Softball: UL senior softball class truly special group

Kevin Foote, The Advertiser, May 8, 2016

 

It’s hard to imagine a more impressive or hard-working or more accomplished senior class than the six UL Ragin’ Cajun softball players who will be playing their final regular season home games at Lamson Park this weekend.

With this great program, however, you always have to hesitate to say "the best ever" because the Cajuns have been an elite program nationally for almost three decades now.

When you’ve collected 26 NCAA appearances in 27 years, 48 All-Americans and 11 50-win seasons, that’s a lot of special senior group along the way.

Wherever you fall on that issue, this weekend is about honoring, not ranking, this group of six seniors when the No. 9-ranked Cajuns host UL Monroe in a 2 p.m. doubleheader Saturday and a 1 p.m. single game Sunday at Lamson Park.

Anyway you slice it, this group — including Lexie Elkins, Shellie Landry, Kelsey Vincent, Sara Corbello, Meagan Thomas and Gabby Felps — covers all the bases.

She’s been out for the past month, but All-American catcher Elkins is as good as it gets in the history of this athletic department.

No, it’s not football or men’s basketball, so some may grimace at that suggestion, but Elkins was a first-team All-American named as the best player in the country at her position. If someone equaled that feat wearing a Ragin’ Cajun uniform, it’s certainly a small list.

If she didn’t break her thumb on April Fool’s Day, Elkins would likely be in hot pursuit of the all-time NCAA softball home run record these days. She just might be the best hitter in the entire country. UL fans can’t wait for her return.

Remember, Elkins came to UL as a young transfer from Texas Tech with no career collegiate home runs and a lot of promise. She’ll leave as quite possibly the program’s best all-time hitter.

Landry, meanwhile, made the short trip to Lamson Park from St. Thomas More with loads of fanfare and high expectations. Sure, she’ s had some obstacles along the way, but she’s delivered.

She was a second-team All-American last season. More importantly, she’s grown as a leader and been a constant force near the stop of UL’s batting order. When Elkins went down, Landry led the charge in her absence, hitting safely in 18 of 20 Sun Belt games during that stretch and leading the team with 30 RBIs in league play.

Future Cajuns displaying great intensity will be compared to her.

Vincent, meanwhile, is a great lesson in consistency and perseverance. For years, coach Michael Lotief has reminded us about her two bad knees and heavy heart from her father’s death in high school that would have overwhelmed many.

Instead, Vincent always sort of reminded of that veteran Major League first baseman who spent his career as a leader in the clubhouse, always ready with an uplifting word of encouragement and primed to deliver that clutch hit just when the opposition least expects it.

Then there’s the comeback story in Corbello. "Why, why, why," they asked Lotief both in person and otherwise, "Why is he sticking with Corbello?"

There are very few stat lines, if any, that bring a bigger smile to Lotief’s face that Corbello’s. When you see ".317, 11 homers, 26 RBIs, .434 on-base percentage," we now see what Lotief thought was possible.

It’s hard not to be happy for her. We’ve all heard about how it’s all about the team and they just focus on the process and the next pitch. Most of us get that talk for the most part, but these players are still human. No one enjoys prolonged slumps, no matter how much of a team player they are.

For Corbello to bounce back with this kind of senior season, here’s a standing ovation for her resolve.

Then there are always seniors like Thomas and Felps, who don’t get as many at-bats as the regulars and therefore don’t have the numbers to point to. Fortunately, these have been seen. Thomas has pinch-run in 34 games. Simply put, the former New Iberia standout contributed to one of the nation’s best programs for four years.

As individuals, many in this group were spectacular.

As a group, just think of what its achieved – three Super Regionals, a 175-44 overall record and 98-11 Sun Belt record.

They were handed an enormously successful program upon arrival and in many ways, somehow made it even better.

That’s not an easy thing to do.

UL Monroe at UL

Series: 2 p.m. doubleheader Saturday, 1 p.m. single game Sunday.

Place: Lamson Park.

TV: MyAcadianaTV/ESPN3 on Saturday.

Radio: KPEL 1420 AM.

Records: ULM 23-29, 7-14; UL 37-7, 18-2.

RPI: ULM No. 176, UL No. 11.

UL top hitters: Kassidy Zeringue (.383, 5 RBIs), Aleah Craighton (.368, 15 HRs, 42 RBIs), Haley Hayden (.362, 7 HRs, 38 RBIs), Sara Corbello (.317, 11 HRs, 26 RBIs), DJ Sanders (.311, 16 HRs, 50 RBIs), Kelsey Vincent (.292, 10 HRs, 38 RBIs). Team: .335, 346 runs, 51 doubles, 90 HRs, 46 SBs).

ULM top hitters: Rochelle Roberts (.483, 5 HRs, 18 RBIs), Amye Barre (.336, 9 HRs, 35 RBIs), Faith Bohack (.303, 7 HRs, 30 RBIs), McKinley Marks (.276, 4 HRs, 22 RBIs).  Team: .281, 220 runs, 52 doubles, 34 HRs, 113 SBs.

UL top pitchers: Alex Stewart (22-4, 1.57 ERA, 156 IP, 142 H, 20 BB, 153 K), Kylee Jo Trahan (10-3, 2.41, 69.2 IP, 42 H, 23 BB, 79 K). Team: 1.86, 267 IP, 220 H, 52 BB, 254 K.

ULM top pitchers: Melanie Coyne (17-19, 3.66 ERA, 208.1 IP, 216 H, 88 BB, 133 K), Paige Porter (3-6,3.76 ERA, 63.1 IP, 83 H, 17 BB, 26 K). Team: 3.83 ERA, 332.1 IP, 374 H, 140 BB, 195 K.

UL senior Shellie Landry, center, is one of many teammates greeting fellow senior Kelsey Vincent (28) at the plate during a home run earlier. Landry and Vincent join Sara Corbello as senior regulars playing their final regular season home series this weekend at Lamson Park. (Photo: Advertiser file photo)