Softball: Will chemistry, home crowd help lift Cajuns?

Kevin Foote, The Advertiser, May 15, 2015

 

UL?s Kelsey Vincent rounds third after hitting a home run during NCAA Regional play last May against the Texas Longhorns. The Ragin? Cajuns drew a No. 13 seed and will be hosting Baylor, Mississippi State and Weber State, beginning Friday at Lamson Park. UL Softball Coach Michael Lotief leaps into the air as he and players watch Kelsey Vincent (28) head for home plate after her three-run home run against Texas during an NCAA Regional softball tournament game Sunday at Lamson Park in Lafayette. UL won 10-1 and will host an NCAA Super-Regional tournament next week at home.(Photo: Leslie Westbrook, The Advertiser)

 

 

What role will the ‘buts’ play in this weekend’s NCAA Lafayette Regional at Lamson Park?

On paper, it seems to be shaping up pretty nicely for the No. 11-ranked UL Ragin’ Cajuns.

For starters, the Cajuns are at home.

It’s a place where UL went 27-1 on the season and where great programs like Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona and Michigan have gone down in the past two years.

Secondly, the matchups seem to be OK.

I can understand why ESPN analyst Jessica Mendoza proclaimed the Lafayette Regional the toughest in the entire field.

After all, both UL and Baylor were in the Women’s College World Series last year. Mississippi State has 35 wins out of the SEC, including victories over the likes of Florida, LSU, Missouri and Georgia.

Even newcomer Weber State has 38 wins and seems to be better than your everyday bottom seed.

Don’t forget Baylor won two more games than UL did in Oklahoma City last year.

So on paper, Mendoza’s assessment is probably accurate.

The recent head-to-head series results between the two, however, have bolstered UL’s confidence this weekend.

UL is 5-0 against Baylor over the last two seasons — including two games at UL, two at Baylor and one at a neutral site.

Which brings us to the first ‘but’ as we handicap this regional field.

I’m a big odds guy when it comes to analyzing sports. Normally, I’d rather face a hitter who is 4-for-4 with the bases loaded and two outs in the ninth than one who is 0-for-4.

UL has owned Baylor of late, but those winning streaks against a quality program don’t last forever.

Cajun fans are just hoping the law of averages doesn’t pick this weekend to reverse Baylor’s fortunes against UL.

The other ‘but’ when breaking down the prospects of this regional is the home crowd.

A lot of teams look good on paper with great histories of postseason success, but then they get smacked with a right hook by the Lamson Park atmosphere. Suddenly, they look rattled as UL’s lineup, ignited by its boisterous home crowd, gets revved up.

And having not hosted a game since April 11, I’m sure the Lamson Park faithful will be more than ready to erupt Friday night.

Perhaps more than ever, that will be necessary. I realize it’s always big, but there are a few issues that I can’t get out of the back of my mind.

All the coaches and players that I’ve ever interviewed this season have said all the right things. I haven’t heard of or seen any change in the mood or routine at their daily practice sessions.

And I suspect coach Michael Lotief has made more practices than most of us realize in between his numerous hospital visits over the past month.

But I can’t help but wonder what potential lingering effects could be due to the time he has missed.

We’ll never know if the Cajuns would have won a game in Oregon or would have beaten South Alabama if Lotief was there to offer that little bit of extra motivation or suggest one more hitting adjustment.

It’s futile to even speculate.

In many ways, it’s incredible the consistency they’ve been able to maintain without the steady services of what most believe to be one of the top hitting instructors in the country.

Timing can be such a strange thing. And perhaps not always as random as we think. What a comfort to Lotief that he’s got the qualified coaching staff around him as he fights through his medical issues.

Perhaps all of that chaos, and subsequent changes, produced by Lotief shocking resignation and subsequent return two years ago had more long-term wisdom behind it than many of us understood at the time.

I’m not sure the results enjoyed this season would have been as good under some of the previous coaching staffs.

With that said, the chemistry strengths on this team seem to be at an all-time high to battle such intangibles.

All season long, coaches and players have made underlying statements about how strong the leadership is on this year’s team, even more than past clubs. So perhaps some of these concerns will be dwarfed by the team’s will to win and the motivation gained by last year’s failures in Oklahoma City.

But we’ll see.

The other issue that’s had me scratching my head all season is the pitching staff.

Two years ago, it was Jordan Wallace. Last year, it was Christina Hamilton.

This year, both seem to be ready to shine.

But both have had limited availability at times this season due to wear-and-tear injuries over their college careers.

Throughout the season, every time it seemed like the pitching picture was cleared up, a bad outing or a strange twist rose up seemingly out of nowhere.

By midseason, I had pretty much given up on trying to predict how the staff would be used the rest of the way.

From the beginning, Lotief and his staff have maintained that it would be a ‘staff’ approach.

And the truth is, the pitching wasn’t the stumbling block in San Marcos last weekend, so we’ll stay tuned on that front.

Moreover, I wouldn’t be shocked if Lamson Park provides the tonic for any hitting concerns.

Overall, despite the qualified visitors, the outlook does seem to be a good one for the Cajuns this weekend.

But, as the old saying goes, that’s why they play the game.

Lafayette Regional

Friday’s Games

5:30 p.m.: Baylor vs. Mississippi St. (ESPN3)

8 p.m.: UL vs. Weber State (ESPN3)

Saturday’s Games

3:30 p.m.: Game 1 vs. Game 2 winners (ESPN3)

6 p.m.: Game 1 vs. Game 2 losers (ESPN3)

8:30 p.m.: Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 winner (ESPN3)

Sunday’s Game

6 p.m.: Championship Game (ESPN2)

8:30 p.m.: If necessary