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Softball: The ties that bindWaco Regional chock-full of Louisiana connections Brady Aymond • baymond@theadvertiser.com • May 13, 2009 When the Waco Regional kicks off on Friday, the action between the lines is guaranteed to be fierce and hard-nosed. But outside the lines, don’t expect that intensity to carry over -at least not from the coaches’ standpoint. UL coach Michael Lotief said the Cajun coaching staff is actually looking forward to reuniting with some old friends this weekend at Baylor’s Getterman Stadium. The Cajuns’ first round matchup with Baylor has some Louisiana flavor to it as Baylor coach Glenn Moore coached at LSU from 1998-2000 and is a graduate of Northwestern State. "We’re pretty close to all of them," Lotief said. "I’ve been knowing Glenn for a long time. He recruited some of my kids (in select ball). We have a good relationship with Texas State (coach Ricci Woodard). We used to play them every year, now we play them in fall ball. "And the twins (Northwestern coaches Kate and Caryl Drohan) are my buddies. We’re real good friends." On the field, though, the action may be the toughest to handicap of all the regionals. Northwestern enters the tournament as the favorite with its No. 12 national seed and Big Ten-best 79 homers. Baylor is the host and the No. 2 seed – coming off a trip to the Big 12 Tournament semifinals. UL is the No. 3 seed, but boasts the most wins of the tournament field with 43 victories against only 11 losses. And Texas State rounds out the field with an impressive resumé, which includes a 2-0 win against host Baylor at Getterman Stadium. "I think when you get to this point in the season, every opponent out there is going to be a worthy opponent," UL coach Stefni Lotief said. "Three of the four teams have been to the World Series. Baylor’s been there, Northwestern’s been there. And Texas State is a program that’s consistently in the top 20. "You’re talking about perennial top 25 teams, so you definitely have a level of respect for who you’re playing." While Northwestern carries a big bat into the regional – with five players having double-digit homers – Baylor boasts a hot pitcher in the circle. Freshman Whitney Canion has compiled a 24-16 record with a 1.76 ERA in 42 starts for the Bears. More impressively, though, is Canion ranks fourth in the nation with 393 strikeouts. At the plate, the Bears have one of the nation’s top offenses with a .310 batting average. Kayce Walker leads the Bears with a .413 clip with 23 stolen bases. The Bears as a team rank 20th in the nation in stolen bases with 102 in 115 attempts. The fourth team in the field – Texas State – rolled through the Southland Conference with a 24-6 record. The Bobcats followed up the regular season title by breezing through the tournament. Texas State has one of the best pitching staffs in the country with a 1.34 ERA, which ranks sixth in the NCAA. Chandler Hall leads the staff with a 24-9 record and 1.03 ERA. Katie Garnett also has a 15-6 mark with 1.81 ERA. "I see a strong field when I look at the matchups," Michael Lotief said. "You have programs with good softball tradition and good coaching. "It’s going to be a war. It’s going to be fun."
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