Louisiana (38-11, 20-4 Sun Belt) at ULM (27-23, 10-14 Sun Belt)
Dates: Friday-Saturday, May 5-7, 2022
Location: Monroe, La.
Stadium: ULM Softball Complex (500)
Series Schedule:
Thu., May 5 – 6:00 p.m. (CDT)
Fri., May 6 – 6:00 p.m. (CDT)
Sat., May 7 – 2:00 p.m. (CDT)
MEDIA INFORMATION
Season Stats (PDF): Louisiana [ragincajuns.com] | ULM [ulmwarhawks.com]
Rosters: Louisiana [ragincajuns.com] | ULM [ulmwarhawks.com]
Schedule/Results: Louisiana [ragincajuns.com] | ULM [ulmwarhawks.com]
Television: None
Radio: ESPN Lafayette 103.3 FM // 1420 AM | Talent: Steve Peloquin, PxP; Bobby Neveaux, analyst
Live Stats: CajunStats.com
Live Audio: Game 1 [ragincajuns.com] | Game 2 [ragincajuns.com] | Game 3 [ragincajuns.com]
Live Stats: Game 1 [statb.us] | Game 2 [statb.us] | Game 3 [statb.us]
Twitter Updates: @RaginCajunsSB [twitter.com]
TEAM INFORMATON
Louisiana RAGIN' CAJUNS
NFCA: RV | USA: RV | SBA: 22 | D1S: 23 | RPI: 32
Head Coach: Gerry Glasco [ragincajuns.com] (Illinois, '80)
Record at Louisiana: 196-51 (5th season)
Career Record: Same
Team Slash Line (AVG / SLG / OBP): .357 / .607 / .431
Team ERA: 2.15
ULM WARHAWKS
NFCA: -- | USA: -- | SBA: -- | D1S: -- | RPI: 141
Head Coach: Molly Fichtner (Alabama, '14)
Record at ULM: 68-111 (4th season)
Career Record: Same
Team Slash Line (AVG / SLG / OBP): .272 / .362 / .359
Team ERA: 2.75
THE BASICS
>> The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Softball team (38-11, 20-4 Sun Belt) finishes regular season play and seeks to capture a Sun Belt Conference championship when the squad faces ULM (27-23, 10-14 Sun Belt) from Thursday-Saturday, May 5-7 at the ULM Softball Complex in Monroe, La.
>> Winners of 15 of their last 16 games, the Ragin' Cajuns have returned to the national rankings. The squad is ranked No. 22 by Softball America and No. 23 by D1Softball in the first polls released in the month of May (and also receiving votes in NFCA and USA Softball polls).
>> Louisiana seeks the program's 18th Sun Belt Conference regular-season championship, overall, and the third consecutive in the Glasco era. Since the league started in 2001, the Ragin' Cajuns have claimed all but three of the regular-season titles.
>> The Sun Belt regular-season title chase involves Louisiana and South Alabama. The Ragin' Cajuns currently hold the lead by percentage points, taking over the lead back on April 14-15 with a series sweep of the Jaguars in Mobile.
>> The Ragin' Cajuns are coming off a 4-0 sweep of their final homestand on the 2022 season which included a quality non-conference win over Houston and a three-game Sun Belt sweep of Coastal Carolina.
>> With the Coastal Carolina series sweep, Louisiana has now won 23 of its past 27 games dating back to March 16 doubleheader loss to Texas.
>> Louisiana and ULM meet in Monroe at the ULM Softball Complex for the first time since the 2019 season – a series that was shortened to one game by inclement weather.
>> Louisiana carries an active streak of 72 consecutive Sun Belt Conference series won into the ULM series – the nation's longest active streak of consecutive conference series won, which dates back to March 2013.
>> Should Louisiana claim the series from ULM it would mark the eighth straight completed season (2014-19, 2021) that the program won every Sun Belt series in a season.
A LOOK AT THE SERIES
Series Record: Louisiana leads, 112-28
Sun Belt Regular Season Games: Louisiana leads, 34-5
Last Meeting: 5/12/21 // LA 7, ULM 0 (Troy, Ala. – SBC Tournament)
In Monroe: Louisiana leads, 50-14
Last Time in Monroe: 5/2/19 // LA 3, ULM 0
Streak: Louisiana, +1
>> Ragin' Cajuns' most-played series in program history at 140 games.
>> Two programs became Sun Belt Conference foes when the Warhawks joined the league in 2007.
>> Each year since 2007, the Ragin' Cajuns and Warhawks have concluded regular season play with a Sun Belt series.
>> Louisiana claimed all 14 previous Sun Belt series (leads 34-5 in SBC regular season play).
>> The Ragin' Cajuns posted 3-game sweeps from 2013-18, the bulk of the success in a series-high, 24-game win streak over ULM that spilled over into the 2021 season.
>> Programs first met in 1981, the Ragin' Cajuns inaugural season, and met every season following through 2005. Series resumed in 2007 when ULM joined the Sun Belt.
HOMECOMING
>> The Ragin' Cajuns trip to Monroe for the ULM series marks a return home for freshman outfielder Maddie Hayden.
>> Hayden prepped at nearby West Monroe High School from 2018-21. She's the second in her family to play collegiately for Louisiana, joining her elder sister Haley who was a member of the Ragin' Cajuns roster from 2014-17.
THE PATH TO THE TOP
>> The journey to the top of the Sun Belt Conference standings saw the Ragin' Cajuns post an 8-1 combined record over the three series against the Sun Belt's other 2021 NCAA Tournament participants: Texas State (2-1), Troy (3-0) and South Alabama (3-0).
>> The Ragin' Cajuns used the exact same formula against the Sun Belt's three challengers (an 8-1 mark) to capture the 2021 regular-season championship.
SCOREBOARD WATCHING
>> Louisiana controls its own destiny – even in the loss column with South Alabama (23-17, 15-4 Sun Belt) and extra games in hand due to schedule cancellations – in the race for the SBC's regular-season title.
>> The Ragin' Cajuns simply need to match the Jaguars' results this weekend to secure the conference championship. South Alabama visits Troy to wrap up conference play.
>> Another path to the title for Louisiana would be one win and one South Alabama loss. Should USA sweep Troy, the Ragin' Cajuns would need to claim all three contests from ULM.
>> Since the Sun Belt began regular-season play in 2001, the Ragin' Cajuns program has claimed 17 of the 20 regular-season titles.
MAYHEM BEGINS IN MOBILE
>> Following the completion of regular season play this weekend all 10 Sun Belt Conference teams travel to Mobile, Ala., for the 2022 SBC Tournament set for Tuesday-Saturday, May 10-14 at Jaguar Field on the University of South Alabama's campus.
>> Guaranteed one of the top two seeds, Louisiana will start tournament play on Wednesday, May 11.
>> The Ragin' Cajuns are the two-time defending Sun Belt Tournament champions, capturing the recent titles in San Marcos (2019) and Troy (2021).
>> The Sun Belt's teams will all competing for the automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament which begins with the regional round from Friday-Sunday, May 20-22.
PEAKING AT THE RIGHT TIME
>> Since the second half of the season began with the March 25-27 UT Arlington series, Louisiana has turned in a 21-3 mark.
>> As a result, the Ragin' Cajuns enter the ULM series a season-high 27 games above the .500 mark.
>> The pitching staff's ERA in the second half, currently at 1.56, has experienced a turnaround. During the first half of the season (Feb. 11-March 20) the staff ERA was 2.77.
POSITIVE GAINS
>> The strong second-half run has raised Louisiana's RPI from No. 57 back on March 21 to the current standing at No. 32.
A LEGACY OF SUCCESS
>> Louisiana entered the month of May just two wins shy of the 40-win mark.
>> The Ragin' Cajuns seek the program's 23rd consecutive 40-win season, a streak that began in 1999, and the 31st occurrence overall in the 42-year history of program existence.
>> Louisiana seeks to join the list of teams to reach the 40-win mark in regular season play, which currently includes: Oklahoma (45), Florida State (45), USC Upstate (45), UCF (42), and Virginia Tech (40).
A LEGACY OF SUCCESS (Part 2)
>> Louisiana seeks to continue its active streak of 22 consecutive appearances in the NCAA Tournament, having appeared in every tournament held since 1999.
>> Louisiana's 30 overall NCAA Tournament appearances rank eighth (8th) in NCAA history.
>> Louisiana is just one of nine schools to play in the NCAA Tournament every year since 2000. The list includes Alabama, Arizona, Florida State, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, UCLA, and Washington.
>> The NCAA Tournament's field of 64 teams will be announced on Sunday, May 15 at 6:00 p.m. (CDT) live on ESPN2. Play begins with the regional round at campus sites from Friday-Sunday, May 20-22.
MILESTONE APPROACHING
>> Head coach Gerry Glasco is four wins shy of his 200th career win as a collegiate head coach and with Louisiana. Entering the ULM series, the Ragin' Cajuns are 196-51 (.794) under Glasco's guidance.
>> Since entering the Ragin' Cajuns dugout in 2018, Glasco has directed the program to at least 40 wins in each completed season (2018, 2019, 2021).
MILESTONE APPROACHING (Part 2)
>> As a program, Louisiana is just two wins shy of 400 all-time wins in Sun Belt Conference play.
>> Since regular-season play began back in 2001, the Ragin' Cajuns have crafted a 398-63 (.863) record in SBC contests.
>> The win in the Coastal Carolina series was Louisiana's 20th Sun Belt win of the 2022 season, marking the seventh straight completed season (2015-19, 2021-22) with at least 20 conference victories.
MELISSA'S BEEN MARVELOUS
>> Senior second baseman Melissa Mayeux is hitting .400 with a team-leading 16 extra-base hits (9 doubles, triple, 6 home runs) in Sun Belt Conference play.
>> She sports an impressive .883 slugging percentage and 1.331 OPS in conference play - totals that lead all position players in the league.
>> Mayeux tops the Ragin' Cajuns with nine multiple-hit and six multiple-RBI games in Sun Belt action and has generated multiple RBI in five of the team's eight SBC series.
>> Over the 25-game stretch since March 20, Mayeux has totaled 26 base hits (16 for extra bases), scored 27 runs, posted 21 RBI, and fielded 48 of 50 fielding chances cleanly, leading the charge in Louisiana's 22-3 run.
>> Her hot streak continued final week of April when she batted .545 with all six base hits going for extra bases (4 doubles, triple, home run) and tallied a team-leading seven (7) RBI on Louisiana's final homestand.
THREE'S COMPANY (IN THE CIRCLE)
>> Since April 1, the Ragin' Cajuns pitching trio of Sam Landry, Kandra Lamb, and Meghan Schorman has recorded a 1.57 ERA and combined to limit foes to a .174 average, 31 earned runs, and 87 hits over 138 innings.
>> A recurring theme has been to see each pitcher throughout a weekend series – both in starting roles and relief roles. Since April 1, each one has thrown at least 39 innings in the circle.
>> Sam Landry (16-3, 2.28 ERA overall) began conference play undefeated (8-0) through her first 10 starts. She leads the staff in wins both overall (16) and in Sun Belt play (10).
>> Dating back to April 6 at McNeese, Kandra Lamb has yielded just 19 base hits and five earned runs over her last 37-2/3 innings of work. She is 3-0 with a 0.93 ERA and has held foes to a .145 average during the stretch.
>> Meghan Schormanhas shined in relief efforts throughout the entire season. Entering the ULM series, she has worked 48-2/3 innings in relief recording a 6-1 record and 1.58 ERA while limiting foes to just 35 base hits and 11 earned runs.
IT TAKES A VILLAGE
>> There are 12 different players who have combined to give Louisiana its 62 home runs. Eight members of the group have posted multiple home runs.
>> A total of 15 Ragin' Cajuns have produced double digits in base hits. There are seven players who have posted 30-plus base hits led by Stormy Kotzelnick'steam-leading 57 base hits.
>> The two RBI picked up by Sophie Piskoslast Wednesday vs. Houston allowed her to join the 30 RBI club. She's the fifth Ragin' Cajun to reach the mark, joining Stormy Kotzelnick (38), Karly Heath (34), Alexa Langeliers (33), and Jourdyn Campbell (31).
TREND SETTERS
>> Freshman Maddie Hayden is the Sun Belt Conference leader in stolen bases both overall (27) and in conference play (15). She is the conference's only player with 50-plus base hits and 20-plus stolen bases.
>> Fellow freshman Kayla Falterman is batting a Sun Belt-best .452 in conference play amongst all players who have appeared in 20-plus conference games. She has tallied 19 base hits over 43 plate appearances in SBC action.
>> Junior designated player Karly Heath leads the Sun Belt Conference in home runs (8), slugging percentage (1.024), on-base percentage (.525), and OPS (1.549) in conference play. Of the 15 total hits she's recorded in SBC action, she's seen 10 hits (2 doubles 8 home runs) go for extra bases.
>> Catcher Sophie Piskos leads the team and the entire Sun Belt Conference with 22 RBI in conference play. She's produced five (5) multiple-RBI games in SBC play, reaching four (4) RBI three times.
>> Third baseman Jourdyn Campbell ranks Top 10 in conference play in average (.390), slugging percentage (.746), on-base percentage (.471), OPS (1.217) and RBI (17). She hit .400 the opening weekend of Sun Belt play and her conference-only average remained above the mark through her first 18 appearances.
NUMBERS TO KNEAUX
.193: The Ragin' Cajuns pitching staff has limited the opposition to a .193 average. Opponents hit sub-.200, combined, over the first five weeks of the season and have been back below the mark since the Troy series (April 8-10).
2.15: Team ERA for Louisiana which leads the Sun Belt Conference and ranks Top 25 nationally.
2.45: Louisiana enters the weekend ranked No. 4 nationally averaging 2.45 stolen bases per game (120 swipes in 49 games).
4: The Ragin' Cajuns offense is four home runs shy of equaling the top home run mark of the Gerry Glasco era (posted 66 in 2021).
5: Of the six base hits Karly Heath posted on the Spring Break road trip (April 18-24), five were home runs.
6: The six triples posted by Stormy Kotzelnick are two shy of the program record (8) set by Lana Jimenez both in 1995 and 1997.
9: Prior to the App State series, the Ragin' Cajuns tallied a season-high, nine-game winning streak. The streak, which ran from April 8-20, coincided with the return of Alexa Langeliers from injury.
11: The 11 home runs hit by Karly Heath tie her with Sarah Hudek (11 in 2019) for the most by an individual in the Glasco era.
16: Freshman Sam Landry leads Louisiana's pitching staff in overall wins (16), and is also the leader in Sun Belt play (10 wins).
18: The Ragin' Cajuns offense has generated double-digit runs in 18 games (17-1 record). Louisiana ranks Top 10 nationally averaging 7.2 runs per game.
21-3: The Ragin' Cajuns record in the second half of the season (since March 25).
22: Team-leading RBI total in Sun Belt Conference play for Sophie Piskos.
23: The team total of 23 triples produced marks the most by a Louisiana Softball squad since the program-record amount of 31 was recorded in 1995 – also the last time a Ragin' Cajuns team posted 20-plus triples in a single season.
25: Louisiana's pitching staff has yielded only 25 home runs to the opposition through 316 innings.
26: The Ragin' Cajuns offense has produced double-digit hits in 26 games.
26: Stormy Kotzelnick leads the Ragin' Cajuns with 26 extra base hits (13 doubles, 6 triples, 7 home runs).
27: Quick strikes are not uncommon for the Ragin' Cajuns who have scored in the first inning in 27 of the season's 49 games.
27: Team-leading stolen base total for Maddie Hayden (15 swipes in SBC play).
31-2: Louisiana's record when scoring first.
.357: Louisiana ranks second nationally with a .357 team batting average, trailing only Oklahoma (.379). The figure has been .350 or above the entire season.
.361: The Ragin' Cajuns' batting average in Sun Belt Conference play leading to an average of 7.4 runs per game.
38: Louisiana is 38 base hits shy of recording 500 base hits for the second consecutive season. At 462 hits, the squad is on pace to surpass the current Glasco-era best (507) and potentially challenge in the program record (572 in 2012).
45: Meghan Schorman has recorded 45 strikeouts over her last five appearances in the circle (25 innings pitched).
62: Home runs generated by the Ragin' Cajuns offense, the third straight completed season of the Glasco era surpassing 50 home runs (2019, 2021, 2022).
71%: Of the 24 total hits posted by Karly Heath, she's seen 71 percent go for extra bases (17 out of 24).
72: Nation-leading total of consecutive conference series won for Louisiana, a streak which began in March 2013, that was extended with the series sweep of Coastal Carolina.
134: Number of strikeouts Louisiana's pitching staff has posted since mid-April (88 innings of play). The staff is averaging 10.7 strikeouts per seven during the stretch.
178-57: Louisiana's runs-scored advantage over the opposition in Sun Belt Conference play.
161/154: Over the season's 49 games, the Ragin' Cajuns hitters have drawn more walks (161) than they have struck out (154).
177: Total number of extra-base hits produced by Louisiana's offense (92 doubles, 23 triples, 62 home runs).
196: Number of wins for Gerry Glasco as a collegiate head coach and at Louisiana.
3,325: When the ULM series begins on Thursday, May 5 in Monroe, a total of 3,325 days will have passed since Louisiana's streak of 72 consecutive Sun Belt Conference series won began back on March 29, 2013.
DIAMOND NOTES ABOUT LOUISIANA
During the 2021 season, the Ragin' Cajuns reached the 40-win mark for the 22nd consecutive completed season, closing out the regular season and winning 25 of the final 29 games, and advanced to Championship Sunday of the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional. Louisiana repeated as Sun Belt Conference regular-season and tournament champions highlighted by an 11-1 record, regular season and tournament combined, against the league's other three NCAA Tournament participants (Texas State, Troy, and South Alabama).
Moving forward into the 2022 season, Louisiana is armed with the nation's No. 1-ranked recruiting class of the 2021 recruits by Extra Inning Softball including the No. 4-rated recruit in pitcher Sam Landryand No. 15-rated recruit in outfielder Maddie Hayden, has first-team All-Sun Belt performer KandraLamb back in the circle seeking to pick up where Summer Ellyson left off, and welcomes back Raina O'Neal and Taylor Romanand their power bats back to the lineup.
- Louisiana was preseason ranked in all four major national polls: No. 19 in Softball America, No. 22 in D1Softball and No. 23 in the ESPN/USA Softball poll.
- Louisiana, the two-time defending Sun Belt regular-season and tournament champion, was selected as the favorite to win the 2022 Sun Belt Conference softball title in a vote of the league's 10 head coaches.
- Kandra Lamb, Raina O'Nealand Sophie Piskoswere voted onto the 2022 Sun Belt Conference Softball Preseason All-Conference Team.
- Kandra Lamb represented Louisiana Softball on the Extra Inning Softball Elite 100 list and Sam Landrywas named on of D1Softball's Top 75 Impact Freshman. The duo was ranked among D1Softball's Top 150 Players.
- With the exception of Sophie Piskosat catcher, Raina O'Neal returning in center field, and Taylor Romanat first base, the Ragin' Cajuns are using a new starter at every other position.
- For Gerry Glasco, his fifth season in Louisiana has a different look and feel: the team largely consists of players he recruited and went from being one of the oldest in the nation to one of the youngest. The Ragin' Cajuns went from a roster in 2021 that was predominantly sixth-year and fifth-year players to a group in 2022 that includes eight freshmen and 12 total newcomers.
- Louisiana is in a transition year in the pitching circle following the departure of former All-American and two-time Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year Summer Ellyson. After working alongside Ellyson last season to lead the Ragin' Cajuns to repeat champions in the Sun Belt, Kandra Lamb takes her turn as the pitching staff's leader.
- The 2022 season has brought the much-anticipated debut for Louisiana's 2021 recruiting class, which was ranked No. 1 by Extra Inning Softball and includes the No. 4-rated recruit in pitcher Sam Landry and the No. 15-ranked prospect in Louisiana native Maddie Hayden.
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