Softball: Alyssa Denham Collects LSWA Award for February

Freshman hurler posted 4-1 record in season’s opening month highlighted by two-hit shutout of No. 4 Alabama

LAFAYETTE – Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Softball freshman pitcher Alyssa Denham was one of two student-athletes named the Louisiana Sportswriters Association (LSWA) Softball Pitcher of the Month for February, the LSWA announced on Wednesday.
 
Denham shared the honor with LSU’s Sydney Smith. Voting was conducted by the softball school media relations representatives.
 
Denham and Smith both posted 4-1 records in February with Denham recording 15 strikeouts, two complete game shutouts (No. 4 Alabama and Maryland) and a 1.29 ERA, while Smith had 13 strikeouts and a 0.93 ERA.
 
LSU’s Bailey Landry hit .551 with a team leading 27 hits and 13 RBI in the season’s opening month, landing her LSWA Softball Hitter of the Month honors.
 
The LSWA’s weekly softball honors begin next week.
 
In her first month as a collegian, Denham worked 38 innings in the circle, limiting foes to 10 runs (seven earned), 21 hits and a .159 average. In all three weekends, the Pearland (Texas) High product yielded fewer hits than innings pitched.
 
In her debut weekend, Denham held Big 12-foe Iowa State to one hit over six innings of work with the lone run allowed in the 9-1 triumph being unearned.
 
She worked 12 innings in the circle and held then-No. 4 Alabama to two runs (one earned) and five hits in the weekend series between the two Top 25 programs. In the series clinching two-hit shutout win over the Crimson Tide, she recorded a first-pitch strike off 24 of the 28 batters she faced and Alabama did not get a runner past second base the entire game.
 
Denham worked 14 innings in the circle during last weekend’s Mardi Gras Invitational and picked up two victories, held foes to 10 hits and allowed only three runs. After yielding three runs to Drake on a home run in the sixth inning – her lone blemish of the weekend – she pitched 9-2/3 consecutive scoreless innings the rest of the way highlighted by a three-hit shutout of Big 10-member Maryland.
 
The No. 18-ranked Ragin’ Cajuns (11-4) are headed toward the final leg of their season-opening, 23-game homestand at Lamson Park. Up next is the Ragin’ Cajuns Invitational set for Friday-Sunday, March 3-5 followed by a midweek doubleheader with Baylor on March 7 which closes out the homestand.
 
Louisiana opens play in the Ragin’ Cajuns Invitational on Friday facing Alcorn at 4 p.m. and North Dakota State at 6 p.m. The games can be heard in the Lafayette area on ESPN 1420-AM and worldwide on the RadioPup app. A live video stream and live statistics is available at RaginCajuns.com.
 
For more information on Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns Softball, as well as all of Ragin’ Cajuns Athletics, visit RaginCajuns.com. Fans can also follow along with the team on Facebook (/RaginCajunSoftball),Twitter (@RaginCajunsSB) and Instagram (@RaginCajunsSoftball).