BATON ROUGE, La. – The No. 12 LSU softball team opens SEC play this weekend, traveling to face the No. 2 Auburn Tigers in a three-game series this Friday-Sunday at Jane B. Moore Field.
The three-game set gets underway on Friday evening with the series opener at 6 p.m., with game two set for 7:30 p.m. Saturday and the finale Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. Game one will be streamed online through SEC Network+ on the WatchESPN app, with the next two airing on the SEC Network with Tom Hart and Amanda Scarborough.
Radio coverage also resumes this weekend with Patrick Wright calling all of the action from Auburn on the home of LSU softball on Talk 107.3 FM locally in Baton Rouge and online for free at LSUsports.net/live. Fans will also be able to find a link to live stats and audio on the softball schedule page at LSUsports.net.
The Tigers, 18-4 overall on the season, heads to Auburn with a full head of steam after coming off a 6-1 week in earning wins over Southern Miss, Florida Atlantic, Illinois, Illinois State and Troy over the course of a midweek contest and the LSU Invitational tournament at Tiger Park.
LSU will take one of the top hitting offenses in the league to Auburn this weekend as the squad is averaging .366 at the plate which is fourth in the conference. This past weekend alone the Tigers earned double figure hits in three of the seven games and have a total of nine games producing double-digit hits.
Leading the way with those hits through the week was senior Bailey Landry, earning 11 as her 38 total hits coming into this week led the nation and .528 batting average being 14th. She leads a group of five players who have at least 20 hits on the season as LSU has produced 206 total hits as a unit so far through the 2017 season.
This weekend, fellow senior Sahvanna Jaquish has the opportunity to break the career RBI mark as with 232 through her career she needs just four to tie and five to break the current record held by former Tiger Bianka Bell at 236. The Highland, California, native also belted her 49th career home run over the weekend as well, putting her nine away from tying Bell’s mark of 58 and 10 away from that record as well.
In the circle, the Tigers got a pair of wins from both Sydney Smith and Allie Walljasper as in 13 innings for each over the course of the week Walljasper allowed just one run while Smith struck out 12. Walljasper leads the staff with seven wins, while Smith has the lowest ERA at 0.98.
LSU will go up against an Auburn team that sports the SEC’s lowest ERA at 0.66, as the opposition’s four pitchers have combined for 12 shutouts and holding teams to a .184 batting average at the plate. At 20-2, Auburn still has a potent offense hitting at a .310 clip, belting 26 home runs among 167 total hits as a team.
The Rundown
No. 12/12 LSU at No. 2/4 Auburn, March 10, 6 p.m., SEC Network+, Talk 107.3 FM
No. 12/12 LSU at No. 2/4 Auburn, March 11, 7:30 p.m., SEC Network, Talk 107.3 FM
No. 12/12 LSU at No. 2/4 Auburn, March 12, 4 p.m., SEC Network, Talk 107.3 FM
Torina’s Thoughts
On opening SEC play with a fresh mindset…
“I feel like we’re 0-0 this week. Heading in with a different focus, a different thought process just getting to focus on one team and I think that’s something that will work out to our benefit.”
On what the team can expect from Auburn…
“I think they are going to play the same type of softball that they are known for. They are going to throw a lot of strikes, swing big and swing for some power. They graduated some veterans, but they have some really talented ones and they have some young kids that are really good as well.
On what the team has accomplished so far…
“There are some games that got away from us that we’d like to have back. But, as a whole I think we’re learning and growing and that’s the key.”
Series Record Against…
Auburn: LSU leads 42-18
LSU Leaders
Batting Average: Bailey Landry (.528)
Hits: Bailey Landry (38)
Doubles: Amanda Doyle/Sahvanna Jaquish (5)
Triples: Bailey Landry (4)
Home Runs: Sydney Springfield (4)
RBI: Sahvanna Jaquish (25)
Stolen Bases: Nicky Dawson (5)
ERA: Sydney Smith (0.98)
Wins: Allie Walljasper (7)
Strikeouts: Carley Hoover (66)
Shutouts: Carley Hoover/Allie Walljasper (2)
Fewest Walks Allowed: Allie Walljasper (6)
Opponent Batting Avg.: Carley Hoover (.146)
Scouting the Opposition
Auburn
Comes into the game with a 20-2 overall record… Sport a 17-1 record in home games this season… Currently on a six-game winning streak… Have won 11 games via run-rule… Only losses this season have come to Washington and James Madison… Head coach Clint Meyers is in his fourth season as the Auburn coach… Meyers has won over 1,400 games as both a softball and baseball head coach… Led at the plate by Victoria Draper and her .417 average… Haley Fagan leads Auburn in total hits with 25… Kaylee Carlson has a 0.50 ERA to lead the Auburn pitching staff and 11 wins in 15 appearances this season.
What’s On Deck
LSU steps out of non-conference weekend play for the final time in the regular season traveling to face the Wichita State Shockers next Thursday, before participating in the two-day Rock Chalk Challenge in Lawrence hosted by Kansas.
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.