LSU Gold

Softball Hosts No. 16/25 South Carolina This Weekend

by Chelsey Chamberlain
Game Notes +0
Softball Hosts No. 16/25 South Carolina This Weekend

BATON ROUGE, La. – The No. 8/5 LSU softball team (29-6, 7-2 SEC) is back in SEC play this weekend, playing host to No. 16/25 South Carolina (24-8, 2-6 SEC) for a three-game series Friday through Sunday.

Friday’s game at 6 p.m. CT will air on SEC Network+ with Lyn Rollins and Yvette Girouard on the call. Saturday’s game at 6 p.m. CT will air live on SEC Network, while Sunday’s 1 p.m. CT game will air live on ESPNU. Melissa Lee and Jenny Dalton-Hill will be on the call.

The Tigers are coming off seven-straight wins, most recently off a 12-1 five-inning run-rule over Nicholls Wednesday. Shelby Wickersham picked up the victory to improve to 9-1 on the year.

Amanda Sanchez leads the squad with a .488 batting average and has 15 doubles on the year. Shelbi Sunseri is batting .463 on the year with a team-leading 13 home runs and 88 total bases. As a team, the Tigers are hitting .341 and averaging 8.9 runs per game.

Maribeth Gorsuch leads the pitching staff with an 8-0 record and a 1.65 ERA. She owns four shutouts and has 34 strikeouts on the year. Wickersham is 9-1 with a 1.85 ERA. Sunseri is 7-4 in the circle with a team-leading 42 strikeouts, while Ali Kilponen is 5-1.

Torina’s Thoughts
“South Carolina is good. They have such a deep pitching staff. All of their arms are talented and bring a lot of different looks. They have a scary offense and are better than what they show on paper.”

Series Record Against…
The Tigers own a 46-16 all-time record against the Gamecocks. The Tigers did not play them in 2018 and fell in the last series at South Carolina in 2017. The Tigers swept the Gamecocks in the last series in Tiger Park in 2016. Head coach Beth Torina is 11-4 against the Gamecocks.

Scouting the Opposition
South Carolina
The Gamecocks are 24-8 on the year and 2-6 in the conference. As a team, they are hitting .312 with Jana Johns leading the way with a .405 mark. She has seven doubles, two triples and seven home runs on the year to go along with 27 RBI and 66 total bases.

In the circle, the Gamecocks are holding their opponents to 2.88 runs per seven innings and to a .219 batting average at the plate. Karly Heath leads with a 7-0 record and a 2.26 ERA. Dixie Raley is 7-2 and leads the team with 55 strikeouts. Cayla Drotar has seen the most action at 63.2 innings and is 6-4 on the year.

What’s On Deck
The Tigers take a break from midweek action next week and continue with SEC play at Mississippi St. April 5-7 in Starkville.  

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 @lsusoftball on Instagram.