BATON ROUGE — Riding a 12-game winning streak the 10th-ranked LSU softball team will host Auburn, which is receiving votes in the national polls, in an important three-game Southeastern Conference divisional series at Tiger Park beginning with a doubleheader on Friday at 5 p.m. and concluding with a single game on Saturday at 1 p.m.
All three games of the series will be broadcast in Baton Rouge on The X ? 104.5/104.9 FM and also in the Geaux Zone on LSUsports.net. In addition, all three games will have live stats available on LSUsports.net. The final game of the series will be televised on Cox Sports Television in Baton Rouge on cable channel 37.
As part of Family Weekend, the families of the LSU softball players and coaches will be introduced between the two games of the doubleheader on Friday night. On Saturday, the first 500 fans will receive FREE LSU rally towels and fans 12 and under can participate in a postgame Easter egg hunt.
Prior to the start of the game on Saturday, LSU graduate student and cancer patient Vickey Barrett will throw out the first pitch. An avid Tiger softball fan, Barrett is currently a doctoral student at LSU who should finish her class work in the fall before beginning work on her dissertation, but was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer and several brain tumors earlier this year. Despite undergoing brain surgery, radiation treatments and chemotherapy, Barrett continues to support the softball program and take independent study classes.
The purple and gold enter the series at 24-4 on the year and a perfect 3-0 in SEC play. LSU has won 12 straight games, including a sweep of nationally ranked Georgia in the conference opening series, and 15 of its last 16, with the lone loss to Penn State in the Easton Purple & Gold Challenge. This series will mark the beginning of a period of eight SEC games in only 10 days.
“The past couple of weeks have been really good for us,” said LSU head coach Yvette Girouard. “We started the conference season with a bang with a little revenge against a Georgia team that has cost us a lot in the last couple of years. We went a few more innings than I would have liked against Troy during the week then had a great weekend in Florida.”
After failing to make the SEC Tournament last season, Auburn comes into the series on a roll this season. AU has a record of 27-4 and 7-1 in the SEC, sitting percentage points behind LSU in the SEC West standings and having won seven straight and 13 of its last 14, the loss coming against Mississippi State.
“Auburn is a team that didn’t make the SEC Tournament in Auburn last year,” said Girouard. “They’ve come back with a vengeance this season. Auburn is playing with a lot of confidence. They are a team with a renewed energy and a commitment to make sure that what happened last year doesn’t happen again.”
SEC Player of the Week Killian Roessner is hitting .325 for the season and leads the team with eight home runs, eight doubles and 28 RBIs. The senior catcher led LSU with a .500 batting average last week in going 8-for-16 at the plate with six RBIs, three doubles and two home runs for a 1.063 slugging percentage. Against South Florida on Sunday, Roessner recorded a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the eighth. It was, however, not Roessner’s only heroics of the week. In the bottom of the 11th inning against Troy, she scored the game-winning run in a 7-6 victory.
“We got some clutch hitting from Killian Roessner all last week,” said Girouard. “The game plan against Troy was to rest her, but with the score tied late in the game, we had to bring her in. She scored the game-winning run and then had a couple of game-winning RBIs over the weekend.”
Senior Shannon Stein continues to lead the Tigers at the plate for the season. The second baseman is hitting .425 with six doubles, one home run, 14 RBIs and five stolen bases. Sophomore Rachel Mitchell is also hitting .325 and has posted seven doubles, two triples, three home runs, 21 RBIs and leads the team with 21 runs scored.
Taryn Gray leads Auburn at the plate this season with a .384 average, the only AU starter hitting at a .300 clip on the season. Jorja Bell leads Auburn with five home runs, followed by Tatiana Fernandez with four. Fernandez leads AU with eight doubles and 22 RBIs, followed by Bell with 17 homers. Brittany Scott, who is second on the team with a .298 average, leads Auburn with 19 runs scored.
As a team, the Tigers boast a .288 batting average, with three starters boasting averages over .300. LSU has also hit 40 doubles with three triples and 26 home runs. In 28 games, the Tigers are averaging 5.4 runs per game with 150 runs scored this season. In the field, LSU boasts a fielding percentage of .973.
LSU has already stolen 69 bases, more than the 1997, 2002 and 2003 squads did in an entire season, while only being caught five times. Dee Dee Henderson leads the team with a 21-for-22 mark, while Jazz Jackson has stolen 12-of-12 and Mitchell is 9-for-9. Eleven Tigers have recorded at least one stolen base this season, including five players with five or more steals.
As a team, Auburn ranks 10th in the SEC with a .257 batting average. AU has scored 130 runs and is averaging 4.2 runs per game. Auburn has also posted 31 doubles and nine triples while hitting 16 home runs. AU has stolen 25 bases, which ranks eighth in the SEC, but is tied for the conference lead in being caught 15 times.
Dani Hofer leads LSU in the circle with a 12-2 record, with a 1.08 earned run average. The junior has recorded 143 strikeouts in 17 appearances to average over 11 strikeouts per seven innings. Last weekend, she went 2-0 with a save while recording a career-high 16 strikeouts against South Florida in the tournament finale.
“Dani is throwing much better,” said Girouard. “She had 16 strikeouts against South Florida, which I know particularly pleasing for her since she is from Tampa. It was a great game by her.”
Sophomore Cody Trahan is 9-1 on the year with a 1.51 earned run average. She boasts 70 strikeouts and two complete-game shutouts, while one-hitting nationally ranked Georgia in the first SEC series of the season. Also seeing time in the circle for the Fighting Tigers this season are freshman Casey Faile and senior Tiffany Garcia. Faile is 2-0 on the year with a 1.98 earned run average, while Garcia is 1-1 with a 4.67 earned run average.
Auburn has used four pitchers this season with all four making at least nine appearances. Anna Thompson leads AU with nine wins as part of a 9-3 record and a team-high 135 strikeouts. However, she is last of the quartet with a 1.44 earned run average. Lauren Schmalz, who is 4-0 on the season, leads AU with a 0.59 earned run average. Brittany Day is 8-1 with a 1.32 earned run average and Angel Bunner is 6-0, mostly in relief, with a 1.33 earned run average.
The Tigers rank fifth in the SEC with a 1.67 earned run average. LSU has allowed only 117 hits in 193 innings on the season with opponents batting only .173 against them. However, the long ball continues to be troublesome for the Fighting Tigers as LSU has given up 20 home runs this year. The Tigers have held eight opponents scoreless and struck out 255, the second most in the SEC behind only Auburn.
Auburn’s pitching staff has answered the call so far this season as AU ranks second in the SEC with a 1.22 earned run average. The Tigers of Auburn have recorded 13 shutouts while averaging over nine strikeouts per seven innings. Opponents are currently hitting only .178 against them, but Auburn has been pitching by committee as it only has 15 complete games in 31 outings this year.
Last season the purple and gold swept Auburn, winning 9-0, 4-1 and 5-2 in the three-game series in Auburn. LSU is 32-11 all-time against AU, having only lost one series in previous 11 years. The Fighting Tigers have recorded an 11-4 record in Baton Rouge, a 16-4 record in Auburn and a 5-3 record at neutral sites. LSU head coach Yvette Girouard is 17-9 all-time against AU, all while with the Fighting Tigers.
LSU remains at home for a mid-week conference doubleheader against Mississippi State. The Tigers will take on the Bulldogs on Wednesday beginning at 4 p.m. LSU will then take to the road to face top 10-ranked Florida in Gainesville. The Tigers will begin the series with a doubleheader on Saturday at noon CDT and conclude with a single game on Sunday at noon CDT.
SERIES FACTS
No. 10 LSU Tigers (24-4, 3-0 SEC) vs. Auburn Tigers (27-4, 7-1 SEC)
DATE/TIME
Saturday, March 8 ? 1 p.m. (DH)
Sunday, March 9 ? 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 audio and stats in the Geaux Zone at LSUsports.net
TV
Cox Sports Television ? Saturday Only
SERIES RECORD
LSU leads 32-11