UL Softball Hosts Big Sun Belt Conference Series Against South Alabama

The 18th-ranked Louisiana Ragin’ Cajun softball team returns to Sun Belt Conference play on Saturday afternoon, when they play host to the 15th-ranked South Alabama Jaguars, in a doubleheader, representing the first two games of a big three-game, weekend, league series, which will feature two teams ranked in the top 25, at Lamson Park.

Louisiana, who swept a conference series from the WKU Lady Toppers last weekend in Bowling Green, Kentucky, has won 13-straight, and 20 out of their last 21, and is currently 28-6-1, overall, and 9-0 in Sun Belt Conference play.

South Alabama, who beat LSU, 2-1, in non-conference action on Wednesday night, will come into the series at 31-6, overall, and 8-2 in league play.

Offensively, the Cajuns are currently hitting a .310 as a team, which leads the Sun Belt Conference, along with 55 home runs, which also leads the league, 208 RBI’s, and 21 stolen bases.

Louisiana is led by senior second baseman Natalie Fernandez, who leads the conference in hitting (.518) and on-base percentage (.603) and freshman outfielder Hayley Hayden, who leads the conference in both home runs (12) and RBI’s (42).

Sophomore catcher Lexie Elkins (.374-10-41) and sophomore first baseman Kelsey Vincent (.329-6-20) are also above the .300 mark.

The Jaguars are hitting a .259 as a team, which ranks fourth, along with 24 home runs, 155 RBI’s, and 58 stolen bases.

Offensively, South Alabama is paced by sophomore outfielder Stephanie Pilkington, who is hitting a .356 with 19 runs batted in and six stolen bases,, and junior infielder Kaitlyn Griffith, who is batting a .299 with 17 RBI’s and seven steals.

Pitching-wise, Louisiana brings a an overall team ERA. of 3.23 into the series, which ranks third in the league. Junior right-hander Christina Hamilton is currently 13-1, with a 1.51 ERA., which is good enough for third in the league, while junior right-hander Jordan Wallace is 13-2, with a 3.60 ERA.

South Alabama, who features one of the top pitching tandems in the nation, brings a combined team ERA. of 0.99 into the series, which ranks second. Junior right-hander Farish Beard is 17-3 with a 0.62 ERA, while senior left-hander Hannah Campbell is 12-3 with an 0.82 ERA. that duo ranks first and second, respectively, in the conference in ERA.

First-pitch for Saturday doubleheader is scheduled for 2 o’clock, with a 1 pm single game set for Sunday.

You can hear all the play-by-play action on Sports Radio ESPN 1420 & espn1420.com beginning with the pre-game show, 15 minutes prior to first-pitch.