BATON ROUGE — After setting the program record with 25-straight wins to open the 2015 season, the LSU softball team jumped from No. 5 to No. 3 in this week’s USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll.
The Tigers are set to face No. 1 Florida (27-0) in a three-game series starting Friday at 5 p.m. CT in Gainesville.
Overall Record: 25-0 [3-0 SEC]
NFCA/USA Softball Ranking: T-3rd/2nd
Last Week: 4-0
March 3 – Northwestern State [W, 11-0 (5 innings)]
March 6 – Arkansas [W, 10-0 (5 innings)]
March 7 – Arkansas [W, 6-0]
March 8 – Arkansas [W, 7-1]
This Week:
March 13 – No. 1 Florida [Gainesville, Fla., 5 p.m.; www.LSUsports.net/livestats]
March 14 – No. 1 Florida [Gainesville, Fla., 12 p.m.; SEC Network, http://es.pn/1GgYUqi; www.LSUsports.net/livestats]
March 15 – No. 1 Florida [Gainesville, Fla., 11 a.m.; SEC Network, http://es.pn/1GOwD82; www.LSUsports.net/livestats]
Nominee for SEC Offensive Player of the Week (3/9)
Bianka Bell, Jr., Tampa, Fla.
LSU junior infielder Bianka Bell led all players with a .778 batting average in four games for LSU last week, as the team improved to 25-0 and swept Arkansas in the team’s first series of the year. Bell earned seven hits on the weekend, knocking three doubles, a triple and a home run, as she is now the all-time home-run leader in program history, finishing the week slugging 1.667 with an .857 on-base percentage. The Tampa, Florida, native was walked five times, including three times in the series finale against the Razorbacks, with two being intentional. In her first at-bat against Arkansas in game two of the series, Bell started the scoring and secured the home run record which has stood since 2010 with her 34th. She knocked a double in three of the four, while hitting her first triple as well.
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Avg.
|
AB
|
R
|
H
|
2B
|
3B
|
HR
|
RBI
|
BB
|
SO
|
SB
|
|
.778
|
9 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
Nominee for SEC Pitcher of the Week (3/9)
Baylee Corbello, So., Lake Charles, La.
LSU sophomore Baylee Corbello became the first pitcher this season to twirl a no-hitter against an opponent for LSU, as in her only start of the week she fanned eight while walking none in a win over Northwestern State last week. It was the first collegiate no-hitter for Corbello and the 35th in program history. No ball left the infield as she retired the first 10 batters she faced in a row, tossing a perfect game through 3.1 innings before it was halted due to a hit batter. Still she retired the side in four of the five innings in the contest. It was her sixth win of the season and third shutout, as she has tossed 14 complete scoreless innings with one unearned run crossing in her last 21 total.
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ERA
|
W/L
|
CG
|
SHO
|
SV
|
IP
|
H
|
R
|
ER
|
BB
|
SO
|
| 0.00 |
1-0
|
1
|
1 | 0 | 5.0 |
0
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
Notes on the Tigers
LSU is 25-0 on the season and 3-0 in the SEC after earning wins over Northwestern State and Arkansas last week. LSU is on the longest winning streak in program history, surpassing the 2010 team which won that many midway through that season. This is the best start for any team at LSU, as the Tigers are one win shy of tying the longest winning streak in department history which is 26. The Tigers have outscored their last six opponents 63-2. LSU is outhitting those same opponents 73-14. LSU has scored six or more runs in a game 21 times so far this season. The Tigers have only been outhit by an opponent three times this season. The most runs LSU has given up this season so far was five to Louisiana Tech, while shutting out 12 opponents. The team is outscoring opponents 54-4 in the first inning and 31-3 in the second. LSU took a 27-inning shutout streak into this past weekend. On the season the team is outscoring opponents 199-28. LSU is 22-0 when leading after four innings this year. Of the LSU pitching staff’s 25 wins, 20 have been complete game efforts. Opposing teams are hitting just .188 against Tiger pitching, combining for a 0.86 earned run average. LSU outscored Northwestern State and Arkansas 34-1, while outhitting the two 35-10. OF their 35 hits, 12 were for extra bases, with 31 of the 34 accounted for as RBIs. The Tigers hit .389 as a group while the Razorbacks and Lady Demons hit just .118. No team had a hit for extra bases against LSU, as no team in the last six has earned more than four hits against the staff. 17 times this year LSU has held an opposing team to four hits or less in a contest. The 10 runs against Arkansas in the SEC series opener was the second most scored by LSU in an SEC home opener, as it was also just the second time LSU has run-ruled an opponent in that initial conference home game. This is the first sweep of an SEC series opponent since doing so against Ole Miss last season, while it is the first in the very first weekend of league play since sweeping South Carolina in 2010. The sweep was the second time since 2008 that LSU has swept its opening league weekend opponent since doing so against Georgia. Bianka Bell hit .778 last week, slugging 1.667 with an .857 on-base percentage. Bell became the all-time career home run leader on Saturday, hitting the 34th of her career. Bailey Landry led all players in hits with eight, hitting .615 with seven RBIs and five runs scored. Landry has hit safely in 17 consecutive games which is the longest in program history. Sahvanna Jaquish led all players with eight RBI’s in the week, driving two home runs including her second grand slam of the year and third for the team this season. There were four intentional walks dished out on the week, as Bell and Jaquish had all four. A.J. Andrews had two of the team’s four stolen bases on the week. Emily Griggs hit .571 as she produced four RBIs and five runs scored. Baylee Corbello threw the first no-hitter of the season against Northwestern State, as she struck out eight in five innings. She had a perfect game through 3.1 innings, as she has not given up a run in her last 14 innings, with an unearned run allowed in her last 21. Carley Hoover and Kelsee Selman tied for the team high in strikeouts with nine each, as Hoover had an opponent batting average of .111 and Selman with .148. Hoover gave up just two hits in her start, allowing one in the first and one in the fifth. Selman had her longest start of the year, pitching all seven innings with four hits and two walks allowed. Allie Walljasper earned her eighth win of the season, giving up just four hits with four strikeouts and a walk in her fourth shutout of the season.
USA Today/NFCA Division I Softball Poll
March 10, 2015
Rank, Team, 2015 Record, Totals, Prev. Rank
1, Florida (29), 27-0, 725, 1
2, Oregon, 20-3, 684, 2
t3, LSU, 25-0, 645, 5
t3, Michigan, 22-3, 645, 3
5, Alabama, 18-4, 621, 4
6, Oklahoma, 18-3, 577, 6
7, Louisiana-Lafayette, 17-3, 523, 7
8, Georgia, 21-3, 502, 8
9, Tennessee, 16-3, 487, 11
10, Florida State, 18-5, 443, 12
11, California, 21-1, 392, 16
12, Auburn, 25-2, 386, 14
13, UCLA, 23-5, 354, 15
14, Kentucky, 14-5, 340, 10
15, Baylor, 14-5, 336, 9
16, Minnesota, 18-4, 302, 17
17, Washington, 25-4, 249, 19
18, Arizona, 21-6, 229, 13
19, Texas A&M, 19-5, 228, 20
20, UCF, 18-4, 188, 18
21, Missouri, 12-3, 178, 21
22, Arizona State, 19-8, 139, 22
23, Kansas, 21-2, 84, 25
24, South Alabama, 16-5, 78, 24
t25, UAB, 18-5, 20, RV
t25, North Carolina State, 10-7, 20, RV
New to Poll: No. 25 UAB & North Carolina State
Dropped out: No. 23 Notre Dame (12-9)
Others Receiving Votes: Notre Dame (16), Mississippi State (10), James Madison (7), Virginia Tech (4), North Carolina (4), South Carolina (3), Texas (3), Florida Atlantic (3).