BATON ROUGE — The nationally ranked LSU softball team will face in-state rival McNeese State in a single game on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at Tiger Park.
The Tigers (11-4) are currently ranked ninth in the NFCA/USA Today Coaches Poll and eighth in the inaugural ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll released Tuesday. The ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 poll is voted on by NCAA Division I coaches representing 15 different Amateur Softball Association regions and 12 different collegiate conferences. The poll is also voted on by selected softball media members.
LSU posted a 2-1 record last weekend and won its pool at the prestigious NFCA Leadoff Classic in Columbus, Ga. McNeese State (0-7) was swept by Texas-Arlington to open Southland Conference play last weekend and remains winless on the year.
“The team and I are glad to be home for the next few weeks,” said LSU head coach Yvette Girouard. “Like other in-state opponents, McNeese always gives us a good game. We just want to continue to grow and get better as a team like we have over the last three weeks.”
The Tigers are led by Louisiana Sports Writer’s Association Hitter of the Week LaDonia Hughes at the plate. The junior from Farmville, Va., led the team with a .438 batting average in five games last week. She also recorded three RBIs and six runs scored with her first double and triple of the season and now leads the team in batting average, stolen bases and runs scored for the season.
With LSU trailing 4-2 against the 10th-ranked Sooners in the top of the fourth inning, Hughes knocked in the game-tying runs on a two-RBI single. In the top of the ninth inning, she knocked in the game-winning run on an RBI double as the Tigers went on to win, 7-4.
In the Tigers’ only loss of the week, a 7-6 heartbreaker to No. 7 Cal State Fullerton, Hughes went 3-for-4 from the plate with a pair of runs scored. She also added a stolen base against the Titans. In a midweek doubleheader sweep of Northwestern State, she went 3-for-5 with a triple, three runs scored and a stolen base.
Junior Sara Fitzgerald is currently riding a team-best 10-game hitting streak. The streak is tied for the 11th-best in school history, just four games shy of Stacey Newton’s school record 14-game hitting streak in 1998. After recording just four doubles and 11 RBIs in her previous two seasons combined, Fitzgerald has already hit six doubles and recorded 13 RBIs in 15 games this season.
In the circle, sophomore Tessa Lynam remains undefeated at 6-0. The right-hander is averaging 7.2 strikeouts per seven innings and combined with Kristin Schmidt for her first collegiate no-hitter against Cal Poly at the UNLV Softball Classic. Schmidt leads the team with a 0.96 earned run average and has a complete-game no-hitter against Baylor in addition to her combined no-hitter against Cal Poly this season.
Since LSU reinstated its softball program in 1997, the Tigers are 11-0 all-time against McNeese State. All 11 previous meetings have taken place at Tiger Park in Baton Rouge and LSU has outscored the Cowgirls, 53-11.
LSU will next host the Purple & Gold Challenge tournament beginning Friday at Tiger Park. The tournament begins at noon, with the Tigers scheduled to begin play at 2 p.m. against Houston. LSU will then face Jackson State at 6 p.m. On Saturday, the Tigers will take on Southern Miss at 2 p.m. and Houston at 6 p.m. Bracket play begins on Sunday at 10 a.m. with the championship game at 2 p.m.