BATON ROUGE — Coming off a series win over No. 3 Alabama, the 11th-ranked LSU softball team will host Mississippi State in a mid-week three-game Southeastern Conference series at Tiger Park beginning with a doubleheader on Wednesday at 5 p.m. and concluding with a single game on Thursday at 5 p.m.
All three games will be broadcast on the LSU Sports Radio Network in Baton Rouge on The X – 104.5/104.9 FM. The broadcasts can also be heard in the GeauxZone powered by USAgencies on LSUsports.net. The final game of the series will also be televised on Cox Sports Television in Baton Rouge on cable channel 37.
Fans can receive LSU softball player trading cards at the games. In addition, those in attendance can win camouflage t-shirts as part of “Outdoor Day” on Wednesday.
LSU (41-7, 14-4 SEC) has passed the mid-way point in the conference schedule and has only six regular season home games remaining this year. The Tigers are currently in second place in the SEC Western Division, two games behind Alabama, and are four games behind Georgia in the overall standings. UGA and the Crimson Tide face off in a key SEC series this weekend.
“Hopefully we can get a great crowd to come out after a fabulous weekend in Alabama,” said LSU head coach Yvette Girouard. “This is our one mid-week SEC series at home. The season is rapidly coming to a close at Tiger Park and we want our fans to come out and see our seniors on our home field before the season ends.”
Mississippi State enters the series with a 30-19 overall record and a 4-13 mark in SEC play. After a very promising start to the season saw the Bulldogs race out to a 16-0 record and move as high as No. 22 in the national polls, Mississippi State has now lost 11 straight games since a run-rule win at Southern Miss on March 30, and has yet to post a win in the month of April. MSU has also lost 12-straight SEC games, dating back to a 2-1 win over South Carolina on March 25.
Junior Leslie Klein leads LSU with a .414 batting average, seventh best in the SEC. In addition, she has hit 12 doubles, three triples and five home runs, while recording a team-best 38 RBIs with 14 stolen bases. The USA Softball Player of the Year Finalist ranks in the top 10 in the conference in 10 offensive categories and is tied for the league lead in fielding percentage by an outfielder.
As a team, the Tigers have posted a .323 average for the season, including five players hitting over .300, with 83 doubles, eight triples and 32 home runs. In addition, LSU is averaging almost six runs a game and has struck out only 145 times in 1214 at-bats, the fewest in the SEC this season. The Tigers also rank third in the league with 78 stolen bases, while recording the third-best team fielding percentage in the SEC at .970, committing only 36 errors in over 1200 attempts.
Mississippi State is hitting .271 as a team for the season with four players posting averages over .300. All-American Courtney Bures leads the Bulldogs with a .379 average, including nine doubles, six triples and five home runs, which is tied for or leads the team in all categories. In addition, Bures leads Mississippi State with 36 RBIs.
As a team, the Bulldogs have stolen 63 bases, led by the 22 from Hayle Guess, 15 from Nakita Boyce and 13 from Bures. Additionally, Mississippi State has committed 57 errors for a .958 fielding percentage, the sixth in the SEC.
USA Softball National Player of the Week Emily Turner leads the Tigers in the circle with an 18-3 record and a 0.59 earned run average. The junior has recorded 145 strikeouts in 131.1 innings with 11 complete-game shutouts. Dani Hofer is 13-4 on the season with a 1.72 ERA, while recording 137 strikeouts and six shutouts.
As a team, the Tigers have posted a 1.00 earned run average with 24 shutouts in 48 games. LSU is averaging almost eight strikeouts per game, recording 346 strikeouts in 306.2 innings.
Ragan Blake leads the Bulldogs with a 16-11 record and a 1.24 earned run average. In addition, she has recorded a team-best 167 strikeouts in 170 innings with seven complete-game shutouts. Stephanie Comeaux is second on the team with a 14-6 record and a 1.59 ERA, including four complete-game shutouts and 79 strikeouts. As a team, Mississippi State has a 1.70 ERA with 11 shutouts and 256 strikeouts.
LSU is 26-5 all-time against Mississippi State, including an 11-1 record in Baton Rouge. The Tigers won 19 of the first 20 meetings with the Bulldogs, but Mississippi State won the series last season, 2-1, its only series win in nine previous years. Girouard is 20-7 all-time against the Bulldogs, including a 12-4 record while with the Tigers.
After having this weekend off, LSU travels to Fayetteville for a mid-week SEC series at Arkansas. The Tigers will face the Lady’Backs in a three-game SEC series beginning with a doubleheader on Tuesday at 5 p.m. and concluding with a single game on Wednesday at 5 p.m.
GAME FACTS: No. 11 LSU Tigers (41-7, 14-4 SEC) vs. Mississippi State (30-19, 4-13 SEC)
DATE/TIME: Wednesday, April 19 – 5 p.m./7 p.m.; Thursday, April 20 – 5 p.m.
RANKINGS:
LSU (#11 NFCA/USA Today Coaches Poll, #11 ESPN/USA Softball Poll)
Mississippi State (Receiving Votes in NFCA/USA Today Coaches Poll)
STADIUM: Tiger Park (1,000)
RADIO: WNXX – The X – 104.5/104.9 FM
TELEVISION: Thursday – Cox Sports Television (Baton Rouge cable channel 37)
INTERNET: Audio broadcast and live stats in the GeauxZone powered by USAgencies at www.LSUsports.net
SERIES RECORD: LSU leads 26-5.