UL Lafayette will host its first NCAA Super Regional softball tournament this weekend, giving the Ragin’ Cajuns a chance for a berth in the Women’s College World Series and the local economy another boost.
Last weekend, the Cajuns advanced to the Super Regional by defeating Texas in the regional championship game at Lamson Park. Mississippi State and Texas Southern also competed.
Visiting teams brought an estimated 200 players, coaches, staff and school administrators, according to the Lafayette Convention and Visitors Center. A total of over 10,000 fans cheered on their teams during the three-day event.
The influx of visitors injected an estimated $600,000 into the local economy, according to the LCVC.
That projection is based on a formula developed by Destination Marketing Association International. The trade association helps organizations such as the LCVC make economic impact projections for sports tournaments, conventions and other events. Calculations are based on factors such as hotel room occupancy, dining expenditures and ticket sales.
The Ragin’ Cajuns, who are 48-7-1, will battle the Arizona Wildcats, 44-11, in the Super Regional.
Carl Toups, LCVC convention and sports sales manager, said if attendance at the regional tournament, which was the third-highest attended in the country, is an indicator, he expects a successful Super Regional.
“It’s hard to predict, because a lot of it depends on whether the tournament goes two or three games. If it ends after two, that cuts into the economic impact by a third,” he said. “But, with a program like Arizona coming in, it’s going to pique a lot of interest.”
The Wildcats, which boast one of the most storied softball programs in history, have won eight national championships. That’s second only to UCLA, which has won 11 national titles.
But the Ragin’ Cajuns has a history of success, too. It has won eight regional championships, 12 conference tournament titles and competed in the Women’s College World Series five times: 1993,1995, 1996, 2003 and 2008.
The best of three series begins at 8 p.m. Friday. The second game will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday. If necessary, a third game will begin 45 minutes after the end of the second one.
ESPNU will televise the games.
The winner of each of eight super regional tournaments across the nation will advance to the WCWS from May 29 to June 4 in Oklahoma City.
UL Lafayette is seeded No. 6 by the NCAA among teams competing in the post season. Arizona is seeded No. 11.
Lamson Park, which seats about 2,800 spectators, has been the Ragin’ Cajuns’ home field since the start of the 2012 season. It enabled the University to host an NCAA regional tournament that year for the first time since 2002. The Cajuns led the nation in NCAA regional attendance, with a total of 14,097 fans for the three-day series.
Tickets for this weekend’s Super Regional tournament tickets have sold out.
Learn more about the Super Regional and 2014 WCWS.