NOTE: First pitch has been moved back to 1:30 p.m.
STARKVILLE, Miss. — Sitting atop the Southeastern Conference Western Division, the sixth-ranked LSU softball team travels to Starkville, Miss., for an SEC doubleheader against Mississippi State on Saturday at 1 p.m.
The games, originally scheduled as a mid-week series, were pushed back to the weekend since both teams did not have league games scheduled this weekend. The doubleheader will be broadcast on the LSU Sports Radio Network in Baton Rouge on The X ? 104.5/104.9 FM and also in the Geaux Zone on LSUsports.net.
On Wednesday, the Tigers (40-6, 14-3 SEC) run ruled Southeastern Louisiana, 8-0, in five innings to conclude a six-game home stand. LSU took two out of three from South Carolina last weekend, dropping the first game, 2-1, before coming back to win the series, 8-0 in five innings and 2-0. The Bulldogs (27-17, 9-8 SEC) defeated Southern Miss, 9-2, on Thursday after taking two out of three from Ole Miss last weekend.
“It is imperative that we continue to play Tiger softball, because this is not only a conference opponent, but a Western Division rival,” said LSU head coach Yvette Girouard. “Mississippi State seems to be playing very well. They beat South Carolina three times, took two out of three from Auburn and gave Tennessee all it could handle. Hopefully we’ll get some good weather and be able to play on Saturday.”
In a ruling both teams received from the SEC office, the games may be played on Sunday if weather prohibits the contests from being played on Saturday. There is a 60-percent chance of rain in Starkville predicted for Saturday, but the rain is primarily forecasted for the morning and the rain chance decreases to 40-percent by game time and all the way down to 10-percent by 4 p.m.
This is the second of two conference doubleheader series for LSU since the league adopted a shortened SEC schedule this season. The conference has cut the number of league games from 30 to 28, making the two mid-week series doubleheaders instead of the traditional three-game series.
The Tigers are currently percentage points ahead of Alabama in the SEC West, with LSU holding a one-game lead in the loss column, even though the Tigers are one game behind in the win column. The Crimson Tide have completed both of their doubleheader series, while LSU has only completed one, which gives Alabama two more games played than the Tigers. LSU is just a half game behind Tennessee in the overall standings and only slightly behind the Lady Vols in winning percentage.
Senior Leslie Klein currently leads LSU at the plate with a .417 batting average. The USA Softball National Player of the Year Finalist leads the Southeastern Conference with 17 doubles, three shy of the Tiger softball single-season record, with a team-best four triples, five home runs, 44 RBIs and 19 stolen bases. Having broken the LSU career record for doubles early in the season, she broke the school records for RBIs and total bases on Wednesday and currently has the highest career batting average and slugging percentage in Tiger softball history.
Juniors Killian Roessner is just under .400 for the year, hitting at a .387 clip. For the year, she ranks second in the SEC with 12 doubles, while also pounding five home runs with 28 RBIs. The Tigers may be without the services of junior designated player Dee Dee Henderson, who is hitting .410 on the year, after she cracked a bone in her finger against South Carolina and missed the last three games.
On Wednesday, second baseman Shannon Stein had a career night, going 3-for-3, while coming a home run shy of the cycle, with three RBIs and a run scored. She knocked in the game-ending runs on a two-RBI double in the bottom of the fifth that gave LSU the eight-run rule margin. Over the last 10 games, third baseman Tayl’r Hollis is hitting a team-best .519, with seven doubles, a home run and nine RBIs, while recording a hit in all 10 games to give her the longest active hitting streak on the team.
Five current Tiger starters are hitting over .300 on the season. As a team, LSU ranks third in the SEC and 10th in the nation with a .326 batting average and leads the SEC with 78 doubles. The Tigers have also hit nine triples, 37 home runs, 78 stolen bases and scored 274 runs in 46 games.
As a team, the Tigers have a 1.14 earned run average, second best in the nation, while allowing only 1.24 runs per game. Opponents are hitting just .157 against LSU, which ranks second in the SEC. In addition, LSU pitchers have struck out 394 batters, which averages out to over nine strikeouts per seven innings.
Among the regular SEC starters, Turner leads the way with a 1.25 earned run average and is 13-5 on the season with 130 strikeouts. Sophomore Dani Hofer leads the team with a 17-1 record, while posting a 1.37 ERA and 184 strikeouts. Both freshman Cody Trahan and junior Tiffany Garcia are undefeated on the year, combining for a 10-0 record. Trahan has yet to allow an earned run in six appearances, while Garcia has a 0.93 earned run average in nine appearances.
For the season, Mississippi State is hitting .295 as a team, including 45 doubles, 12 triples and 12 home runs for a .385 slugging percentage. In addition, the Bulldogs have stolen 90 bases in 98 attempts for a .918 success rate. Chelsea Bramlett leads Mississippi State with a .423 average, including eight doubles and an SEC-best 40 stolen bases in 42 attempts. Courtney Bures is hitting .346 on the year, second on the team, with a team-best 40 RBIs.
Unlike many teams who go for complete-game outings from their pitching rotation, Mississippi State uses several pitchers in almost every game, as the Bulldog staff has only five complete games in 44 outings this season. Sara Hickerson leads Mississippi State with a 1.34 earned run average in 31 appearances, all in relief, to post a 5-4 record and a team-best 51 strikeouts. Kelli Miller leads the team in wins with an 11-7 mark and a 1.62 ER and 50 strikeouts. As a team, the Bulldogs have recorded a 2.12 earned run average, while giving up an average of 3.27 runs per game. Mississippi State has posted nine shutouts and 164 strikeouts in 293.2 innings.
LSU leads the overall series with the Bulldogs, 29-5, and have won four straight over Mississippi State. The Tigers are also 16-4 in Starkville. Girouard is 23-7 all-time against the Bulldogs, including a 15-4 record while at LSU.
LSU will return home for a mid-week game against cross-town rival Southern on Tuesday at 6 p.m. The Tigers then take to the road once again for a three-game SEC series at Arkansas. The series will begin with a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 p.m. and conclude with a single game on Sunday at 1 p.m.
LSU’s final regular season home games will be a three-game series against No. 1 Tennessee on April 28-29. The series begins with a doubleheader on Saturday at 3 p.m., in a game time that was pushed back two hours for television, and concludes with a single game on Sunday at 1 p.m. The first and third games of the series will be broadcast live nationally on ESPN2, in Baton Rouge on cable channel 36.
SERIES FACTS
No. 5 LSU Tigers (40-6, 14-3 SEC) at Mississippi State Bulldogs (27-17, 9-8 SEC)
DATE/TIME
Saturday, April 14 ? 1 p.m. (DH)
STADIUM
MSU Softball Field in Starkville, Miss.
RADIO
LSU Sports Radio Network (WNXX-FM, The X -104.5/104.9 in Baton Rouge)
INTERNET
Live audio and stats in the Geaux Zone at LSUsports.net
TV
None
SERIES RECORD
LSU leads 29-5