BATON ROUGE, La. – The No. 4 LSU softball team opens the 2017 regular season on Friday afternoon, taking part in the Tiger Classic against McNeese State, Oklahoma State and Penn State at Tiger Park this Friday-Sunday.
The Tigers, under sixth-year head coach Beth Torina, returns 15 letterwinners, five positional starters and all three starting pitchers from a team that went 52-18 overall and qualified for the Women’s College World Series for the second consecutive season and fifth time overall in program history.
Led by a senior class of Sahvanna Jaquish, Bailey Landry, Constance Quinn and Layna Savoie and a junior class of five including Emily Griggs, Carley Hoover, Sydney Loupe, Randi Provost and Allie Walljasper, LSU returns a core of All-SEC, All-Region and All-American experience that will help lead a newcomer group of seven into the fold for the upcoming season.
All five of LSU’s games this weekend will be streamed online through SEC Network+ and WatchESPN with Lyn Rollins and Yvette Girouard, with Patrick Wright calling both games on Friday and Saturday on the home of LSU softball, Talk 107.3 FM locally in Baton Rouge and online for free at LSUsports.net/live.
The Rundown
LSU vs. Oklahoma State, Feb. 10, 4 p.m., SEC Network+, Talk 107.3 FM
LSU vs. Penn State, Feb. 10, 6:30 p.m., SEC Network+, Talk 107.3 FM
LSU vs. McNeese State, Feb. 11, 3 p.m., SEC Network+, Talk 107.3 FM
LSU vs. Penn State, Feb. 11, 5:30 p.m., SEC Network+, Talk 107.3 FM
LSU vs. Oklahoma State, Feb. 12, 12:30 p.m., SEC Network+
Torina’s Thoughts
On opening the season…
“I think the preseason is always long for the team, they’re ready to go from day one. But it’s been 30 days since we started practice. It’s as exciting as Christmas to them. It’s the day they’ve been working for all year, especially for the freshmen who get to put on the uniform for the first time. Everyone’s extremely excited and they’ll be ready to go.”
On facing McNeese State, Oklahoma State and Penn State to open the season…
“Oklahoma State has a lot of returning players and they are going to be very experienced coming in here. They made a deep run in the regional last year so they are quality. Penn State has a lot of newcomers so we don’t have as much information on them and fortunately we’ll be able to see them play before they play us. And McNeese is just good. They’re a great softball team and we know they are going to give us a great game.”
Series Record Against…
McNeese State: LSU leads 28-3
Oklahoma State: LSU leads 5-2
Penn State: LSU leads 5-3
LSU Leaders (2016 Numbers)
Batting Average: Sahvanna Jaquish (.343)
Hits: Sahvanna Jaquish/Bailey Landry (69)
Doubles: Sahvanna Jaquish (19)
Triples: Bailey Landry (6)
Home Runs: Sahvanna Jaquish (13)
RBI: Sahvanna Jaquish (76)
Stolen Bases: Akiya Thymes (12)
ERA: Sydney Smith (1.16)
Wins: Carley Hoover (22)
Strikeouts: Carley Hoover (225)
Shutouts: Sydney Smith (7)
Fewest Walks Allowed: Sydney Smith (24)
Opponent Batting Avg: Carley Hoover (.210)
Scouting the Opposition
McNeese State
Was 43-14 last season… Finished 23-4 in the Southland Conference, winning the SLC regular season and tournament titles… First season under head coach James Landreneau… Return six starters from last year’s team, two pitchers and 14 letterwinners total… Opens regular season Thursday night against Southern Miss at home in Lake Charles.
Oklahoma State
Was 32-26 last season… Finished 6-11 in the Big 12 for fifth place overall… Currently receiving votes in both national polls… Made it to the final of the NCAA Athens Regional… Returning 10 letterwinners overall, seven position starters and two pitchers… 11 newcomers to the team this season.
Penn State
Was 30-24 overall last season… Was 14-9 in the Big Ten for fourth place overall… Returns five starters and 15 total letterwinners… Began playing softball in 1965… Has 10 NCAA Tournament appearances all-time.
What’s On Deck
The Tigers will host the Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters at 6 p.m. on Tuesday February 15 at Tiger Park. The game will be streamed online on SEC Network+, available through WatchESPN.
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.