BATON ROUGE — After sweeping Mississippi State in a three-game series this week to open Southeastern Conference play, the third-ranked LSU softball team takes to the road for a three-game series with No. 13 Tennessee beginning with a doubleheader on Saturday at noon (CST) in Tyson Park.
The series will conclude with a single game on Sunday beginning at noon (CST). None of the three games will be broadcast on the LSU Sports Network, but live stats will be available at LSUsports.net.
The Tigers (21-3, 3-0 SEC) have currently won 16 consecutive games dating back to a 2-0 win over Utah on Feb. 14. During the streak, LSU has defeated four top 10 opponents and moved up 12 places in the national polls.
The Lady Vols will be opening their conference schedule against the Tigers after posting an 18-4 pre-conference record. Tennessee is coming off a 5-1 loss at Baylor last weekend.
“We face a tremendous challenge this weekend because Tennessee is playing extremely well,” said LSU head coach Yvette Girouard. “They will be a major factor in the conference from here on out because of Monica Abbott. She is one of the best pitchers in the SEC as a freshman.”
The series will feature a match-up of the potent LSU offense against Abbott, who leads the SEC with 17 wins this year. The Tigers are hitting a league-leading .358 as a team with seven starters batting over .300.
In addition to leading the conference in wins, Abbott has also recorded 217 strikeouts this season, but suffered her first defeat last weekend at Baylor.
Senior pitcher Kristin Schmidt is the reigning consensus national player of the week after posting a 4-0 record last week with three win over top 10 teams. She also posted a win over Mississippi State earlier this week and ranks second in the league in wins behind Abbott.
Freshman pitcher Emily Turner boasts a 9-1 record, including a pair of wins over Mississippi State this week and a win over No. 6 Georgia last weekend. In addition, she leads the team with a 1.38 earned run average.
Senior third baseman Julie Wiese led the Tigers against Mississippi State with a .556 average including an RBI and three runs scored. Freshman outfielder Leslie Klein also posted a .455 average with a double, a home run, two RBIs and two runs scored.
Since LSU reinstated softball in 1997, the Tigers are 14-4 all-time against Tennessee. LSU is 9-1 against the Lady Vols at home, 3-3 in Knoxville and 2-0 at neutral sites. For her career, Girouard is 10-5 all-time against Tennessee, including a 7-2 record at LSU.
“This should be one of the biggest crowds they have ever had for softball,” said Girouard. “We are excited because these are the types of games you live for. They are the reason you put on a uniform and we need to be up to the challenge.”
Following the Tennessee series, LSU will once again be on the road for a mid-week game against Southern Miss. The Tiger will take on the Lady Eagles on Wednesday at 6 p.m. in Hattiesburg. LSU is 2-0 against Southern Miss this season with wins of 19-1 in five innings and 13-2 in six innings.