LEXINGTON, Ky. — The fifth-ranked Tiger softball team return to Southeastern Conference play after a two-week layoff against Kentucky in a three-game series beginning with a doubleheader on Saturday at noon CT and concluding with a single game on Sunday.
Having won 18 of their last 19 games, the Tigers (37-8, 17-3 SEC) enter the series on an eight-game winning streak after defeating Southern Miss on Thursday, 10-0 and 2-0. LSU currently holds a half-game advantage over Alabama in the conference standings.
Kentucky (21-23, 3-12 SEC) stands in last place in the SEC Eastern Division standings, but took a non-conference doubleheader from Eastern Kentucky last Tuesday.
“I am concerned about going on the road to face Kentucky,” said LSU head coach Yvette Girouard. “They are a different team when they play at home. They took two out of three from Mississippi State and are a tougher team to beat at home.”
The Tigers enter the series undefeated against the Wildcats, defeating them on all nine previous meetings while having outscored Kentucky 51-5. LSU is also 2-0 against the Wildcats in Lexington, Ky., with their only previous meetings in a two-game conference series in 1999.
All-American Britni Sneed threw her third complete-game no-hitter of the season in the first game against Southern Miss on Thursday, setting a new LSU single-season record for no-hitters. The senior from Houston, Texas, has now thrown seven complete-game no-hitters in her career and been a part of 10 of the 15 no-hitters in LSU history.
In the second game against Southern Miss, Trena Peel nailed a pair of triples to break the SEC single-season triples record and move into a tie for 12th in NCAA history. With 12 triples in 2002, the senior from Aurora, Colo., now has 25 career triples and ranks 20th in NCAA history in career triples.
Catcher Jennie Reeves also had a spectacular series for the Tigers defensively against the Lady Eagles. The junior nailed Southern Miss leadoff batter Amanda Brown three times trying to steal second and did not allow a stolen base in the doubleheader.