BATON ROUGE — The two teams who have won the previous seven Southeastern Conference championships will face off this weekend as No. 12 LSU hosts nationally ranked Georgia in a three-game series at Tiger Park beginning with a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 p.m.
The Tigers (25-3, 3-0 SEC) have won five league championships in the previous seven seasons, including four straight from 1999-2002. The 13th-ranked Bulldogs (22-6, 5-1 SEC) have won two titles, the only other SEC team to have won multiple championships, and come in as the defending conference champions.
The first game of the doubleheader on Saturday will be televised live on Cox Sports Television in Baton Rouge on cable channel 37. Both games of the doubleheader will be on the radio in Baton Rouge on KLSU – 91.1 FM, the student-run radio station on campus. Live statistics will also be available on the official LSU athletics website, LSUsports.net.
“We are looking forward to hopefully having a packed house this weekend for an extremely important SEC series,” said LSU head coach Yvette Girouard. “Georgia is always a formidable foe.”
LSU, riding a nine-game winning streak, swept the three-game series at Ole Miss last weekend to open league play before topping McNeese State in extra innings on the road in a mid-week non-conference game. Georgia comes in after sweeping Kentucky in a mid-week SEC series and taking 2-of-3 against Arkansas last weekend.
“We have played Georgia extremely close over the last several years, but have come up on the short end of the stick several times,” said Girouard. “We know we will have to click on all cylinders to be successful this weekend, but we are very pleased with the way we are playing right now.”
Sophomore Vanessa Soto leads the Tigers with a .425 batting average, including a team-best nine doubles, three home runs and 28 RBIs. Junior Leslie Klein is also hitting above the .400 mark with a .405 clip for the year. She also has seven doubles, two triples, two home runs with 24 RBIs.
As a team, LSU ranks second in the SEC with a .343 batting average. The Tiger lead the league with 52 doubles, along with seven triples and 18 home runs and an SEC-best 167 RBIs for a .510 slugging percentage.
In the circle, the Tigers have got a complete staff with four capable pitchers this season. Freshman Dani Hofer is 8-2 on the season with a 1.12 earned run average, with her only losses to No. 3 UCLA and No. 5 Stanford. Junior Emily Turner is 8-1 on the year with an 0.62 ERA, dropping one game to No. 8 Oregon State.
Sophomores Megan Jolly and Tiffany Garcia are undefeated for the season at 4-0 and 5-0 respectively. Jolly also leads the SEC with a spotless 0.00 ERA, while Garcia is second with a 0.24 mark. The team ranks third in the league with a 0.67 ERA, while posting a league-best 16 shutouts in 28 games.
Kellie Middleton, a Notre Dame transfer, leads Georgia with a .460 batting average, including a team-best 10 doubles. In addition, she has stolen 21 of the team’s 35 bases for the season. Allison Horne leads the Bulldogs with four home runs, while Jessica Doucette posts a team-best 23 RBIs. As a team, the Bulldogs are hitting at a .333 clip for the season with 46 doubles, seven triples and 19 home runs.
Kasi Carroll is the ace of the Georgia pitching staff, coming in with a 9-2 record and a 1.38 earned run average in 15 appearances. Katie Griffith is 6-1 on the season with a 2.72 ERA and a team-best 82 strikeouts. As a team, the Bulldogs have a 2.20 earned run average with three shutouts and 165 strikeouts.
LSU is 21-8 all-time against Georgia, including an 8-2 record in Baton Rouge. The Tigers are looking to return to their winning ways against the Bulldogs after losing four tight games to Georgia last season, with all four games decided by three runs or less including two by one run. LSU won the first 17 consecutive meetings, but the Bulldogs have taken eight of the last 13.
After playing the doubleheader on Saturday, the series will conclude with a single game on Sunday beginning at 1 p.m. The Tigers will then host a doubleheader with Northwestern State on Wednesday beginning at 4 p.m. LSU defeated the Demons, 6-1, in Baton Rouge earlier in the season as part of the Easton Purple & Gold Challenge.
GAME FACTS:
No. 12 LSU Tigers (25-3, 3-0 SEC) vs. No. 13 Georgia Bulldogs (22-6, 5-1 SEC)
DATE/TIME:
Saturday, March 18 – 1 p.m./3 p.m.; Sunday, March 19 – 1 p.m.
RANKINGS:
LSU (#12 NFCA/USA Today Coaches Poll, #13 ESPN/USA Softball Poll)
Georgia (#13 NFCA/USA Today Coaches Poll, #12 ESPN/USA Softball Poll)
STADIUM:
Tiger Park (1,000)
RADIO:
Saturday – KLSU – 91.1 FM
Sunday – None.
TELEVISION:
Saturday Game 1 – Cox Sports Television (Baton Rouge cable channel 37).
INTERNET:
Live stats of games at www.LSUsports.net
SERIES RECORD:
LSU leads 21-8