Carleigh Chaumont, McNeese second baseman

Rodrick Anderson/American Press

{{tncms-inline alignment=”left” content=”<p class="p1"><span class="s1"><strong>UL-Lafayette </strong></span><strong>at McNeese, </strong><strong>6 p.m.</strong></p>” id=”1fa2e5e5-0882-4b4c-84e2-81ec27b3f613″ style-type=”fact” title=”TONIGHT” type=”relcontent”}}

{{tncms-inline alignment=”left” content=”<p><span class="s3"><strong>NOTES:</strong></span> ULL first baseman Kourtney Gremillion was named the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week. Gremillion went 8-for-13 with six RBIs in four games against Southeastern Louisiana and Texas State.</p>” id=”9c478424-07bb-4da7-ab29-89a70b2d4439″ style-type=”question” title=”Did You Know?” type=”relcontent”}}

Many members of the McNeese State softball team will play against familiar faces when the Cowgirls host Louisiana-Lafayette at 6 p.m. today at Cowgirl Diamond in their final midweek game of the regular season.

But none will have the connection — or the mutual fan base — that McNeese senior second baseman Carleigh Chaumont and ULL freshman second baseman Casidy Chaumont have.

The sisters from Moss Bluff have played on the same side for much of their lives, but never have they played against one another.

That changes tonight when the Cowgirls (30-15) and Ragin’ Cajuns (28-11) square off for the first time since their NCAA Tournament meeting last year.

“I think it will be a great day for our family and friends to come out,” said Carleigh Chaumont, who spent her first two college seasons at Western Kentucky. “I think they’ll really enjoy it. But, as far as preparing for the game goes, we’re going to take it like they’re any other team and come out to try to win.”

Casidy Chaumont enters the game with a .206 batting average with eight doubles and a team-high four home runs, and Carleigh Chaumont is batting .247 with seven doubles and two home runs.

The Chaumont family will be a house unified by the division of the two sisters opposing each other, and Carleigh Chaumont said they will proudly wear shirts their mother made specially for the bout.

McNeese head coach James Landreneau likes to downplay the rivalry aspect of the matchup, saying that doesn’t really help the Cowgirls in preparation.

He said his team is good enough to beat anyone when it is playing well, and putting too much focus on the opponent would only serve to distract.

“We have to prepare like it’s any other game,” Landreneau said. “We have to remain focused on ourselves in an opportunity to play a good team. We can’t get caught up in all that. It’s good for our fans, but not for us. We have to catch, hit and play clean ball.”

Justyce McClain enters the game with a national top-five hitting tally of 63 hits with the No. 25 batting average of .434.

She also leads the Cowgirls with 44 runs scored and 19 stolen bases.

Batting behind her are Erika Piancastelli, who ranks 12th in the nation in home runs with 14 and leads the team with an .815 slugging percentage, and Morgan Catron who has a .336 average with 10 home runs and 39 RBIs.

Alexsandra Flores leads the Cowgirls in the circle with a 14-7 record and a 2.68 ERA in 28 appearances.

The Cajuns have Alissa Dalton (.397) with nine doubles and 21 RBIs. Summer Ellyson does most of the work in the circle, sporting a 14-6 record with a 1.79 ERA in 141 innings pitched.

“Any time you get a program like they’ve had down the years, that’s 45 minutes down the road, how can you not play them?” Landreneau asked. “It’s great for the state, it’s great for softball and it’s great for both schools. When we put that game back on the schedule, I thought it was a great win for everybody around.”

NOTES: ULL first baseman Kourtney Gremillion was named the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week. Gremillion went 8-for-13 with six RBIs in four games against Southeastern Louisiana and Texas State.

UL-Lafayette at McNeese, 6 p.m.