Overall Record: 9-4 [0-0 SEC]
Last Week: 5-0
February 21 – Southeastern Louisiana [W, 7-0]
February 25 – South Alabama [W, 5-4]
February 25 – McNeese State [W, 2-0]
February 26 – South Alabama [W, 1-0]
February 26 – Alcorn State [W, 2-0]
This Week:
March 2 – at No. 6 Oklahoma [Norman, Okla., 6 p.m.]
March 3 – vs. No. 21 Oklahoma State [Oklahoma City, Okla., 11 a.m.]
March 3 – vs. No. 6 Oklahoma [Oklahoma City, Okla., 4 p.m.]
March 4 – at No. 21 Oklahoma State [Stillwater, Okla., 12 p.m.]
Nominee for Player/Freshman of the Week
Rikki Alcaraz, 2B, Fr., Orland Park, Ill.
Entering the week with two hits, Alcaraz pieced together a five-game hitting streak en route to Tiger Invitational All-Tournament honors as LSU emerged with five consecutive wins. She raised her average by over 150 points to a .333 ratio for the season. The Orland Park, Illinois, native also scored runs in three games. During LSU’s 1-0 win over South Alabama, Alcaraz ripped a double during the second inning and scored the game’s only run. With the bases loaded in the seventh inning, Alcaraz made a fully extended, running catch, on a line drive to preserve the victory.
AB R H BB AVG. RBI 2B 3B HR SB/SBA
13 3 6 1 .462 1 1 0 0 1/1
Nominee for Pitcher of the Week
Rachele Fico, P, Jr., Oxford, Conn.
Fico added two more shutouts to her ledger and claimed Tiger Invitational All-Tournament honors. The junior right-hander fired her third one-hitter of the season versus McNeese State. At one point, she sat down 19 consecutive batters and recorded six strikeouts. She followed that up and sprayed seven hits in a 1-0 shutout of South Alabama, a team that went 37-17 last season. Fico improved to 5-1 for the season and shaved her ERA to a paltry 0.37 ratio for the season.
GS W L ShO SV IP H R ER ERA BB SO
2 2 0 2 0 14.0 8 0 0 0.00 4 11
Notes on the Tigers
LSU pushed its season-long winning streak to six games and captured the Tiger Invitational title over the weekend. Rikki Alcaraz, Rachele Fico, Meghan Patterson, Morgan Russell and Dylan Supak came away with Tiger Invitational All-Tournament honors for their efforts. During its nine wins this season, the Tigers are outscoring their opponents by an impressive 50-4 margin. LSU’s pitching staff has compiled eight shutouts on the season. Rachele Fico added her third one-hitter of 2012 during a 2-0 victory over McNeese State. The junior right-hander retired 19 straight batters at one point. She has compiled a 5-1 record with a sparking 0.37 ERA over her 38 innings of work. Russell provided both RBIs during the McNeese win, a RBI single in the fourth inning followed by a sixth inning solo home run. Alcaraz garnered hits in all five games last week to raise her batting average over 150 points. She also caught a line drive moving to her right with the bases loaded and two outs to preserve LSU’s 1-0 victory over South Alabama. In her first start of the season, Meghan Patterson proceeded to rack up a career-best 13 strikeouts versus Alcorn State. She carried a no-hit bid two outs into the sixth inning. The Tigers open the March portion of their schedule against No. 6 Oklahoma and No. 21 Oklahoma State at the Preview hosted by USA Softball.