Louisiana (30-10) at No. 22 Baylor (30-9)
Date: Tuesday, April 11, 2023
Location: Waco, Texas
Stadium: Getterman Stadium (1,250)
Game Time: 6:00 p.m. (CDT)
Louisiana (30-10) at No. 19 Texas A&M (24-13)
Date: Wednesday, April 12, 2023
Location: Bryan-College Station, Texas
Stadium: Davis Diamond (2,000)
Game Time: 6:00 p.m. (CDT)
MEDIA INFORMATION
Season Stats (PDF): Louisiana [ragincajuns.com] | Baylor [baylorbears.com] | Texas A&M [12thman.com]
Rosters: Louisiana [ragincajuns.com] | Baylor [baylorbears.com] | Texas A&M [12thman.com]
Schedule/Results: Louisiana [ragincajuns.com] | Baylor [baylorbears.com] | Texas A&M [12thman.com]
Television: ESPN+ (Baylor); SECN+ (Texas A&M)
Radio: Talk Radio 960 AM | Talent: Cody Junot, PxP; Bobby Neveaux, analyst
Live Video: Baylor [espn.com] | Texas A&M [espn.com]
Live Audio: Baylor [thevarsitynetwork.com] | Texas A&M [thevarsitynetwork.com]
Live Stats: Baylor [statb.us] | Texas A&M [statb.us]
Twitter Updates: @RaginCajunsSB [twitter.com]
TEAM INFORMATION
LOUISIANA Ragin' Cajuns
NFCA: RV | USA: RV | SBA: -- | D1S: 25 | RPI: 10
Head Coach: Gerry Glasco [ragincajuns.com] (Illinois, '80)
Record at Louisiana: 235-63 (6th season)
Career Record: Same
Team Slash Line (AVG / SLG / OBP): .308 / .503 / .382
Team ERA: 2.37
LEADING OFF
>> The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Softball team takes in its annual Spring Break trip, traveling to the State of Texas for midweek games at Baylor and Texas A&M from Tuesday-Wednesday, April 11-12.
>> The Spring Break games mark the start of a week-long stretch of chances for Top 50 RPI wins for the Ragin' Cajuns who return to Yvette Girouard Field at Lamson Park to meet Texas State in a Sun Belt Conference series from Friday-Sunday, April 14-16.
>> While out in Texas during the midweek, Louisiana (No. 10) is set for a pair of matchups with Top 25 RPI clubs in Baylor (No. 19) and Texas A&M (No. 23).
>> The Ragin' Cajuns are coming off a key Sun Belt series sweep of South Alabama at Lamson Park that vaulted the team into first place in the conference standings of the nation's No. 6 RPI league.
>> The USA sweep stretched Louisiana's active winning streak to a season-high seven games. The squad has won 17 of its last 19 games dating back to March 8.
>> Louisiana will make its first appearance at Getterman Stadium in Waco since the 2019 Baylor Invitational and its debut at Texas A&M's Davis Diamond having last visited Bryan-College Station in 2017.
>> The matchups with Baylor and Texas A&M will bring the number of ranked teams Louisiana has faced up to 10 and will increase the number of matchups against Power 5 teams in non-conference play to 17.
>> The Ragin' Cajuns are coming off one of their best week-long performances at the plate, batting .343 with 24 runs scored off of 35 hits that included 10 home runs during the sweep of the McNeese and South Alabama games.
THIS 'N THAT
>> Louisiana holds a 17-12 series lead over Baylor with the programs splitting the eight previous meetings held at Getterman Stadium. In the Cajuns' 2019 visit to Waco, the teams split a pair of matchups in the Baylor Invitational.
>> The Ragin' Cajuns hold a 15-13 all-time edge over Texas A&M. The last two meetings were high-scoring affairs: a 9-8 (9 inn.) win by Louisiana in the 2016 NCAA Lafayette Regional final and an 11-9 Cajuns triumph in 2017 at the Aggie Softball Complex.
>> Louisiana has picked up 18 wins (out of 30 total) away from Lamson Park (10 true road wins, eight neutral site wins).
>> In the NCAA's latest official release of the RPI (Monday, April 10), the Ragin' Cajuns were ranked No. 10 - the highest ranking among Sun Belt programs.
>> The Ragin' Cajuns were weathered and tested in the early portion of non-conference action, facing eight ranked teams .
>> In pre-conference tournament play, Louisiana claimed three wins over ranked teams, six wins over Power 5 foes and nine wins over Top 100 RPI teams.
>> Louisiana has collected 30 wins against the nation's fourth (4th)toughest schedule in D1 Softball based upon games already played. The teams faced thus far have a combined 907-489-5 (.649) record.
>> The Ragin' Cajuns handed No. 12 LSU (currently 33-7, 6-6 SEC) its only non-conference loss of the season back on Feb. 25 at Tiger Park in Baton Rouge (won 5-4) and handed No. 13 Florida its first home loss of the 2023 season.
>> Of the 10 losses for Louisiana so far in the 2023 campaign, only one (App State) came against a non-Power 5 program.
>> Louisiana is set to have staying power in the national landscape in the coming years, as the lineup typically features a combination of at least six to eight freshmen and sophomores. The last two recruiting classes were ranked Top 15 by Extra Inning Softball.
LATEST TRENDS
>> Karly Heath [ragincajuns.com] returned to the lineup last week following a minor injury in the JMU series, hitting .583 (7-of-12) with four home runs and six RBI over the McNeese and South Alabama games.
>> For the season, Karly Heath [ragincajuns.com] is the Ragin' Cajuns leader in home runs (11), extra base hits (17), RBI (30), and runs scored (36) and is a close second in hits (37). The senior utility player is batting .385, slugging .802 and is 3-0 with a 2.15 ERA and 31 strikeouts over 26 innings in the circle.
>> Laney Credeur [ragincajuns.com] batted .750 (9-for-12) last week showcased by a 6-for-6 performance with three home runs and six RBI in Louisiana's doubleheader sweep of South Alabama on Saturday, April 8 that clinched the Sun Belt series victory.
>> Starting with a 2-for-3 outing that included a double on Tuesday, April 4 at McNeese, Laney Credeur [ragincajuns.com] delivered three straight multiple-hit games capped off by the pair of three-hit, three-RBI efforts in the USA doubleheader.
>> Sam Landry [ragincajuns.com] tossed 14 innings of scoreless softball as she claimed three of Louisiana's four victories last week that stretched the team's winning streak to a season-high seven games. Landry yielded just six hits, surrendered only two walks, struck out 10 and limited the opposition to a .122 average.
>> Over her last four appearances (three starts), Sam Landry [ragincajuns.com] is 4-0 with a 0.74 ERA having surrendered only two runs and nine base hits while walking just two and striking out 17 over 19 innings in the circle.
>> Meghan Schorman [ragincajuns.com] has recorded five-plus strikeouts in each of her last five starts with at least five innings pitched including a season-high 12 strikeouts at James Madison. Schorman fanned 10 batters in the South Alabama series opener to push her season strikeout total (now at 105) past 100 for the second straight season.
>> Since the App State series (March 24-25), the Cajuns pitching staff has limited foes to 18 runs, 42 hits, struck out 84 and issued only 16 walks over 67 innings of work.
>> Freshman Lauren Allred [ragincajuns.com] has become an emerging impact player over the past month. Since March 1, Allred is batting .393 (22-of-56) with three doubles, two triples, four home runs and 23 RBI.
>> Despite missing 10 games with a hand injury following Opening Day, freshman Mihyia Davis [ragincajuns.com] has swiped 33 stolen bases (in 37 attempts) with her elite speed. Davis is one of collegiate softball's most electrifying center fielders as evidenced by her diving catch into the wall on Feb. 25 at LSU.
>> Mihyia Davis [ragincajuns.com] has become the anchor of the Cajuns outfield defense, most recently picking up outfield assist No. 6 of the season throwing out a South Alabama runner attempting to score in the first inning of Sunday's series finale.
>> A year ago, Louisiana's pitching staff was one of only three units in Division I Softball to amass 500-plus strikeouts (504). Early on in April the group is more than halfway to the mark, having tallied 302 strikeouts with four weeks still remaining in the regular season.
DIAMOND NOTES
>> Louisiana was preseason ranked in three major national polls: No. 20 in D1Softball, No. 22 in Softball America and No. 24 in the ESPN/USA Softball poll. The Ragin' Cajuns were receiving votes in the USA Today/NFCA poll, third in line from No. 25.
>> Louisiana, the three-time defending regular season and tournament champions, was the unanimous selection as the favorite to win the 2023 Sun Belt Conference title in a vote of the league's 12 head coaches. The Ragin' Cajuns have a history of dominating the Sun Belt, having won 18 regular season titles and 17 conference tournament titles since the inception of the league in 2000.
>> Louisiana (47-13, 23-4 Sun Belt in 2022) turned in the program's 23rd consecutive 40-win season and NCAA Tournament appearance during the 2022 season. The Ragin' Cajuns placed a conference-high nine players on the All-Sun Belt team, produced five NFCA All-Central Region performers, recorded a program-record .351 season batting average and generated the most home runs in Gerry Glasco [ragincajuns.com]'s tenure (82).
>> In the pitcher's circle, the Ragin' Cajuns returned all 47 victories posted in the 2022 season headlined by the trio of Sam Landry [ragincajuns.com] (20), Meghan Schorman [ragincajuns.com] (17) and Kandra Lamb [ragincajuns.com] (9) who combined for all but one of the triumphs.
>> A year ago, Louisiana's pitching staff ranked Top 25 nationally in ERA (2.17), shutouts (16), strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.97) and was one of only three units in Division I Softball to amass 500-plus strikeouts (504).
NUMBERS TO KNEAUX
1: Louisiana's pitching staff has lowered its ERA more than one full point since the Clearwater Invitational (from 4.13 to 2.37).
2: Number of shutouts pitched vs. ranked teams by Meghan Schorman [ragincajuns.com] (no-hit UCF, three-hit blanking of Florida).
3: As of April 5, Mihyia Davis [ragincajuns.com] ranked No. 3 nationally in stolen bases with 33 swipes.
5: The Ragin' Cajuns offense has produced at least five base hits in all but two of 40 games this season.
6: Prior to Sunday, Louisiana had scored in the first inning in six consecutive games during its winning streak.
10: Number of home runs the Cajuns hit last week over the McNeese and South Alabama games.
10: There are 10 different players who have posted at least one home run for the Ragin' Cajuns.
11: Team-leading home run total for Karly Heath [ragincajuns.com], two shy of her career-high total (13 in 2022).
17: Number of non-conference games scheduled against Power 5 competition (six matchups at the TaxAct Clearwater Invitational).
18-8: Louisiana's record away from Lamson Park (road and neutral site combined) this spring.
21: Number of times (in 40 games) that the Ragin' Cajuns have scored in the first inning.
23: Number of RBI generated since March 1 by freshman Lauren Allred [ragincajuns.com].
32: Number of times the Ragin' Cajuns have scored the game's first run (28-4 record).
77: Consecutive Sun Belt Conference series won, a streak that dates back to March 2013.
1,825: Louisiana's number of all-time program victories (1981-present) which ranks No. 5 in NCAA D1 Softball history.
UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
The Ragin' Cajuns face off with Texas State (25-14-1, 6-4-1 SBC) in another key three-game Sun Belt Conference series at Yvette Girouard Field at Lamson Park from Friday-Sunday, April 14-16.
The Texas State matchup continues Louisiana's four-week stretch of conference series that will have implications on the title race. The Ragin' Cajuns started the challenging stretch with sweeps of James Madison and South Alabama the past two weekends which vaulted the squad into first place in the standings.
The Ragin' Cajuns and Bobcats are scheduled to meet at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, then at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday followed by a 12:00 p.m. series finale on Sunday. Television coverage is being provided by ESPN+ and radio coverage is available on 103.3 FM The Goat and the Varsity Network.
FOLLOW THE RAGIN' CAJUNSFollow the Ragin' Cajuns on Facebook (/RaginCajunsSB [facebook.com]), Twitter (@RaginCajunsSB [twitter.com]) and Instagram (@Louisiana.SB [instagram.com]) to stay up-to-date on all that is happening with Louisiana Softball.
Fans are encouraged to stay engaged with the Ragin' Cajuns by downloading the #GeauxCajuns app. Click here [apps.apple.com] for iOS/Apple platforms and here [play.google.com] for Android platforms.
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