BATON ROUGE — After defeating Louisiana-Monroe on Wednesday, the ninth-ranked LSU softball team will host the Easton Purple & Gold Challenge this weekend, as the Tigers take on Southern Miss at 3:45 p.m. and South Alabama at 6 p.m. on Friday at Tiger Park.
LSU’s game against South Alabama will be broadcast live on 91.1 FM ? KLSU, the on-campus student-run radio station. Live statistics will also be available for all tournament games on LSUsports.net.
Along with Southern Miss and South Alabama, the Tigers are hosting Penn State and Tulsa as part of the three-day tournament, which begins on Friday at 11:15 a.m., and concludes with the championship game on Sunday at 2 p.m. The tournament features round robin play on Friday and Saturday and wraps up with championship play on Sunday. Friday’s other game includes Penn state vs. South Alabama at 11:15 a.m. and Tulsa vs. Penn State at 1:30 p.m.
“This should be a really good tournament this weekend,” said LSU head coach Yvette Girouard. “We have some quality teams coming into Tiger Park and many are making the trip here for the first time.”
In the 9-2 win over Louisiana-Monroe on Wednesday, the Tigers used pitching by committee for the game, getting action from all four pitchers, while all 16 LSU players were on the field at one point during the game. Shannon Stein led LSU at the plate with a 3-for-4 performance and two runs scored. Rachel Mitchell went 2-for-4 with a home run, two RBIs and two runs scored. Ashley Applegate was 1-for-3 with two RBIs and Tayl’r Hollis went 1-for-1 with a home run, three RBIs and a run scored.
“We have to tighten up in all facets of the game this weekend,” said Girouard. “It’s kind of like when the football team jumps offsides early in the season. Those are mistakes that can come back to haunt you. We have been a little sloppy and we need to just be a little more disciplined.
Stein leads LSU at the plate for the season with a .471 batting average. The senior also posts a team-best four doubles, with a home run and seven RBIs. Hollis leads the Tigers with four home runs and 16 RBIs, while sophomore Mitchell boasts a team-best 16 runs scored with 11 RBIs. Dee Dee Henderson, who ranks second in career stolen bases in LSU history, leads the team with 12 stolen bases.
As a team for the season, the Tigers boast a .316 batting average, with seven starters boasting averages over .300. LSU has also hit 20 doubles with three triples and 14 home runs. In 13 games, the Tigers have scored 84 runs and stolen 42 of 43 bases. In the field, LSU has recorded only nine errors and the Tigers boast a fielding percentage of .972.
In the circle, LSU has a team 2.08 earned run average. Junior Dani Hofer leads the starters with a 1.31 earned run average and a 6-1 record. Having allowed only 17 hits in over 42 innings, unfortunately, seven of those hits have been home runs. However, opponents are hitting only .116 against her as she has struck out 69.
“Our pitching really let us down last weekend, but we could have answered,” Girouard said of the Tigers’ 2-3 performance at the Palm Springs Classic last weekend while giving up nine home runs. “We have the line-up that can answer the runs that the other team produces.”
Sophomore Cody Trahan is 3-1 on the season, earning the win against the Warhawks on Wednesday, with a 2.49 earned run average, followed by senior Tiffany Garcia at 1-1 with a 4.50 earned run average. Freshman Casey Faile has come on in relief in five games and gave up her first run against UL-Monroe, having allowed only four hits in seven and two-thirds innings with 13 strikeouts.
Penn State comes into the Purple & Gold Challenge with a 3-3 record on the season. The Nittany Lions went winless at the Time Warner Cable Texas Invitational to open the season, falling to nationally ranked teams Texas, Cal State Fullerton and Michigan. Penn State rebounded with three wins at the East Carolina Pirate Classic last weekend, knocking off Appalachian State, Syracuse and East Carolina. LSU is 2-0 all-time against the Nittany Lions, with the last meeting coming in 2001 when the Tigers defeated Penn State, 2-1, on their way to the Women’s College World Series.
South Alabama comes into the weekend at 7-6 and have won four-straight games, allowing only one run in those four wins. After losing all four games at the Hampton Inn Bama Bash to start the season, South Alabama has won seven of its last nine games. This will be the first meeting between LSU and the Jaguars and the Tigers are 1-1 this season against Sun Belt Conference opponents, defeating UL-Monroe and falling to Florida Atlantic.
The Lady Eagles of Southern Miss are 9-7 entering the Purple & Gold Challenge. The Lady Eagles have lost four straight after winning nine of their first 12 games. LSU is 16-4 all-time against Southern Miss, having won the last 12 meetings dating back to the 2000 season when the Tigers lost to the Golden Eagles in the NCAA Regional championship game.
Finally, Tulsa currently sits at 6-7 on the season. The Golden Hurricane was run-ruled at top 10-ranked Oklahoma on Wednesday, snapping a three-game winning streak for Tulsa. LSU is 2-0 all-time against the Golden Hurricane, winning a pair of games, 5-0 and 6-0, in the 2001 Purple & Gold Challenge.
This will be the eighth consecutive year the Tigers have hosted the Easton Purple & Gold Challenge. LSU has won six of the seven previous tournaments – the seventh was called due to weather. The Tigers are 33-2 all-time in the Purple & Gold Challenge. Last season, LSU went undefeated at 6-0 in tournament play. The Tigers posted five run-rule wins and allowed only two runs in their six games. LSU outscored its opponents, 53-2, over 33 innings.
The Tigers will return to action on the road next week as LSU travels to Thibodaux to take on the Lady Colonels of Nicholls State. In two previous meetings this season, the Tigers defeated the Lady Colonels twice in the Easton Tiger Classic. The pair will meeting again on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the Colonel Softball Diamond.
Next weekend, LSU will open defense of its 2007 Southeastern Conference Western Division title as the Tigers host nationally ranked Georgia in a three-game series at Tiger Park. The series begins on Saturday with a doubleheader at 1 p.m. and concludes with a single game on Sunday at 1 p.m.
2008 Easton Purple & Gold Challenge
Friday, February 29
11:15 a.m. Penn State vs. South Alabama
1:30 p.m. Tulsa vs. Penn State
3:45 p.m. LSU vs. Southern Miss
6 p.m. South Alabama vs. LSU
Saturday, March 1
9 a.m. South Alabama vs. Tulsa
11:15 a.m. Penn State vs. Southern Miss
1:30 p.m. LSU vs. Penn State
3:45 p.m. Tulsa vs. LSU
6 p.m. Southern Miss vs. South Alabama
Sunday, March 2
9:30 a.m. No. 2 seed vs. no. 3 seed
11:45 a.m. No. 1 seed vs. No. 4 seed
2 p.m. Championship Game