BATON ROUGE, La. – The No. 5 LSU softball team returns home to Baton Rouge and Tiger Park on Wednesday evening, hosting the South Alabama Jaguars at 6 p.m.
Wednesday’s game opens a string of 16-straight home contests for the Tigers over the course of the next few weeks, as fans who come out to the game on Wednesday will be able to pick up the 2016 team poster and schedule magnets at the fan zone table on the concourse.
The contest will be streamed live online via SEC Network+ through WatchESPN for smartphones, tablets, streaming devices and desktops. Lyn Rollins and Yvette Girouard will call all the action from the park, as fans unable to watch will be able to keep up with live stats and updates through the team’s social media pages on Facebook and Twitter.
LSU goes into the game with an overall record of 8-2 after winning four games over the weekend at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in California. In an early-season gauge on where the team stood among some of softball’s elite, the Tigers went 2-1 against ranked teams, while winning each of its last four games of the tournament and closing out the event with an emphatic 10-5 victory over UCLA Sunday morning in Palm Springs.
The win over the Bruins was just one of two double-digit scoring games for LSU over the weekend, as LSU plated 16 against Bethune-Cookman in the team’s largest margin of victory so far this season. The Tigers were also able to grit out some tough wins, defeating UCSB 5-2, while battling back from two deficits to defeat UCF 6-5 on Saturday.
LSU was able to get key hits from a host of areas, none more so than from junior infielder Constance Quinn, who led LSU at the plate over the weekend by going 7-for-12 at the plate for a .583 average, driving in four, scoring three times and belting a triple.
Right behind Quinn was freshman Amber Serrett who hit .556 in three of the five games on the weekend, having two doubles among her five hits, driving in three and scoring twice. The Spring, Texas, product slugged .778 on the weekend, which was the second highest total among the group on the weekend.
The performance of the weekend went to senior catcher Kellsi Kloss, who against BCU became the first LSU player to hit two grand slams in one game, while also capturing the school record for RBI in a single game with nine. Kloss slugged .917 and had a .588 on-base percentage, scoring three times in the contest.
Producing six RBIs on the weekend was fellow senior Bianka Bell, who drove in six and hit .313 with seven runs scored. Bell was one of four players on the weekend to have at least four or more walks, as junior Sahvanna Jaquish was dealt seven of the team’s 22 that were issued to them against opposing pitching.
In the circle, Baylee Corbello, Carley Hoover and Sydney Smith were all able to remain perfect on the season, while Allie Walljasper earned not only her first victory but picked up a save as well.
Hoover now stands at 4-0 on the season after picking up a pair of victories over the weekend, striking out 14 in 11 innings of work, while Corbello moved to 2-0 after holding an opponent batting average of .167 which was the lowest for any LSU pitcher last weekend.
Smith allowed just one run and struck out four in her outing, while Walljasper bounced back in a big way by coming on in two successive runner’s-on situations and thriving by slamming the door on comeback attempts to earn a win and a save. She pitched a staff-high 12 innings over the weekend, striking out 11 and walking none.
South Alabama comes into the game on Wednesday with a 6-3 record, dropping three of four games at the Mardi Gras Invitational. The Jaguars ended the tournament with a 10-2 win over Southern Miss in six innings, after dropping games to Mississippi State, Samford and SIU Edwardsville.
LSU is 6-2 all-time against South Alabama in program history, winning each of the last two games by a combined 14-1 score. The Tigers had lost the previous two games after opening the series history winning four straight.
For all of the latest news and information on Tiger softball, visit www.lsusports.net/softball. Fans can also follow the program on its social media outlets at www.Facebook.com/lsusoftball along with @lsusoftball and @BethTorina on Twitter and @lsusb on Instagram.