2017 Baton Rouge Regional Preview
Louisiana State University has earned the No. 13 overall seed for the 2017 NCAA Softball Championships. The Tigers (41-18) will host the Baton Rouge Regional this weekend that also included Louisiana-Lafayette (45-6), McNeese State (42-16) and Fairfield (26-26). McNeese State and ULL will play in the first game on Friday at 3 p.m. with LSU and Fairfield following at 5:30.
Top Seed
LSU played in the SEC Tournament final for the second straight season. The Tigers produced the most offense in the tournament, scoring 19 runs in four games. The question mark that lingers is the pitching staff’s health. Allie Walljasper has had to carry a heavy load since Carley Hoover had been on crutches up until the start of the SEC Tournament. Head coach Beth Torina says her whole staff is available and healthy which is crucial for the Tigers. Sahvanna Jaquish and Bailey Landry are coming off All-SEC Tournament selections and look to carry the offense through the regional.
Best Shot at the Upset
I don’t even know how they would be considered an upset but the Ragin’ Cajuns from Lafayette are in the tournament for the 28th time in the last 29 years. It is their 19th consecutive tournament appearance. Senior Alex Stewart leads in the circle with a 25-3 record and 1.66 ERA. She has pitched six shutouts in her last seven starts and allowed two runs, seven hits and 20 strikeouts in 18 innings at the Sun Belt conference tournament. Now, here are some mind-blowing numbers. In 50 games played, DJ Sanders is hitting .401 with 57 hits, 11 doubles, 28 home runs, 75 RBI, 69 runs scored, a 1.070 slugging and .547 on-base percentages. Pitching to her with runners on will be dangerous.
Players to Watch
Other players to watch in this region will be McNeese’s Justyce McClain, Erika Piancastelli and Rachel Smith. McClain and Piancastelli lead the Cowgirls offense at .447 and .375. McClain leads in hits (68) while Piancastelli leads in runs scored (55), home runs (12), RBI (48), slugging (.678) and on-base (.546). The Fairfield Stags earned their NCAA berth by winning the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship behind Destinee Pallotto’s remarkable pitching. The junior won four games including a no-hitter in the championship. She finished with 25 scoreless innings.
Prediction
The Tigers and Cajuns don’t play during the regular season, which sets this weekend up for an epic showdown. The last time these two met was in 2013 and ULL went into Baton Rouge and beat LSU 3-0 and 1-0 to advance to a Super Regional. Our pick for this regional is ULL.
