BATON ROUGE — The top two teams in the Southeastern Conference Western Division square off at Tiger Park this weekend in a three-game series as No. 11 LSU hosts No. 16 Alabama beginning with a doubleheader on Saturday at 4 p.m. for “Pack the Park.”
Tickets for Saturday’s game are available at area Winn-Dixie stores. As part of the retro theme for the game, fans can register to win a Volkswagen Beetle and other great prizes. The games will also be broadcast live on the LSU Sports Network in Baton Rouge on WJHN-Jam’n 107.3 and can be heard on the internet at www.LSUsports.net.
The Tigers (25-10, 6-5 SEC) have played nine-consecutive SEC road games entering this series and are coming off a midweek series win at Mississippi State. LSU is currently three games behind Alabama in the Western Division. The Crimson Tide (25-11, 8-1 SEC) was one-hit by UL-Lafayette in a non-conference game on Thursday, falling 2-0 to the Lady Cajuns in Lafayette.
“We are so happy to be back at Tiger Park and in Baton Rouge this weekend,” said LSU head coach Yvette Girouard. “This will be an incredible weekend. Any time the Tide and the Tigers you are in for a great match-up and one that we are looking forward to.”
Girouard is now just one win shy of the 900-win milestone for her career. She would become just the ninth coach in NCAA history with 900 career wins and would be one of only six active NCAA Division I coaches with 900 wins. In two years as a Tiger, Girouard has posted 140 wins. She won 759 games in her 20 seasons as the head coach at UL-Lafayette.
Alabama and LSU have posted some of the most epic battles in SEC softball history. The Tigers and the Crimson Tide have fought for the division and league championship every season. The division title has come down to LSU and Alabama each of the last six seasons with the Tigers coming out on top each year. Over the last four years, the overall SEC championship has come down to LSU and Alabama, with the Tigers outlasting the Crimson Tide each season.
Alabama head coach Patrick Murphy was an assistant coach under LSU head coach Yvette Girouard from 1990-1994 while she was the head coach at UL-Lafayette. Crimson Tide assistant coach Alyson Habetz was an All-American for Girouard at ULL in 1994 and played on the 1993 Lady Cajun Women’s College World Series team.
Since LSU reinstated its softball program in 1997, the Tigers are 18-12 all-time against Alabama. LSU holds the 9-2 advantage in Baton Rouge and the Tigers have won eight straight over the Crimson Tide at Tiger Park. Half of the 30 games have been decided by two runs or less, including five extra-inning games, while only six meetings have been decided by five or more runs.
The pair met five times last season, with LSU holding the 3-2 advantage. The Tigers dropped a game in the NFCA Leadoff Classic and an 11-inning meeting in the first game in the three-game series in Tuscaloosa, Ala. LSU went on to win the next two games of the series, outscoring the Crimson Tide, 16-1, before defeating Alabama 6-2 on its way to the SEC Tournament Championship.
Once again this season, the Tigers continue to dominate the SEC in the pitching statistics. Kristin Schmidt leads the Tigers in the circle. She has posted three no-hitters this season, including a no-no against Jackson State last week. The junior from Houston ranks second in the SEC in strikeouts and fifth in earned run average and wins.
Tessa Lynam has also proven effective with an 11-1 record and two no-hitters. The sophomore from Alpharetta, Ga., ranks in the top 10 in the league in wins. She is also one of the Tigers top threats at the plate. With a .308 batting average, she has the second-most RBIs on the team with 20 and has recorded seven doubles and two home runs in just 20 games.
Freshman Camille Harris led the team against Mississippi State with a .500 batting average. The outfielder from Hendersonville, Tenn., recorded a double and four runs scored. In the second game, she hit a grand slam that sparked LSU’s comeback effort as the Tigers went on to win in extra innings.
Sophomore Leigh Ann Danos leads the Tigers at the plate with a .312 batting average overall. The catcher from Lafayette also leads the team with a .604 slugging percentage with eight doubles, two home runs and 14 RBIs.
The series will conclude with a single game on Sunday. The game will begin at 1 p.m. and can be heard in Baton Rouge on the LSU Sports Network, WJNH-Jam’n 107.3 FM or on the internet at www.LSUsports.net.