Stefni Lotief would love to give Brooke Mitchell a break, but she’d also love to maintain Louisiana’s softball dominance of the Sun Belt Conference.

The Lady Cajuns open league play today in Las Cruces against a New Mexico State program that has offered little resistance to UL in the past, and resting Mitchell could yield benefits later in a season that should stretch into NCAA Tournament action.

NMSU has never defeated the Cajuns in 13 previous tries. The Aggies were outscored 58-3 in a four-game sweep in Lafayette last season, and have been drilled 101-18 in the last eight matchups.

The two teams will play 2 p.m. doubleheaders today and Sunday.

“Obviously,” Lotief said, “the challenge is to compete and win games.

“It would be good to ease the burden of our young hitters early on. Our offense at times has been able to set the pace for a game, and that’s when we have the luxury of using some of our younger pitchers.”

It’s hard not to put the ball in Mitchell’s hand. She is 26-3 with a 0.59 ERA and has struck out a staggering 345 batters in 189 1/3 innings of work this year.

Mitchell has 21 games of double-digit strikeouts in 2004, and her 788 career K’s are second only to Kyla Hall’s 820 in UL career lists.

“We have to make sure we handle ourselves the right way,” Lotief said. “Our young pitchers’ mindset is very important. We have to make sure we have the total package backing them up.”

Freshman Heather Bobbitt (3-1, 0.88) is the next option for UL, while Holly Tankersley (3-0, 1.00) has proved too valuable at the plate (.365, 10 home runs, 24 RBI) as an outfielder to groom as a pitcher.

“Holly is having a tremendous season at the plate and in the field, so her pitching has suffered a little bit,” Lotief said. “Where she fits in with the team structure is really important.”

The 32-4 Cajuns are loaded with young faces as they attempt to return to the Women’s College World Series, but those young players have slammed 53 home runs and are averaging six runs per contest.

Missing lately has been sophomore outfielder-first baseman Ashley Evans, who suffered rib damage at the Kia Klassic. Her .381 average and speed (3-of-4 steals) are missed.

“She separated cartilage in her rib cage, and nothing will help but just time,” Lotief said. “She got hurt on a catch against the U.S. Olympic Team. She made the catch, and then her knee went into her chest. It was an awesome catch, though.”

The Cajuns are 47-5 against Sun Belt competition under Lotief, and have four College World Series appearances as the gold standard by which other league programs are measured.

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Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com