BATON ROUGE — The 12th-ranked LSU softball team returns home to host the Purple & Gold Challenge this weekend at Tiger Park, beginning with games against Columbia at 5:15 p.m. and Ohio at 7:30 p.m. on Friday.
The three-day round-robin tournament begins on Friday as Columbia and Ohio face off at 3 p.m. With three tournament games each day, the teams will play two games each day, taking on each of the other tournament participants.
Four of the Tigers’ games will be broadcast on the student radio station, KLSU (91.1 FM). Friday’s 7:30 p.m. game against Ohio, Saturday’s 2:15 p.m. game against Ohio and both of LSU’s games on Sunday will be aired.
“We are welcoming two new opponents to Tiger Park,” said head coach Yvette Girouard. “It looks like, hopefully, the weather will be great, which will encourage the turnout of our fans. The two cold-weather schools will be able to come down here and play in a great environment, and we look forward to the continued building process with our young team.”
This will be the fifth consecutive year the Tigers have hosted the Purple & Gold Challenge. LSU has won four of the five tournament titles – the fifth was called due to weather. The Tigers are 21-2 all-time in the tournament after going undefeated at 6-0 last season.
LSU (9-3) enters the tournament after going 2-2 at the NFCA Leadoff Classic last weekend. The Tigers defeated Texas State and Michigan State with losses to Seton Hall and nationally ranked Fresno State.
Columbia will be opening its 2005 season at the Purple & Gold Challenge. The Lions went 25-26 last year, including a 7-7 record in Ivy league play. Ohio is 1-4 on the year after opening the season at the Express Pirate Classic last weekend. The Bobcats defeated Fordham, while falling to Villanova and being run-ruled twice by East Carolina and once by the College of Charleston.
Junior Stephanie Hill leads LSU at the plate with a .421 batting average. The first baseman from Harahan has recorded two doubles, two home runs and seven RBIs, and remains error free in the infield.
Freshmen Quinlan Duhon and Vanessa Soto are just behind Hill with.410 and .390 batting averages respectively. Duhon leads the team with five home runs, while also recording four doubles and 13 RBIs. Soto leads the team with 20 RBIs and five doubles, while also knocking four home runs on the year.
In the circle, sophomore Emily Turner leads the way for the Tigers. The Chula Vista, Calif., native is 4-1 on the season and has a 1.67 earned run average with a shutout and 39 strikeouts.
Freshmen Megan Jolly and Tiffany Garcia round out the LSU pitching staff, posting 2.33 and 2.62 ERAs respectively. Jolly is 3-2 on the year with two shutouts and 32 strikeouts, while Garcia is 2-0 with a shutout and 14 strikeouts.
As a team, the Tigers are hitting .330 this season, best in the Southeastern Conference. LSU has recorded 14 home runs, four behind the record-setting pace from last year. Combined with 22 doubles, the Tigers lead the league with a .531 team slugging percentage.
LSU posts a 2.06 ERA as a team in the circle, while allowing opposing teams to hit a meager .185 against them. The Tigers have recorded four shutouts and average over 7.5 strikeouts per game.
Ohio enters the tournament with a .255 team batting average and 8.33 ERA. The Bobcats are not a powerful team at the plate, recording just three doubles, with no triples or home runs on the year. Sixteen players have at-bats for Ohio this season, while no player has more than 13 at-bats on the year. Robin Miller leads the team with a .455 batting average, while Kelly Rodriguez leads the team with three of the Bobcats’ nine RBIs on the year.
In the circle, Natalie Armstrong leads Ohio with a 1.69 earned run average, while Zoe Heim has posted the only win of the season. No one pitcher for the Bobcats has seen more than nine innings of work this year, with six pitchers getting more than an inning of action.
The meetings this weekend will mark the first time LSU has faced either Columbia or Ohio in the program’s eight-year history. It also marks the first time Girouard has faced either team in her 25-year coaching history.
2005 Purple & Gold Challenge Schedule
Friday, March 4
3 p.m. Columbia vs. Ohio
5:15 p.m. LSU vs. Columbia
7:30 p.m. Ohio vs. LSU
Saturday, March 5
Noon Columbia vs. LSU
2:15 p.m. LSU vs. Ohio
4:30 p.m. Ohio vs. Columbia
Sunday, March 6
9 a.m. Ohio vs. LSU
11:15 a.m. Columbia vs. Ohio
1:30 p.m. LSU vs. Columbia