters, two starting pitchers and a total of 11 letterwinners from its 2003 squad that claimed the program’s third straight Sun Belt regular season championship and advanced to the WCWS for the first time since 1996.
“The game is played on the field and we need to take care of our business and the polls will take care of themselves,” Lotief said. “Our focus is on playing the game and getting better everyday.
“We have a great team with great players who work hard both on the field and in the classroom. We are excited about the season getting started the first week of February and we hope to see everybody at the park for all the home games and we appreciate all of the support this community has given and continues to give to benefit the Ragin’ Cajuns softball program."
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