OXFORD, Miss. – The No. 21 LSU softball team squares off with No. 8 Georgia Thursday in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament at the Ole Miss Softball Complex. First pitch is slated for 4 p.m. and the contest will be televised by ESPNU with Beth Mowins and Michele Smith anchoring the coverage.
The Tigers (38-15, 19-9 SEC) carry an SEC-best 12-game winning streak into the tournament and have emerged with victories in 23 of their last 26 games dating back to March 19.
Georgia (44-10, 17-9 SEC) split its last eight games of the regular season. The Bulldogs have knocked 78 home runs as Alisa Goler, Brianna Hesson, Ashley Razey and Taylor Schlopy reached double figures. Both Goler and Hesson have drove home over 50 RBIs mark for the season.
In the circle, Morgan Montemayor is 20-3 with a 2.13 ERA. She recorded 130 strikeouts in her 125.0 frames of action. Alison Owen has countered with a 15-4 mark and a staff low 1.74 ERA. She also has three saves and has racked up 151 strikeouts in her 116.2 innings of work.
“We’re excited to start postseason play, and we know that every game we play from here on out is going to be a dog fight,” head coach Yvette Girouard said. “Hopefully, we’ll have a better showing against Georgia than we did the first time around earlier in the season at their place. We weren’t playing particularly well at that time, but they really took it to us.”
Offensively, LSU is paced by Simone Heyward and Anissa Young. The duo picked up SEC Freshman and Louisiana Hitter of the Week accolades earlier this week.
Heyward has hit safely in five of her last seven games since returning to the leadoff spot on April 27. She has scored a team-high 37 runs, and the Tigers are 23-2 in 2011 when she crosses the plate.
Young has garnered a team-high .290 hitting clip to go along with 10 home runs and 41 RBIs. She has posted RBIs in her last five outings fueled by four multi-RBI efforts.
Ashley Langoni has turned in a 10-for-34 effort at the plate with a home run and 10 RBIs over her last 12 games. For the season, Langoni is second on the squad with 34 RBIs for the season.
From the bottom of the lineup, Morgan Russell has reached base in 10 of her last 11 games and equaled a career-best three hits during game two of the South Carolina series.
Jacee Blades has collected a hit in nine of her last 10 games, while Tiffany Shaw has registered hits in five of her last seven outings since going back to the No. 9 spot in the lineup.
“At this point in the season, everyone has to contribute for the team to be successful,” Girouard said. “It’s all about having great pitching, timely hitting and phenomenal defense because it’s all about championships moving forward. The players just have to go out there play and relax.”
Brittany Mack and Rachele Fico have combined for 32 of LSU’s 38 wins in the circle. Mack has reeled off eight straights wins dating back to April 20 en route to an 18-5 mark and a staff-low 1.70 ERA. Her 179 strikeouts are fourth in the SEC and Mack has picked up seven or more Ks in seven of her last 12 outings.
Fico has won nine of her last 10 decisions to vault her record up to 14-9 for the season. Last time out versus South Carolina, Fico racked up 10 strikeouts to fuel an eight-hit shutout.
All of LSU’s games at the SEC Tournament will have live audio and live stats in the Geaux Zone on LSUsports.net. Live video will be provided by ESPN3.com and the contests also will be carried on ESPN 104.5 FM in Baton Rouge with Patrick Wright and Matt Dunaway calling the action.
In-game updates are provided via the program’s social media pages at www.Facebook.com/lsusoftball and www.Twitter.com/LSU_Softball.