BATON ROUGE — With only nine days remaining in the regular season, the Southeastern Conference lead will be on the line as the fifth-ranked LSU softball team tries to “white out” No. 1 Tennessee in a Top 5 league showdown at Tiger Park this weekend, including a pair of contests televised nationally by ESPN2.
On Saturday, ESPN2 will broadcast the first game of the series as the doubleheader is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. The weekend will conclude with a single game on Sunday on ESPN2, with the first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m., as the Tigers celebrate “Senior Day” to honor the three seniors ? Kristen Hobbs, Leslie Klein and Emily Turner.
All three games will also be broadcast on the LSU Sports Radio Network in Baton Rouge on WNXX – The X -104.5/104.9 FM. The radio broadcasts and live statistics can also be found in the Geaux Zone on LSUsports.net. The second game of the series will be featured on live streaming video in the Geaux Zone as well.
“We feel really good about the weekend,” said LSU head coach Yvette Girouard. “The players are extremely focused and excited.”
The first 1,000 fans on Saturday will receive FREE white LSU softball t-shirts as those attending are encouraged to wear white for what is expected to be a standing room only crowd at the series. In addition, the first 500 fans will receive LSU softball trading cards with the first 200 fans also receiving LSU softball “Home Plate” cookbooks.
On Sunday, the first 500 fans will once again receive LSU softball trading cards and the first 200 fans will take home LSU softball “Home Plate” cookbooks. The Tigers will hold “Senior Day” festivities following the series finale with presentations for Hobbs, Klein and Turner.
With just six games left in the SEC schedule, the Lady Vols (50-2, 20-2 SEC) hold a slim one-game lead over LSU (46-7, 19-3 SEC) in the overall conference standings as both teams lead their respective divisions. The Tigers have won five SEC Championships and advanced to the Women’s College World Series twice in the last 10 years, while Tennessee has never won the league title but advanced to the WCWS each of the last two seasons.
With the top three spots in the conference essentially wrapped up, it will come down to LSU, Tennessee and Alabama for the overall title as the Crimson Tide currently sit one game behind the Tigers in the standings. The Lady Vols will take on the Crimson Tide next weekend, which gives Tennessee the toughest road remaining with six games against Top 5-ranked teams. Alabama faces Kentucky in a three-game series this weekend, while LSU closes out the conference slate at Georgia next week. The Tigers took two out of three from the Crimson Tide in Baton Rouge earlier this season, giving LSU the tie-breaker over Alabama.
“Obviously this will be a postseason-type atmosphere already in Tigerland,” said Girouard. “Hopefully the battles will be like our recent meetings with just absolutely fabulous softball played. We’d like to come out on the long end of the stick this time.”
Having met only 27 previous times, the second fewest meetings between the Tigers and any team in the SEC, LSU holds a 16-11 series advantage over the Lady Vols. Although Tennessee has gotten the better of the Tigers in recent years in wins and losses, the games have been highly competitive. With the exception of one lopsided Lady Vol win last season, no other game in the last three years has been decided by more than four runs, including a pair of nine-inning losses for LSU in 2005, the last time the pair met in Baton Rouge.
This weekend will see the nation’s top two pitching staffs in terms of earned run average face off. Tennessee leads the SEC and the NCAA this year with a team ERA of just 0.64, giving up just 35 runs, 31 earned, in 341.0 innings. The Tigers ranks second in the conference and second in the nation with an ERA of 1.10, having allowed only 64 runs, 55 earned, in 351.0 innings.
The pair also rank 1-2 in the conference in opposing batting average, as the Lady Vols lead with a .102 average against their pitching staff, followed by LSU at just .160. Tennessee also leads the league with 31 shutouts in 52 games, while the Tigers have recorded the second most with 25 in 53 games. Although LSU has recorded a respectable 444 strikeouts, third best in the SEC, the Lady Vols lead the league and perhaps the nation with 701.
Among the regular SEC starters for the Tigers, Turner leads the team with a 1.21 earned run average, which ranks 18th nationally, followed closely by sophomore Dani Hofer at 1.24, which is 21st nationally. A senior All-American, Turner is 15-5 with a no-hitter, six complete-game shutouts and 147 strikeouts, while Hofer is an amazing 21-1 in her second season with two no-hitters, 10 complete-game shutouts and 207 strikeouts.
Three-time All-American Monica Abbott leads Tennessee in the circle. The senior left hander leads the nation with an 0.54 earned run average and an NCAA-best 531 strikeouts. In addition, she leads the nation with 38 wins and holds the NCAA record for career wins with 177 and is 19 strikeouts away from breaking the NCAA career strikeout record. The one weakness that seems to plague the 6-3 pitcher yearly is the long ball. Abbott has given up 11 home runs this season and 30 over the last two years.
Although Abbott has logged over 72-percent of the Lady Vols’ innings pitched and appeared in 45 of their 52 games, Megan Rhodes has provided nice relief for Abbott on occasion. The junior is 12-1 on the season with an 0.88 earned run average and 170 strikeouts in 95 innings.
The match-up at the plate is no less compelling as the teams rank 2-3 in batting average in the SEC. The Tigers come in third in the conference and seventh nationally with a .328 average. LSU has recorded an SEC-best 85 doubles, with 10 triples and 44 home runs, coming in second in the league with 308 runs scored. Tennessee is ranked second in the conference with a .334 average, while posting 58 doubles, 12 triples and 35 home runs, with 291 runs scored.
Freshman Jazz Jackson currently leads LSU at the plate with a .410 average, fifth best in the SEC. The left fielder went 3-for-3 on Wednesday against Southeastern Louisiana, her seventh game with three or more hits on the year. In addition, she ranks third on the team with 15 stolen bases and is fourth with 34 runs scored.
Junior Killian Roessner and Klein follow just behind Jackson with .400 and .399 averages respectively, which also rank seventh and eighth in the league. Roessner is second in the SEC with 13 doubles, while also recording five home runs and 30 RBIs. The catcher also leads the conference with 15 runners caught stealing and four pick-offs. Klein leads the SEC with 18 doubles, while coming in second in the league with 49 RBIs. The two-time All-American has also recorded four triples, seven home runs and 20 stolen bases.
Since returning from a broken finger in mid-March, Tayl’r Hollis has led the Tigers at the plate. The junior third baseman is now hitting .359 on the season with seven doubles, a triple, five home runs and 20 RBIs. After missing 15 games due to her injury, she has hit .391 with all seven of her doubles, four of her five home runs and 16 of her 20 RBIs.
India Chiles leads Tennessee and ranks second in the conference with a .476 batting average, followed by Lindsey Schutzler at .422, third best in the league. The slap hitting duo have combined for 13 doubles, seven triples, four home runs and 59 RBIs. Additionally, they lead the team with 36 and 33 stolen bases respectively and have scored 95 of the Lady Vols’ 291 runs. Tonya Callahan leads the Lady Vols with nine home runs and 10 doubles while batting .378.
“The fans are in for a treat as these meetings are historic on many fronts,” said Girouard.
This weekend marks the first time ESPN has broadcast from Tiger Park in LSU’s 11-year history. Last season, the Tigers made six appearances on the ESPN family of networks, including a game in Palm Springs, Calif., two games in Knoxville, Tenn., and all three games of the NCAA Super Regional in Tucson, Ariz.
Tennessee is also the highest ranked team and the first No. 1-ranked team to ever travel to Tiger Park. In 2001, then No. 3-ranked Alabama became the highest ranked team to ever play in Baton Rouge. LSU swept the three-game series against the Crimson Tide that season, winning 1-0, 3-1 and 5-0 as part of an SEC Championship season.
The Tigers have now faced No. 1-ranked teams on six occasions. LSU has recorded a 1-5 record in those games, picking up its first win over a top-ranked team last season in the NCAA Super Regionals. The Tigers defeated No. 1 Arizona in the second game of the Super Regionals to force a decisive third game.
In the win over the Wildcats, LSU became the first program in history to knock off Arizona in a game that could send the Wildcats to the Women’s College World Series at home. Arizona was 13-0 in games at Hillenbrand Stadium in World Series clinchers before falling to LSU. The Wildcats were also 17-1 in overall games that could send them to the WCWS entering game two of the series. LSU dropped them to 17-2 in that category.
Next week, the Tigers could be playing to win their sixth SEC Championship as LSU closes out the regular season with a trip to Athens, Ga. The Tigers will face Georgia in a three game series, beginning with a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 p.m. CT and concluding with a single game on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT. LSU will then participate in the SEC Tournament the following weekend in Auburn, Ala., which has currently yet to qualify for the postseason tournament. The three-day single elimination tournament will give one of the eight participating teams an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament before the field is announced on Sunday, May 13.
SERIES FACTS
No. 5 LSU Tigers (46-7, 19-3 SEC) vs. No. 1 Tennessee Lady Volunteers (50-2, 20-2 SEC)
DATE/TIME
Saturday, April 28? 3 p.m. (DH)
Sunday, April 29 ? 1 p.m.
STADIUM
Tiger Park in Baton Rouge, La.
RADIO
LSU Sports Radio Network (WNXX-FM, The X -104.5/104.9 in Baton Rouge)
INTERNET
Live streaming video (game two only), audio and stats in the Geaux Zone at LSUsports.net
TV
Saturday: ESPN2 ? Cable channel 36 (first game only)
Sunday: ESPN2 ? Cable channel 36
SERIES RECORD
LSU leads 16-11