The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns softball team was picked to defend its Sun Belt Conference title as the 2015 Preseason Poll was released by the league office on Wednesday.
Coming off its sixth trip to the Women's College World Series, the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns softball team was picked to defend its Sun Belt Conference title as the 2015 Preseason Poll was released by the league office on Wednesday.
Louisiana placed four players on the Preseason All-Conference team, highlighted by returning All-Americans Lexie Elkins and Christina Hamilton, plus at-large selections Haley Hayden and Shellie Landry.
The Ragin' Cajuns, ranked No. 9 in the USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division I Preseason Top 25 poll, earned seven of the nine first-place votes among the league's head coaches. South Alabama, which received the remaining two first-place votes, was picked to finish second overall followed by Georgia State, Texas State and Georgia Southern.
"I think we have a lot of good teams in our conference and that we have a lot of good players in our conference," head coach Michael Lotief said. "Over the years (in softball), there has been a lot of parity and a lot of teams are becoming more competitive. The (Sun Belt) conference part of our schedule is something that we always enjoy, and it something where over the years, it's been fun to compete for those honors and a championship. I think this year is going to be very competitive and the kids are excited about what's in front of us."
Elkins, a native of Victoria, Texas, was tabbed as the Preseason Player of the Year after being named the league's Player of the Year in 2014. In her inaugural season with the Ragin' Cajuns, Elkins led the team, and ranked second nationally, in home runs (24) and was fifth in the nation with 74 RBI in 59 starts. Elkins earned NFCA Third Team All-American and First Team All-Central Region honors and was 11th nationally in slugging percentage (.835).
Hamilton, a native of Rosepine, La., was selected as the Sun Belt Preseason Pitcher of the Year after being named the league's Pitcher of the Year last season. A Second Team NFCA All-America and First Team All-Central Region selection, Hamilton posted a 29-4 record with a 1.56 earned run average in 237.1 innings in the circle.
Her 29 wins ranked 13th nationally and she recorded 23 complete games with 187 strikeouts and held opponents to a .191 average on the season.
Landry, a junior from Broussard, was named as an At-Large selection as an outfielder after earning First Team All-Sun Belt Conference honors in 2014. Landry hit .287 at the plate with five home runs, 39 RBI and 28 runs scored. The former St. Thomas More High product hit .367 during Sun Belt Conference play and finished eighth in the league in RBI.
Louisiana, which posted a 49-10-1 overall record and 19-1 mark in league play, will play 30 games at Lamson Park in 2015, beginning Feb. 6-8 with the Louisiana Classic.
After hosting the season-opening Louisiana Classic, the Cajuns will play host to the 2015 Mardi Gras Classic, Feb. 13-15, and the 2015 Ragin' Cajuns Invitational, Feb. 20-22. Louisiana will also host Sun Belt opponents UT Arlington (Mar. 13-14), Georgia Southern (Mar. 16-17), Troy (Mar. 21-22) and Georgia State (Apr. 3-4). The Cajuns will wrap up their 2015 regular season home slate in mid-April with a series against 2014 Women's College World Series participant Baylor (Apr. 10-11) before a home finale against Houston (Apr. 15).
The Ragin' Cajuns will open Sun Belt Conference play March 7-8 at South Alabama and will travel for league series at Texas State (March 28-29), Appalachian State (April 18-19) and ULM (May 2-3). Louisiana will travel to face a pair of teams that each competed in the 2014 WCWS – defending national runner-up Alabama (Feb. 27 – March 1) and Oregon (April 24-25).