Kim Eisnaugle-Chaffin wouldn’t mind moving back to south Louisiana one day.

She always felt at home here, ever since coach Yvette Girouard brought her on board as one of the building blocks of a fledgling softball program that became a national power for Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns.

"We helped promote the team," said Chaffin, who lives in her native Sarasota, Fla., with husband Glenn, a daughter and two sons. "I remember building the field, laying the sod. I feel in my heart that I (helped to) put them on the map.

"In many ways, those were the best years of my life. I got to play softball, and Lafayette is a wonderful town. I love the Cajun people."

Chaffin joined then-USL in the third year of the program, when the field was by Bertrand Drive and motorists had to beware of stray foul balls.

In her four years as a pitcher, Chaffin compiled a record of 68-19, with 20-win seasons as a sophomore in 1984 (21-7) and a junior in 1985 (20-7).

She struck out 812 batters in 689 2/3 innings of work, still No. 3 all-time at the school, and her 0.75 career earned run average remains third in UL history.

Along the way, there were five no-hitters, three coming against early rival Northeast Louisiana (now UL Monroe). One gem remains clear in her memory, some 25 years after her final collegiate season.

"We were in Monroe," Chaffin said. "The night before the game, I had food poisoning. We ate at a buffet, and they said I got some bad mushrooms. I woke up (sick) in the middle of the night, and they took me to the hospital for IVs.

"The next day, we played Monroe, our rival, and I pitched a no-hitter. We won the (Southland) conference. Don’t ask me how I did it."

Chaffin’s impact was noteowrthy. Her No. 14 jersey was one of the first retired in program history, along with teammate Sandy Percle’s No. 32. Chaffin still has the jersey from the ceremony.

When Chaffin arrived at UL, fastpitch softball was just catching fire. In Florida, as well as Louisiana, high school teams still played slowpitch.

"It was slowpitch here," she said. "But I had a league I played in, and fastpitch was up and coming when I played. My dad was my coach, and we took trips and toured."

It was on one such trip that Girouard spotted a star-to-be.

"She called me, I came to visit, and I fell in love with the place," said Chaffin, who remains fond of the rough-and-tumble early days.

"We didn’t care if we scraped our knees," she said. "We had the drive and the determination. That has changed. (Here), I don’t see it. It seems like it was tougher ball back then.

"I would rather play when I played. It was a tougher era."

Of course, Chaffin wouldn’t mind playing once more.

"I can still pitch, but the body changes," said Chaffin, whose 16-year-old daughter Danielle is a hard-hitting left fielder.

In her day, though, Chaffin had the kind of grit that would produce a no-hitter after a night in the hospital.

"Everyone likes to win," Chaffin said. "Fortunately for me, I was on teams that always won. That was how it was on our travel team. When I was on the mound, I felt in control. I had that fire, that drive, and always had great teams behind me. "You either have it or you don’t."

Chaffin works at Paradise Family Health Care in Sarasota, working with 11 surgeons at a facility that caters to the elderly.

"In Florida, there is a big need for that, and it’s very rewarding," Chaffin said. "I think that’s what I was put on this earth to do."

Asked whether she made any lasting friendships playing for the Cajuns, Chaffin laughed and said, "I talked to three of them a minute ago on Facebook!"

Percle is on a regular list of softball players and other contemporary USL athletes that Chaffin visits with regularly.

It’s been 25 years since she pitched for the Cajuns, but Chaffin was delighted to learn of the ongoing improvements at Lamson Field that will allow UL to host NCAA Regional play in style in the future. In fact, she almost sounded homesick.

"It’s so exciting to hear what they’re doing there," she said. "I’d love to bring my daughter and let her see the place."

These days, someone else lays the sod.

"My last game, I remember the disappointment, knowing that was the last game I was going to pitch," Chaffin said. "I was almost in tears, I loved the game so much. It’s my dream to come back and live there."