Softball: Cajuns’ Road to Oklahoma City Begins in Baton Rouge

Baton Rouge Regional

Date: May 17-19

Location: Baton Rouge, La.

Site: Tiger Park

Radio: ESPN 1420

Live Stream: LSUsports.net

Times: First Round vs. FIU 3:00 PM, May 8th

 

Regional Central

 

WHAT’S ON TAP?  After receiving an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, the Ragin’ Cajuns softball program will make the short trip to Baton Rouge for the NCAA Regional, taking on Northwestern State on  May 17 at 3:00 P.M.  They will be making their 15th consecutive and 23rd overall appearance in the NCAA Regionals.  The last time they were selected for a regional in Baton Rouge was 2008, leaving victorious to face UCLA in the Super Regionals.

 

REGIONAL RUNDOWN: The Cajuns will be joined in Baton Rouge by tournament host #9 LSU, Northwestern State and Central Connecticut State.  Like the Cajuns, LSU was also an at-large bid to the tournament, while Northwestern State and Central Connecticut won the Southland and the Northeast Conference, respectively.  Louisiana is 71-13 all-time against Northwestern State, 6-13 against LSU and it has never faced Central Connecticut.

 

CAJUNS UPDATE:  Louisiana fell short in the Sun Belt Tournament, losing in a 10-inning affair with top-seeded Western Kentucky, 7-4 on Saturday, May 11 in a forced second game.  They finished the tournament 3-2 with both losses in extra-innings. Senior Sarah Draheim and Jordan Wallace were named to the Sun Belt All-Tournament team.

 

POST-SEASON POWER: Senior catcher Sarah Draheim set a Sun Belt Conference tournament record with 11 hits in the tournament, topping Mandie Fischback of Florida Atlantic, who had nine  hits in 2007.  Draheim finished the tournament with a .611 batting average (11-for-18), two home runs and 11 RBI. She scored seven runs and was walked twice.

 

DRIVING THEM IN WITH POWER: With Brianna Cherry driving in her 50th run of the season at the Sun Belt Tournament, Louisiana now has four players with 50� RBI, along with four players with 10� home runs.  It is the first time since 2006 that four Cajuns have hit over 10 home runs and the first time in the Lotief era that four Cajuns have drove in 50�.

 

MOVING UP THE STRIKEOUT LIST: Jordan Wallace has fanned 331 batters this season, the third most all-time in a season at Louisiana.  She is just 11 strikeouts shy of tying Brooke Mitchell’s 2005 campaign with 342 strikeouts and second all-time at Louisiana.  Mitchell also holds the all-time record with 524 strikeouts in the 2004 season.

 

WHERE DO THEY RANK? The Cajuns stayed put in the May 14 NFCA edition, and final regular season rankings of 2013, holding at 21st.  They did move up in the RPI polls, and now sit in 17th in the nation, the highest-ranked non-host in the NCAA Regionals.

 

DOUBLE NO-NO: The Cajuns battled South Alabama on Thursday evening in an epic pitchers duel, with both pitchers taking a no-hitter into extra innings.  The two teams finished the game with a combined one hit, driving in the only run of the game. The Jaguars topped the Cajuns 1-0 to advance in the winners bracket.

 

SIX CAJUNS NAMED TO ALL-SUN BELT: Six Ragin’ Cajuns, including five first-team members, who helped Louisiana to it’s 15th straight season of 40 wins or more, have been named to the All-Sun Belt teams.  Matte Haack, Sarah Draheim, Brianna Cherry, Nerissa Myers and Jordan Wallace all picked up first team honors, and Shellie Landry was named to the All-Sun Belt Second Team.

 

THE LOTIEF DYNASTY: The Cajuns won their 40th game of the season on Sunday, May 5 and have now won 40 games in every season since 1998.  The Cajuns have never failed to win 40 games with a Lotief at the helm of the program, and have strung together 15 consecutive 40-win seasons.

 

Nick Ross

Sports Information Assistant

University of Louisiana-Lafayette

(C)- 651-808-2743

(O)- 337-482-6332