No. 24 Louisiana (14-8) at Bubly Invitational
Dates: Friday-Sunday, March 10-12, 2023
Location: Gainesville, Fla.
Stadium: Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium (2,691)
Louisiana's Schedule:
Fri., March 10 – vs. Rutgers, 12:00 p.m. (CST)
Fri., March 10 – at No. 12 Florida, 5:00 p.m. (CST)
Sat., March 11 – at No. 12 Florida, 12:30 p.m. (CST)
Sat., March 11 – vs. Rutgers, 5:30 p.m. (CST)
Sun., March 12 – vs. Mercer, 8:30 a.m. (CDT)
Rosters: Louisiana [ragincajuns.com] | Rutgers [scarletknights.com] | Florida [floridagators.com] | Mercer [mercerbears.com]
Season Stats (PDF): Louisiana [ragincajuns.com] | Rutgers [static.scarletknights.com] | Florida [floridagators.com] | Mercer [mercerbears.com]
Schedule/Results: Louisiana [ragincajuns.com] | Rutgers [scarletknights.com] | Florida [floridagators.com] | Mercer [mercerbears.com]
Television (Florida games ONLY): SEC Network+ • Talent: Kyle Crooks, PxP; Francesca Enea, analyst
Radio: 103.3 FM The Goat // 1420 AM • Talent: Cody Junot, PxP; Bobby Neveaux, analyst
Live Stats: CajunStats.com
Live Coverage: Radio [1033thegoat.com] | Video [espn.com] | Stats [statbroadcast.com]
Twitter Updates: @RaginCajunsSB [twitter.com]
LEADING OFF
>> No. 24-ranked Louisiana Softball plays in its final non-conference tournament of the season participating in the Bubly Invitational hosted by No. 12 Florida from Friday-Sunday, March 10-12 at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
>> The team's five-game slate in Gainesville features four Power 5 matchups including two games each against Rutgers and the nationally ranked Gators.
>> The trip to Gainesville continues a stretch of 13 out of 14 games away from home to start the month of March. It's the second of three straight weekends on the road to start the month. (visited Austin, Texas last weekend for Longhorn Invitational).
>> The Cajuns got a brief break from their travels on Wednesday (March 8) picking up another win over a McNeese, a Top 75 RPI club, at Lamson Park. A defensive stand and run-scoring outburst in the fifth inning led to a 6-2 midweek victory.
>> The Bubly Invitational offers an opportunity at additional RPI boosts for Louisiana: Rutgers at No. 85 and Florida at No. 17.
>> It's Louisiana's first appearance in Gainesville since winning a three-game series over Florida (took 2-of-3) during the COVID-shortened 2020 season. It's the first time the Ragin' Cajuns participate in a UF-hosted weekend tournament event.
>> The Ragin' Cajuns sport an all-time record of 2-4 in Gainesville - all prior matchups against the Gators.
>> Florida will be the eighth (8th) ranked foe the Ragin' Cajuns line up against on the young season. Earlier this season, Louisiana met Top 10-ranked Oklahoma State, Arkansas, UCLA and Florida State in Clearwater, followed by then-No. 25 UCF, and Top 15-based LSU and Texas.
>> Louisiana enters the Bubly Invitational winners of nine of their last 12 games after going through the rigors of the TaxAct Clearwater Invitational (went 1-5 which included four Top 10 games).
THIS 'N THAT
>> Louisiana is 2-2 in true road games with wins at UCF and LSU. The Ragin' Cajuns are 5-5 in neutral site contests, having won the last four.
>> Last weekend's trip to the Longhorn Invitational marked the first of the first of three consecutive weekends on the road for the Ragin' Cajuns to start the month of March. Louisiana is in Gainesville, Florida for the final non-conference tournament this weekend, then opens Sun Belt play in Hattiesburg, Mississippi (at Southern Miss) from March 17-19.
>> To date, Louisiana has played the second (2nd) toughest schedule in D1 Softball based upon records of teams in games already played. Entering the Bubly Invitational, the teams faced thus far had a combined 269-121-3 (.688) record.
>> In the NCAA's first official release of the RPI (Monday, March 6), the Ragin' Cajuns were ranked No. 22.
>> Louisiana is set to have staying power in the national landscape in coming years, as the lineup typically features a combination of at least six freshmen and sophomores.
>> Louisiana's 5-4 win over LSU in Baton Rouge on Saturday, Feb. 25, remains the Top 15-ranked Tigers only loss of the season.
>> Louisiana claimed another SEC victory, and potential RPI building block, with last Monday's 3-2 win over Ole Miss in eight innings at Lamson Park.
>> Sophomore Alexa Langeliers [ragincajuns.com] powered Louisiana's last two weekday triumphs in February (UCF, Ole Miss) with a combined 10 RBI between the two contests. She produced a career-high seven RBI boosted by two home runs in the 8-0 win at UCF and accounted for all three RBI in the 3-2 win over Ole Miss.
>> Despite missing 10 games with a hand injury following Opening Day, freshman Mihyia Davis [ragincajuns.com] has already swiped 20 stolen bases (in 21 attempts) with her elite speed. Since returning to play on Feb. 25, Davis is hitting .471 (16-of-34) with 17 stolen bases and 13 runs scored over the last 11 games.
>> Mihyia Davis [ragincajuns.com] is one of collegiate softball's most electrifying center fielders as is evidenced by her diving catch into the wall on Feb. 25 at LSU. Davis, whose play is comparable to former LSU outfielder Aliyah Andrews, already has four outfield assists including throwing out a McNeese runner attempting to score on Wednesday.
>> The Clearwater-opening 4-1 win over Indiana marked Louisiana's 1,800th all-time win in program history - 5th most in NCAA D1 Softball history (joining UCLA, Arizona, Florida State, Texas A&M).
>> The win over Indiana in Clearwater gave Louisiana a 5-0 start under Gerry Glasco [ragincajuns.com] for the third consecutive season and fifth time in six years.
>> Louisiana's efforts on Mardi Gras day (Feb. 21) in Orlando marked the first time that UCF was run-ruled and no-hit since the 2022 Super Regional at No. 1 Oklahoma (May 27, 2022).
>> Ten (10) different players have posted at least one home run for the Ragin' Cajuns. Seven of them collected their home run during Opening Weekend at Lamson Park, then Stormy Kotzelnick [ragincajuns.com] and Jourdyn Campbell [ragincajuns.com] joined the group the last time in the state of Florida at the TaxAct Clearwater Invitational. On Wednesday vs. McNeese, freshman Kylei Griffin [ragincajuns.com] added her name to the group.
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.
>> 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 one full point since the Clearwater Invitational (from 4.13 to 3.11).
1.62: Team-leading ERA for Sam Landry [ragincajuns.com] over 17-1/3 innings pitched last week.
4: As of March 8, Mihyia Davis [ragincajuns.com] ranked No. 4 nationally in stolen bases with 20 swipes.
5: The Ragin' Cajuns offense has produced at least five base hits in all but two of the season's first 22 games.
10: There are 10 different players who have posted at least one home run for the Ragin' Cajuns.
12: Number of times (in 22 games) that the Ragin' Cajuns have scored in the first inning.
16: Number of times the Ragin' Cajuns have scored the game's first run (12-4 record).
17: Number of non-conference games against Power 5 competition (including six matchups at the TaxAct Clearwater Invitational).
20: Number of stolen bases for Mihyia Davis [ragincajuns.com] in only 12 games of action.
25: The first-inning home run vs. McNeese in Austin marked the 25th for Karly Heath [ragincajuns.com] as a Ragin' Cajun.
50%: The Bubly Invitational takes the Ragin' Cajuns to the halfway point of the season, which will be officially reached in the Sun Belt opener at Southern Miss on March 17.
1,809: Louisiana's number of all-time program victories (1981-present) which ranks No. 5 in NCAA D1 Softball history.
UP NEXT FOR LOUISIANA
Following the Bubly Invitational, the Ragin' Cajuns have a break from midweek action then start Sun Belt Conference play from Friday-Sunday, March 17-19 in Hattiesburg, Mississippi at conference-newcomer Southern Miss.
The three-game series with the Golden Eagles starts Friday at 5:00 p.m., continues Saturday at 2:00 p.m., then concludes on Sunday at 12:00 p.m. from the Southern Miss Softball Complex.
All three games of the Sun Belt Opening Weekend series are scheduled to air live on ESPN+, while radio coverage is being provided by 103.3 FM The Goat and the Varsity Network.
FOLLOW THE RAGIN' CAJUNS
Follow 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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