BATON ROUGE — The 13th-ranked LSU softball team will take on Alcorn State at 12:30 p.m. and Texas-San Antonio at 5:30 p.m. as part of the Purple & Gold Challenge at Tiger Park this weekend.
The Tigers (6-3) are coming off a 3-1 performance at the UNLV Softball Classic last weekend. LSU run-ruled Portland State and Wisconsin and also defeated Utah at the tournament. The Tigers’ only loss was to No. 2 California.
“We are glad to be at home this weekend,” said LSU head coach Yvette Girouard. “It looks like we will also get to play in some very nice weather, which is also a bonus.”
The tournament features round robin play on Friday and Saturday and concludes with bracket play on Sunday. Other action on Friday includes Southern Miss (2-4) against UTSA (6-3) at 10 a.m., Louisiana Tech (5-5) against Southern Miss at 3 p.m. and Alcorn State (2-0) against Louisiana Tech at 8 p.m.
“We welcome a nice challenge with this tournament field,” said Girouard. “We will get a chance to learn more about our ever-changing lineup and perhaps settle on a few things.”
On Saturday, LSU will take on Southern Miss at 2 p.m. and Louisiana Tech at 7 p.m. Seedings for Sunday’s bracket play will be determined after play concludes on Saturday. The second and third seeds will play on Sunday at 9 a.m., followed by the top seed taking on the fourth seed. The winners of those two games will compete for the tournament championship at 2 p.m.
KLSU – 91.1 FM, LSU’s on-campus student radio station, will air the Tigers’ games against Texas-Antonio on Friday at 5:30 p.m. and against Southern Miss on Saturday at 2 p.m. The station will also broadcast the Tigers’ games in championship play on Sunday.
Since LSU reinstated its softball program in 1997, the Tigers are 11-4 all-time against the Purple & Gold Challenge field. LSU is 6-0 all-time against Louisiana Tech, 10-4 all-time against Southern Miss and 1-0 all-time against Texas-San Antonio. This is the first meeting between LSU and Alcorn State.
For her career, Yvette Girouard is 65-34 against the tournament field. She is 26-30 against Louisiana Tech, 35-3 against Southern Miss and 4-1 against UTSA. This is her first meeting with Alcorn State.
Offensively, the Tigers are led sophomore first baseman Stephanie Hill. After earning a starting position this season, the former walk-on from Harahan, leads the team and ranks third in the Southeastern Conference in batting average and on-base percentage. She also ranks in the top 10 in the league in slugging percentage, hits, home runs and total bases. Last weekend, she went 8-for-11 (.727) from the plate with a double, a home run, five RBIs and two runs scored.
Next weekend, the Tigers travel to Columbus, Ga., for the NFCA Leadoff Classic. LSU will face some of the nation’s top softball competition as 14 of the top 25 teams in the nation and three teams receiving votes for the top 25 will participate in the tournament. The Tigers will face No. 2 California, in a rematch of a 5-1 loss to the Bears at the UNLV Softball Classic earlier this season, Florida Atlantic, which is receiving votes for the top 25, and Ohio State in pool play.
2004 Purple & Gold Challenge
Friday, Feb. 20
10 a.m. Southern Miss vs. UTSA
12:30 p.m. LSU vs. Alcorn State
3 p.m. Louisiana Tech vs. Southern Miss
5:30 p.m. LSU vs. UTSA
8 p.m. Alcorn State vs. Louisiana Tech
Saturday, Feb.21
9 a.m. Southern Miss vs. Alcorn State
11:30 a.m. UTSA vs. Louisiana Tech
2 p.m. LSU vs. Southern Miss
4:30 p.m. Alcorn State vs. UTSA
7 p.m. LSU vs. Louisiana Tech
Sunday, Feb. 22
9 a.m. No. 2 seed vs. No. 3 seed
11:30 a.m. No. 1 seed vs. No. 4 seed
2 p.m. Championship Game