BATON ROUGE — After winning the Easton Tiger Classic last weekend, the seventh-ranked LSU softball team will host Southeastern Louisiana in a mid-week game on Tuesday at Tiger Park beginning at 6 p.m.
Live statistics will be available for the game on LSUsports.net. Last weekend, the Tigers went undefeated to win the Easton Tiger Classic and claim their first tournament title of the season. LSU will travel to the Palm Springs Classic this weekend to face three nationally ranked teams as part of the prestigious tournament.
The Tigers (6-0) will be looking to avenge their only loss to the Lady Lions (8-1) when the two meet on Tuesday. Last season, Southeastern posted its first win over LSU as the Lady Lions won 1-0 in Hammond. The win also snapped the Tigers’ 55-game winning streak over Louisiana schools, dropping LSU to 9-1 all-time against Southeastern.
Last weekend, the Tigers (6-0) kicked off the season with a 14-0 win over St. John’s in five innings. LSU then knocked off Ball State, 4-2. On Saturday, the Tigers defeated Nicholls State, 9-1, in six innings and Chattanooga, 9-1, in five innings to advance to bracket play as the No. 1 seed. In bracket play, LSU run-ruled Ball State, 10-2, in six innings before defeating Nicholls State, 9-2, in the championship game.
“This gives us one more opportunity to play and figure things out before we go to Palm Springs and start SEC play in a few weeks,” said LSU head coach Yvette Girouard. “We still have some things to work on and improve, and this will give us another chance to do that. The weather should be wonderful, so we hope our fans will come out to watch us play.”
Batting from the ninth spot, Shannon Stein was named the Most Valuable Player of the Tiger Classic. She posted a .667 batting average on 10-for-15 hitting. She recorded a pair of doubles and the second home run of her career to go along with five RBIs, six runs scored and three stolen bases. In the championship game against the Colonels, she was 2-for-2 with two RBIs and a run scored.
“Shannon had a wonderful weekend,” said Girouard. “It is great to see her playing so well. She does so much work in the community and plays with so much energy and passion. Shannon epitomizes what it means to be a team player and I am thrilled that she had such a great tournament.”
Along with Stein, the Tigers’ Dani Hofer, Tayl’r Hollis and Quinlan Duhon were named to the all-tournament team. Hofer was 3-0 on the weekend, including a win in the title game, while Hollis hit .412 with a double, triple, two home runs and 11 RBIs. Duhon recorded a .438 average with two doubles, a home run and seven RBIs.
Three current Tiger starters are hitting over .400 on the season, with seven batting over .300. As a team, LSU ranks second in the league with a .381 batting average and lead the SEC with a .619 slugging percentage. The Tigers have hit 13 doubles, three triples and six home runs, while swiping 32 stolen bases in only six games.
In the circle, the Tigers have a 0.97 earned run average and are allowing opponents to hit just .123 against them. In addition, LSU pitchers have struck out 46 batters in 36 innings, which averages out to almost nine strikeouts per seven innings.
Southeastern (8-1) went 4-0 last weekend, including a pair of run-rule victories. The Lady Lions are hitting .333 as a team this season. Southeastern is led by Heather Sherrill with a .607 average, including four home runs and 18 RBIs. In the circle, Rachel Ray has recorded the most innings and is 3-1 on the season with a 1.58 earned run average. Jenna Yoder and Nicole Schoenberger and both undefeated at 3-2 and 2-0 respectively. As a team, the Lady Lions have recorded 52 strikeouts in 59 innings with one shutout.
The Tigers will next travel to Palm Springs, Calif., for the prestigious Palm Springs Classic. LSU will face current No. 1-ranked team Arizona, No. 6 Northwestern and No. 17 Cal State Fullerton as part of the three-day round robin tournament. The Tigers begin play on Friday against Florida Atlantic at 5 p.m. CT, before facing Pacific at 10 p.m. CT. LSU will continue play on Saturday, taking on No. 17 Cal State Fullerton at 2:30 p.m. CT and No. 6 Northwestern at 8 p.m. CT. The Tigers will close out the tournament against No. 1 Arizona on Sunday at 11 a.m. CT.