Another week of Sun Belt Conference play is in the books for Louisiana softball and they are no closer to the top of the conference.
The Ragin’ Cajuns (20-22, 6-9) hosted James Madison last week for a three-game series and in the comforts of Lamson Park, they couldn’t churn out wins.
“It was nice being at home in front of the Ragin’ Cajuns fans, obviously not the outcome we wanted out of the first two games,” UL coach Alyson Habetz said. “We continued to fight and ended up getting a good win in the last game. had some really good performances from Mallory Wheeler and on Sunday, we found a way to score more runs.”
Losing the first two games put the Cajuns back against the wall on Sunday. But they shined under the pressure, avoiding a sweep by the Dukes by capitalizing on errors and when runners were in scoring position. UL was able to come away with a dominating 9-2 victory, but for Habetz and her team, going 1-2 in a series is not where they want to be.
The need for clutch at-bats
On Sunday, the Cajuns looked like they were able to put all the pieces together as they finished the game with 12 hits and a weekend high, nine runs. That performance was something they desperately needed in the first two games against JMU.
“It’s always hard to hit, I mean its college softball it’s always hard, but my confidence never wavers,” UL freshman infielder and top slugger Emily Smith said. “I always go up to the plate with the same mindset every time, and I believe in myself every time. If I strike out, if I hit a home run, like, I go up to the plate thinking the same thing that I did before and I’ve really had to learn just to let the past be in the past.”
In Friday’s meeting, the Cajuns’ lineup only came up with four hits and left six runners on base throughout the game. Things improved on Saturday, with them racking up 11 hits but on the flip side, they left 10 runners on base and went on to lose that game 8-7 to lose the series.
A key issue the Cajuns lineup has been having is the lack of clutch at-bats when they really need them. Over the weekend, they loaded up the bases a couple of times and didn’t always cash in. On the bright side, junior Cecilia Vasquez is getting her groove back in the box, finishing the weekend with four runs and five hits after going through a bit of a slump.
Seniors Kayla Falterman, Sam Roe and Smith have continued to be the most consistent offensive contributors for the Cajuns but they will need more to start winning series.
Working with what you got
On the mound, the Cajuns turned to freshman pitcher Mallory Wheeler for most of the weekend series with the Dukes. The 6-foot-1 freshman made the start on Friday and Sunday.
In Friday’s pitchers’ duel with JMU’s Payton List, Wheeler racked up six strikeouts and only walked three batters. Her untimely walk in the sixth inning gave the Dukes what they needed to get the lone run across to win the game.
Wheeler was able to bounce back in the finale of the series, pitching all seven innings, striking out two batters, and only allowing two runs to get by.
“I think I definitely got my swag back at Louisiana Tech,” Wheeler said. “That was the first game where I had finally gotten the start again, and just really, like, had confidence in myself and trusted that, like that was going to be the game. We lost in a heartbreaker. But, you know, we played really well that game and I think after that my team’s always been there for me.”
Wheeler and the Cajuns will look to put the pieces together with South Alabama coming to town this week, kicking off the series at 4 p.m. Thursday.
Shannon Belt covers high school sports and the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow her high school and Cajuns coverage on Twitter: @ShannonBelt3. Got questions regarding HS/UL athletics? Send them to Shannon Belt at sbelt@gannett.com.