G7: 3:30 p.m. – (if necessary) Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 6
LEADING OFF
>> No. 15 Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Softball is set to make the program’s 22nd consecutive and 30th appearance overall in the NCAA Tournament, competing in the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional at Tiger Park from Friday-Sunday, May 21-23.
>> It’s the 30th appearance overall in the past 31 editions of the NCAA Tournament for the Ragin’ Cajuns. Since 1990, Louisiana has missed the NCAA’s postseason event only once (1998).
>> Louisiana, the Sun Belt Conference’s regular season and tournament champions, secured its spot in collegiate softball’s premier postseason event by capturing the league’s automatic bid. During the conference tournament title run in Troy, Ala., the Ragin’ Cajuns piled up a tournament-record 36 runs capped off by a 15-3 (5 inn.) win over South Alabama in the championship game.
>> The NCAA Baton Rouge Regional includes No. 7 national seed Louisiana State (32-19), Louisiana (44-10), George Washington (37-9) and McNeese State (34-24).
>> The winner of the regional will play the winner of the NCAA Tallahassee Regional which features No. 10 national seed Florida State (39-10-1), Auburn (27-22), UCF (39-17-1) and Kennesaw State (26-25) in the super regional round the next week for a trip to the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City.
>> Louisiana makes it ninth trip overall to Baton Rouge for the NCAA Regional Round since the 2000 season, and the first since Gerry Glasco‘s inaugural season in 2018.
>> The Ragin’ Cajuns enter the NCAA Tournament winners of 28 of their last 32 games with a .338 batting average, 7.3 runs per game average and 1.94 ERA during the strong buildup to postseason play.
NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
30th overall appearance (1990-1997, 1999-2019, 2021)
All-Time NCAA Tournament Record: 78-61 (.561)
NCAA Regionals Record: 66-38 (.635)
NCAA Regional Championships: 11
Last Championship: 2016 (NCAA Lafayette Regional)
NOTABLES
- Louisiana is one of only nine schools to play in the NCAA Tournament every year since 2000. The list includes: Alabama, Arizona, Florida State, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, UCLA and Washington.
- Louisiana’s 30 NCAA Tournament appearances rank eighth (8th) in NCAA history.
- The program’s all-time NCAA Tournament wins total (78) represents the 13th-most wins in NCAA history.
- In the previous 12 NCAA Regional appearances (2008-19), the Ragin’ Cajuns went 32-11 and claimed seven championships.
- Louisiana has advanced to Championship Sunday of an NCAA Regional in each of its last 12 appearances (2008-19).
- The Ragin’ Cajuns captured NCAA Regional titles in Baton Rouge in 2008, 2010 and 2013. The squad finished as runner-up at Tiger Park in 2017 and 2018.
GEORGE WASHINGTON SERIES HISTORY
Series Record: First Meeting
LOUISIANA STATE SERIES HISTORY
Series Record: Louisiana State leads, 19-11
In Baton Rouge: Louisiana State leads, 12-8
In NCAA Tournament: Louisiana leads, 8-7
Last Meeting: 2/27/21 // LSU 4, LA 3 (Baton Rouge)
Streak: Louisiana State, �3
Series Notables
– Tigers claimed three of the four regular season matchups played over 2020 and 2021.
– Met on Championship Sunday in NCAA Regional six times (2001, 2006, 2008, 2013, 2017, 2018)
– Ragin’ Cajuns’ most-played opponent in NCAA Tournament (15 previous meetings)
MCNEESE STATE SERIES HISTORY
Series Record: Louisiana leads, 103-25
Neutral Site: Louisiana leads, 8-2
In NCAA Tournament: Louisiana leads, 2-0
Last Meeting: 3/3/21 // LA 5, MCN 4 (Lake Charles)
Streak: Louisiana, �3
Series Notables
– Second-oldest series (128 games) in program history, trailing only ULM (140 games).
– Three of last four meetings have been decided by one run (includes both in 2021 season).
– Last NCAA Tournament meeting came in 2017 NCAA Regional opener in Baton Rouge. Ragin’ Cajuns won 6-0 behind an Alex Stewart no-hitter
THIS ‘N THAT
>> The Ragin’ Cajuns roster features seven (7) "Super Seniors" who have a combined 34 seasons of experience.
>> Six members of Louisiana’s roster have advanced to the Women’s College World Series: Kaitlyn Alderink (Texas A&M ’17), Ciara Bryan (Georgia ’18), Vanessa Foreman (Arizona ’19), Jade Gortarez (Arizona State ’18), Jenna Kean (Arizona ’19) and Justice Milz (Georgia ’18)
>> Louisiana reached the 40-win mark for the 22nd consecutive completed season, a streak which began back in 1999. It’s the 30th time overall in program history (1981-present) accomplishing the benchmark.
>> The Ragin’ Cajuns 44 wins are the third-most posted in 2021 entering the 2021 NCAA postseason. Only the 46 wins by Miami (OH) and 45 by Oklahoma and Alabama top Louisiana’s total.
>> Louisiana claimed 29 of its 44 wins on the road in the 2021 season (22 true road, 7 neutral), finishing with a 29-5 mark.
>> Over four games in the 2021 Sun Belt Tournament, the Ragin’ Cajuns batted .414 with 36 runs produced off of 46 base hits.
>> Nine different individuals posted multiple hits and eight different individuals tallied multiple-RBI during Louisiana’s run to the Sun Belt Conference Tournament title.
>> The four home runs in the SBC title game increased the Ragin’ Cajuns season total to 62, breaking a tie with the 2019 team (that hit 58) for the most produced in the Gerry Glasco era.
>> Louisiana recorded at least nine base hits in all four SBC Tournament games, reaching double figures in each of the final three games (tallied 15 in title game vs. South Alabama).
>> Louisiana’s lineup and defensive alignment received a boost just in time for the postseason when senior shortstop Alissa Dalton return to action in the regular season-ending series vs. ULM (May 6-8). Dalton, hitting .378 and fielding .960 prior to a hand injury, had missed 16 consecutive games.
>> In her second full week back from the hand injury that forced her to miss 16 straight games in April, Alissa Dalton led the Ragin’ Cajuns with seven hits on a .636 average (7-for-11) at the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
>> The offense is paced by Ciara Bryan who has posted at least one base hit in all but five of the 55 games Louisiana has played. Bryan (.426, 80 H, 57 R, 37 RBI, 19 extra base hits, 35 SB) has delivered an 80-plus hit season in which her average has been above .420 throughout its entirety.
>> In her last 24 appearances (17 starts), Summer Ellyson is 18-2 with a 1.65 ERA. In that timeframe (since March 21), she’s yielded just 34 runs (27 earned) and 78 hits over 114-2/3 innings, struck out 129 and held foes to .185 average.
>> Summer Ellyson enters the NCAA postseason three (3) wins shy of 100 career wins. Only two other Ragin’ Cajuns pitchers have reached the century mark (Brooke Mitchell, Kyla Hall).
>> Kandra Lamb has collected a career-high 16 wins and 149 strikeouts over 132-1/3 innings pitched during her breakout season as Louisiana’s No. 2 pitcher (redshirted in 2020).
>> In four starts vs. Top 25 teams (Louisiana State, Oklahoma State, Texas and Alabama) Kandra Lamb yielded no more than five hits and had a 10-strikeout effort vs. Oklahoma State.
>> The move to third base by Kaitlyn Alderink and second base by Jade Gortarez back on March 26 triggered a turnaround in the Ragin’ Cajuns defense. Since then Alderink has fielded cleanly all but nine of the 85 chances she’s seen, while Gortarez has successfully fielded all but three of the 91 chances that she’s seen.
>> Kaitlyn Alderink, covering third base for the first time in her career, had played 227 straight games at second base prior to the move.
>> Two key catalysts to Louisiana’s success in May: the energy and enthusiasm freshman catcher Sophie Piskos (.455, 10-for-22, 2 HR, 8 RBI) adds to the lineup, plus the timely hitting of Bailey Curry who is batting .600 (9-for-15) as the lead reserve in pinch-hit situations.
NUMBERS TO KNEAUX
38-0: Louisiana’s record when scoring five (5) or more runs in a game this season.
16: Number of individuals who have hit at least one home run for Louisiana.
.446: nce April 1, the team-leading batting average posted by Kaitlyn Alderink.
6: Base hits Ciara Bryan needs to join the program’s single-season Top 5 listing.
2: Ciara Bryan ranks No. 2 nationally with 80 hits. It’s the first 80-hit season of her career.
8: Louisiana seeks its 8th NCAA Super Regionals appearance, and the first since 2016.
97: Number of career wins for Summer Ellyson, third-most recorded in program history.
160: Nation-leading stolen bases collected by the Ragin’ Cajuns (nine shy of the program record).
15: Previous NCAA Tournament meetings vs. Louisiana State (Cajuns hold an 8-7 edge).
14: Number of starts with at least five (5) strikeouts recorded by Kandra Lamb.
30: Overall NCAA Tournament appearances for Louisiana – 8th-most in D1 Softball history.
