LAFAYETTE – Louisiana Softball’s Karly Heath launched five home runs during the team’s week-long Spring Break trip, capped off by homering each day and totaling four home runs in the Sun Belt series at App State, earning her the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week award on Tuesday, April 26.
Heath picked up her first career SBC weekly award, and the Ragin’ Cajuns’ fifth overall this spring (2 player of the week, 3 pitcher of the week).
Heath finished the Ragin’ Cajuns Spring Break trip with a .500 average, with five of her six base hits recorded being a home run, and totaled nine RBI. Boosted by the five home runs she posted an astounding 1.833 slugging percentage for the week.
In the App State series alone, Heath posted four home runs over the seven plate appearances that she wasn't issued a walk. She reached the base path eight times overall in Boone and scored a team-high six runs in the series.
The junior designated player homered twice in the first three innings of the series-clinching win over App State, helping the Ragin' Cajuns build a quick 4-0 advantage in the triumph that clinched the program’s 71st consecutive conference series victory.
Prior to Louisiana arriving in Boone, Heath homered and generated a season-and career-high five RBI in the team's final stop on the Midwest segment of the tour at Indiana. She started the scoring against the Hoosiers by launching a three-run homer in the first inning, giving the Ragin' Cajuns a lead they wouldn't relinquish in the 11-2 (6 inn.) run-rule win.
The home run production lifted Heath into the team lead with 11 home runs, moving her into a tie with Sarah Hudek (in 2019) for the most by an individual in the Glasco era.
The week’s performance continued a season-long trend of extra base hits for Heath, who has seen 17 of her 24 total hits go for extra bases (4 doubles, 2 triples, 11 home runs).
The North Augusta, S.C., product and South Carolina transfer is batting .348 over 69 official at bats and sports a staggering .942 slugging percentage which ranks Top 10 nationally and is on pace to be the highest recorded by a Ragin’ Cajun since 2017.
Louisiana, which has received at least one SBC Player or Pitcher of the Week award since the inception of the league in 2000, now owns 95 Sun Belt Player of the Week awards in program history.
Heath joins Taylor Roman (Feb. 15) as Ragin’ Cajuns receiving the SBC Player of the Week award in 2022. Louisiana’s weekly award total is completed by the three SBC Pitcher of the Week awards combined between Meghan Schorman (March 8) and Sam Landry (March 29, April 12).
Louisiana (34-11, 17-4 Sun Belt) is back home this week for the final homestand of the season at Yvette Girouard Field at Lamson Park which begins on Wednesday, April 27 with a 6:00 p.m. single game vs. Houston (24-22-1).
Following the UH game, the Ragin' Cajuns host Coastal Carolina (18-23, 4-14 Sun Belt) from Friday-Saturday, April 29-30 for Senior Weekend. The series is now a 6:00 p.m. single game on Friday (April 29) and 2:00 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. doubleheader on Saturday (April 30).
All games on the homestand are being televised on ESPN+. Radio coverage is available on ESPN Lafayette 103.3 FM and 1420 AM in the Acadiana region and worldwide on the ESPN Lafayette app.
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