Weather forces Louisiana to spend night in Houston

It has already been a long, strange trip for Louisiana in the NCAA Softball Tournament, and the Cajuns haven’t even played a game yet.

The Cajuns, seeded a surprisingly low No. 5 for Region No. 1 in Tucson, Ariz., were supposed to reach the desert on Tuesday to begin preparations for today’s 4 p.m. (CDT) opener against South Carolina.

But inclement weather forced a change in plans, as the squad had to spend Tuesday night in Houston before completing the journey to Tucson.

“We just got here,” coach Stefni Lotief said at 2:30, Lafayette time, on Wednesday. “We got the kids something to eat. Now we’re going to try to get a little practice in.

“It does get a little frustrating. We couldn’t do anything about the weather, and then we had to deal with a third party on travel arrangements.”

Although drained by the hurdles along the way, the Cajuns remained focused on surprising experts by winning the regional and returning to the Women’s College World Series.

“They’re young, so they’re pretty resilient,” Lotief said of her Cajuns. “I think that resilience helps them to have just that much more determination.”

The No. 9-ranked Cajuns roll into regional play with a 55-6 record that includes 14 straight victories and wins in 27 of their last 29 contests. They dominated the Sun Belt Conference in 2004, winning all 18 league games and then sweeping a trio of foes in the Sun Belt Tournament by a combined score of 29-0.

UL is 10-3 all time in regional play outside of Louisiana and won in Fullerton, Calif. in 2003 to reach the WCWS.

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Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com