BATON ROUGE – The No. 25 LSU softball team takes on its third consecutive SEC Eastern Division foe to start conference play as No. 24 Kentucky visits Tiger Park for a weekend series.
The Tigers (15-11, 0-5 SEC) are looking to put a six-game losing streak in the rear view mirror, while Kentucky (18-4, 4-1 SEC) is coming off a Wednesday doubleheader sweep at Arkansas.
A full weekend of events and promotions is on-tap at Tiger Park. Friday’s 6 p.m. opener marks the program’s third annual breast cancer survivor recognition game. Prior to first pitch, LSU will acknowledge and pay tribute to breast cancer survivors during team introductions on the field.
LSU honors 22 former Alumnae leading into Saturday’s middle game at 1 p.m. televised by CST. Stephanie Hastings, Jennie Reeves, Jennifer Schuelke and Julie Wiese-Hawkins represent the 2001 Women’s College World Series squad by throwing out the ceremonial first pitch.
Mike’s Kids Club members will have a special day at the ballpark for Sunday’s series finale at 1 p.m. Before the game, members who have emailed mikeskidsclub@lsu.edu will be given a tour of Tiger Park in addition to running out with the LSU players during team introductions on the field.
“It’s going to be a busy weekend at the ballpark,” head coach Yvette Girouard said. “We’re excited to do our part in bringing awareness to aid in breast cancer prevention and research. We’re also fired up about recognizing our distinguished alumnae who played a major part in building LSU softball’s strong tradition.”
“On the field, Kentucky is a hot team right now,” Girouard continued. “They took two of three from Tennessee last weekend and also won both games of a doubleheader from Arkansas. Their coach, Rachel Lawson, has done a wonderful job of building their program, and we’re going to have to be at our best if we want to get back on the winning track.”
Simone Heyward continues to lead the LSU offense with a .339 hitting clip from the top of the batting order. She recently had her 20-game on-base streak to start her career come to a close last time out at Southern Miss.
Heyward along with Tiffany Shaw and Tammy Wray share the top spot with 20 hits apiece. Anissa Young has ripped a team-best six home runs to go along with 21 RBIs, while Wray has chipped in three dingers and 16 RBIs.
Juliana Santos, Ashley Langoni and Lauren Houston have notched 12, 11 and 10 RBIs, respectively, to give the Tigers five players with double digit RBIs.
In the circle, Rachele Fico, Brittany Mack and Meghan Patterson have logged five wins each. Patterson was the first freshman pitcher in LSU history to start her career 5-0, but suffered her first setback at Southern Miss.
All three games of the UK series will have live audio and live stats available in the Geaux Zone on LSUsports.net in addition to being carried live on ESPN 104.5 FM with Patrick Wright and Kent Lowe calling the action.
In-game updates via the program’s social media pages at www.Facebook.com/lsusoftball and www.Twitter.com/LSU_Softball.
The Tiger Park Ticket Booth opens 90 minutes prior to first pitch each day and fans can purchase tickets on-site starting at $5 for adult general admission. Triple play packages featuring a trio of SEC games are available for $12 at www.LSUtix.net.