Lady Cajuns are cream of the crop in 2005 NFCA Leadoff Classic

Louisiana's Ragin' Cajun softball team puts a 12-1 start and a No. 6 national ranking on the line in this weekend's NFCA Leadoff Classic.

The event, which runs today through Sunday at the South Commons Stadium and Complex, boasts six pools of teams with high profiles in college softball.

Coach Stefni Lotief's Cajuns are in Pool 2, which includes DePaul, North Carolina and San Diego State. They open with DePaul at 1:30 today, followed by San Diego State at 4 p.m., and tangle with UNC at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday before beginning bracket play.

The top team from each pool advances to the Gold Championship, to be joined by a pair of at-large teams from the field.

UL is coming off three straight successful home tournaments.

The Cajuns' first loss of the campaign came last Saturday night against Nicholls State in the Louisiana Classics, a 1-0, 8-inning contest decided on a passed ball. They then came out swinging on Sunday against Purdue, thrashing the Boilermakers 15-5 to get back on track.

"Obviously," Lotief said, "I didn't think we would go undefeated. We came back out with the right mindset."

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Bruce Brown
bbrown@theadvertiser.com