Cajuns expecting tough regional
LAFAYETTE — Michael Lotief isn’t hesitant about how he describes the caliber of competition his University of Louisiana at Lafayette softball team hosts in this weekend’s NCAA regional tournament at Lamson Park.
“These are teams rich in softball history,” Lotief said. “These are teams that have paid the price to win and expect to win. It’s going to be a war, and it’s going to be fun.”
The 14th-seeded Cajuns (49-4) are playing at home in a regional tourney for the first time since 2002, but advancing to the super regional won’t be easy, said Lotief, who acts as ULL’s co-head coach along with wife, Stefni.
Two at-large teams — Stanford (38-17) and Baylor (33-20) — open the tournament at 3:30 p.m. Friday.
The Cajuns, who won the Sun Belt Conference regular season championship, meet Southwestern Athletic Conference regular season and tournament champion Mississippi Valley State (34-17) at 6 p.m.
Valley finished 16-0 in the SWAC, and on Sunday afternoon, the Devilettes staged a dramatic comeback to win their seventh conference title.
Catcher Nicole Burr hit a grand slam in the bottom of the seventh inning to help Valley defeat Jackson State 7-3 in the championship game.
The Cajuns ended their regular season disappointed, losing 3-1 to South Alabama on Saturday afternoon in Boca Raton, Fla.
ULL has reached a regional 22 times, including 14 straight.
Stanford finished sixth in the Pac-12, which features five other conference teams hosting regional tournaments. Eight of the league’s nine teams are participating in regional games.
The Cardinal is in the NCAA tournament for the 15th consecutive time. Stanford has won seven regional titles.
Like the Cajuns, who have hit 66 homers and produced 376 RBIs this year, Stanford will bring powerful bats to Lafayette.
Stanford’s Hannah Winter is the team batting leader (.420). The Cardinal has four players hitting .370 or better, including Jenna Rich (.372 batting average, 10 home runs, 63 RBIs).
Baylor also possesses some strong credentials, finishing sixth in the Big 12 and ranked No. 23 nationally.
Lady Bears coach Glenn Moore, who coached LSU at one time, feels the same as Michael Lotief about the competition in this weekend’s regional.
“This is a tough regional, but at this point, every team is good. We just need to be playing our best ball,” said Moore.
Baylor is in a regional for the seventh time in nine seasons.
Lady Bears third baseman Megan Turk said Baylor will come in with a determined mind-set.
“We have something to prove,” Turk said. “I think we have developed into a very competitive team.”
Baylor has hit only 14 home runs, but the Lady Bears have good pitching with Whitney Canion (0.35 earned run average) and Courtney Repka (2.03).
Michael Lotief said hosting a regional is something special for the Cajuns.
“This is a reward for an amazing team,” he said. “This is a special, special opportunity to host a regional. It’s a reward to play in front of our fan base and the chance of the dream of going to the (Women’s College World Series).”
Ticket talk
All session tickets, including a limited number of reserved seats, are still available for the NCAA softball regional at Lamson Park this weekend.
They will go on sale at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the Cajundome Ticket Office.
Tuesday was the deadline for ULL softball season-ticket holders and RCAF members to reserve seats for the regional. All orders have been filled and will be available for pickup on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, the remaining all-session tickets will go on sale. Reserved seats in the main grandstand of Lamson Park are available for $36, while general admission seating in the outfield sections are $24.
Single-game tickets will only be available starting on Friday if the games do not sell out.