UL Softball On Road To Take On WKU

The 21st-ranked Louisiana Ragin’ Cajun softball team returns to Sun Belt Conference play on Saturday afternoon, when they travel to Bowling Green, Kentucky to take on the WKU Lady Toppers, in a doubleheader, representing the first two game of a three-game, weekend, league series.

Louisiana, who swept a conference series from Texas St. last weekend at Lamson Park, has won ten-straight, and 17 out of their last 18, and is currently 25-6-1, overall, and 6-0 in Sun Belt Conference play.

WKU., who beat Middle Tennessee, 10-4, in non-conference action on Wednesday night, has won eight-straight, and will come into the series at 24-10-1, overall, and 6-0 in league play.

Offensively, the Cajuns are currently hitting a .305 as a team, which ranks leads in the Sun Belt Conference, along with 50 home runs, which also leads the league, 183 RBI’s, and 20 stolen bases.

Louisiana is led by senior second baseman Natalie Fernandez, who leads the conference in hitting (.510) and on-base percentage (.602) and freshman outfielder Hayley Hayden, who leads the conference in both home runs (11) and RBI’s (36).

Sophomore catcher Lexie Elkins (.361-8-33) and sophomore first baseman Kelsey Vincent (.329-6-20) are also above the .300 mark.

The Lady Toppers are hitting a .274 as a team, which ranks fourth, along with 17 home runs, 126 RBI’s, and 61 stolen bases.

Offensively, WKU is paced by senior second baseman Olivia Watkins, who is hitting a .471 with 8 runs batted in and 30 stolen bases,, and senior outfielder Kelsie Mattox, who is batting a .317 with 26 RBI’s.

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 12-1, with a 1.30 ERA., which is good enough for third in the league, while junior right-hander Jordan Wallace is 11-2, with a 3.40 ERA.

WKU, who brings a combined team ERA. of 2.34 into the series, which ranks second, is paced by senior right-hander Emily Rousseau, who is 13-7, with a 2.17 ERA.

First-pitch for Saturday doubleheader is scheduled for 1 o’clock, with a noon 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.