LOUISIANA La. — In some ways, the Nicholls State Colonels traveled a shorter distance than the Lady Cajuns for today’s 5 p.m. softball doubleheader at UL.

It might feel that way for the Lady Cajuns, anyway.

Coach Stefni Lotief’s squad returned from California at 11 p.m. on Monday after a weekend’s competition in the Kia Klassic hosted by Cal State-Fullerton, flying to Atlanta before turning westward, at that.

Outfielder Ashley Evans has a sore back, and may be questionable for today’s action, while second baseman Brittany Bryant looked miserable at Tuesday’s practice while battling springtime allergies.

“I guess we’re lucky that’s all we have,” said Lotief, whose team is 28-4 on the season but looked shackled by jet lag on Tuesday.

“There are a couple of girls with turf toe, that kind of thing, but we’re all right.”

One apparently fit Cajun is junior pitcher Brooke Mitchell, who is 22-3 with a 0.60 earned run average, 31 walks issued in 26 appearances and an eye-poppoing 294 strikeouts in 163 2/3 innings.

The Sun Belt Conference’s Pitcher of the Week for a fifth time this season is second in UL career strikeouts with 737, closing in on No. 1 Kyla Hall’s 820.

“Brooke is one of the best pitchers in the country,” Lotief said. “She struck out six members of our U.S. Olympic Team at the Kia, and you just don’t do that. That’s the best players in the world.”

Offensively, the Cajuns have hit 50 home runs (21 at home) and are on target to break their school-record 79 by last season’s College World Series squad. At their 1.6 homer-per-game pace, the Cajuns would slug 95 in the regular season.

At the same time, UL can be selective, drawing 152 walks in 32 games.

Nicholls State coach Phyllis Guedry brings a 14-13 team into town from Thibodaux. The Colonels have won nine of their last 11 and reached the semifinals of last weekend’s Georgia Tech Buzz Classic.

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Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com