UL at NFCA Leadoff Classic

Friday’s Games

11 a.m. – UL vs. Illinois State
1:30 p.m. – UL vs. James Madison
Saturday’s Games

1:30 p.m. – UL vs. Hofstra
4 p.m. – UL vs. South Florida
Sunday’s Games

10 a.m. – UL vs. Rutgers

She spent much of her young athletic career thinking about the day that she’d play college softball for the UL Ragin’ Cajuns program.

Still, the former West Monroe High standout pitcher Haley Hayden had no better idea than any other incoming freshman exactly how much immediate success she would experience on the Division I level.

So far anyway, the Division I pitching she’s faced has been pretty unclear of how to get Hayden out consistently … or even keep her inside the park for that matter.

“She’s special,” said UL coach Michael Lotief, whose No. 20-ranked Cajuns (6-3-1) begin play in the NFCA Leadoff Classic at 11 a.m. today against Illinois State in Clearwater, Fla. “For a little bitty girl, the ball just jumps off her bat. We’ve had a lot of very good hitters bat in the No. 2 hole in this program, and she’s got that kind of pop in her bat. She’s got a good eye and incredible bat speed.”

Not only has the smallest girl in the lineup proven that she deserves to start, but she’s taken the early lead in UL’s power game at .324 with a team-high five homers, a team-high 12 RBIs and a slugging percentage of .757.

“I hadn’t heard anything about hitting second in the order here,” Hayden said. “But it doesn’t really matter to me where I hit. To me, it’s just an honor to hit anywhere in the lineup at UL.”

For some, such talk just sounds good. In Hayden’s case, it comes from the heart.

She doesn’t even remember when it first started, but she’s had a burning desire to play for UL’s softball program for many years. Unlike many high school softball players, Hayden has taken numerous trips to the Women’s College World Series.

She’s dreamed for years of playing for an elite program capable of making it that far and to have one in her home state just three hours away made the Cajuns the object of her desires long before the coaching staff ever recruited her.

So imagination her utter glee, when Hayden began her college career with a couple of home tournaments against the likes of Texas and Michigan.

“It was really fun,”“ Hayden said. “It was so exciting, playing against teams that I grew up watching on TV.”

To increase the attraction, Hayden played summer ball growing up with fellow freshman Kendall Smith, whose older sister Katie starred for the Cajuns.

“This is where I always wanted to go,” Hayden said. “This is a great program. UL is always a contender. I looked a couple of other schools, but I didn’t want to play anywhere else. This is the best decision I ever made.”

A big part of coming to UL in Hayden’s mind was being able to learn under Lotief’s unique hitting approach.

“I wanted to play for him,“ Hayden said. “His methods are not like any other in in the country. He has such a deep understanding of hitting. He thinks about it on a higher level.

“I still don’t consider myself a home run hitter. I think he could turn anyone into a home run hitter.”

While Hayden has sold out to Lotief’s teaching now, there was a period upon arrival when she wasn’t so sure.

Lotief was teaching mechanics that she had never experienced and it wasn’t working very well initially.

“I didn’t think I was going to be able to do it,” Hayden said. “It didn’t feel right. I was lost. I didn’t think it was going to work for me.”

Hayden said the frustration led her to tears on more than one occasion.

By the final game of the fall season against McNeese State, though, it started to click. Her swing felt comfortable again.

’“I totally trust him now,” Hayden said. “I’m 100 percent all in. Whatever he tells me to do, I’m going to trust it.”

It wasn’t just Lotief’s hitting mechanics that was new to Hayden. Most of her high school career was spent in the circle or at shortstop. Now she was being asked to play in the outfield.

Hayden’s played some left and some centerfield. Those long throws have been interesting for her due to an old labrum injury.

“The mechanics of throwing in the outfield are totally different than throwing on the infield,” Hayden said. “I’m getting used to it. I’ll play wherever he (Lotief) feels like is best for the team, but I think I prefer center. Left or center is fine. Right would be totally different for me, because I’ve never played on that side of the field before.”

As she described her hot start, Hayden knows that first college slump will come eventually.

“He (Lotief) talks to us a lot about the mental side of hitting,” “she said. “I’m going to do whatever he tells me to do and try to make it as short as I possibly can.”