HOUSTON – The No. 18 LSU softball team hits the road for the first time during the 2011 campaign at the Houston Hilton Plaza Classic over the weekend.
The Tigers (7-0) square off Friday against Southern [9 a.m.] and No. 20 Oklahoma State [1 p.m.] followed by Saturday tilts with host Houston [1 p.m.] and Nicholls State [5 p.m.]. LSU concludes the weekend on Sunday versus Houston [1 p.m.].LSU compiled a 7-0 mark against the tournament field last season.
“This group is ready for the challenge of playing away from home,” head coach Yvette Girouard said. “I’m sure we are going to see Donna Bourgeois, who has beaten us twice [at Louisiana-Lafayette] and now plays for Houston. I have much respect for Houston’s head coach Kyla Holas. Of course, Oklahoma State came here [last season], and we beat them twice. I felt they were a great ball club. We’re going to have to play very well this weekend to stay unbeaten.”
LSU is coming off a 9-0 five-inning thrashing of Southeastern Louisiana where Rachele Fico tossed the third perfect game in program history. Anissa Young and Tammy Wray fueled the offense with a pair of 3-for-3 performances and three RBIs each.
For the season, the Tigers are connecting for a .378 team batting average and have outscored the opposition, 50-8. Young headlines the offense with a .526 hitting clip, two home runs and nine RBIs. Fellow juniors Ashley Langoni, Heidi Pizer and Juliana Santos in addition have chipped in five RBIs apiece.
The Tigers have scored in the first inning during five of their first seven games this season. A big part of that has been Simone Heyward at the top of the lineup. The freshman centerfielder has racked up a .577 on-base percentage and stole six bases en route to 12 runs.
In the circle, Fico is 3-0 and has tallied 31 strikeouts against zero walks. Brittany Mack and Meghan Patterson are each 2-0. Patterson was named LSWA Pitcher of the Week after firing back-to-back complete games last weekend.
Live stats for all five games over the weekend will be available on LSUsports.net and fans can follow in-games updates via the program’s social media pages at www.Facebook.com/lsusoftball and Twitter.com/LSU_Softball.