BATON ROUGE — The fifth-ranked LSU softball team takes a break from Southeastern Conference play on Wednesday to host Alabama A&M at 6 p.m. at Tiger Park.
The game will be broadcast by the LSU Sports Network in Baton Rouge on 107.3 FM and on the internet at LSUsports.net.
The Tigers (27-7) are looking to rebound from a series loss to No. 7 Georgia last weekend that saw them run-rule the Bulldogs in the first game before dropping two close games to close out the set.
The Lady Bulldogs of Alabama A&M stood at 8-22 before a four-game Southwestern Athletic Conference series at Prairie View A&M earlier in the week.
“We need to concentrate on playing our brand of softball,” said LSU head coach Yvette Girouard. “We need to get our bats back on track. We also need to have some consistent pitching and solid defense.”
Sophomores Lauren Delahoussaye and Stephanie Hill lead the Tigers at the plate, batting .366 on the year. Hill is tied for the team lead with eight home runs, one of the pace in the SEC, with five doubles and 28 runs batted in, second on the team. Delahoussaye has hit seven home runs this season with eight doubles, while scoring 25 runs and knocking in 21.
Senior Kristin Schmidt leads the Tiger pitching staff with a 16-4 record. The senior is second in the SEC in wins and fourth in strikeouts this season. Freshman Emily Turner has posted a 10-3 record in the circle for LSU this season with four complete-game shutouts and 66 strikeouts.
Tasha Sloan leads Alabama A&M with a .284 batting average. The sophomore has also recorded five runs batted in and scored seven runs. Sophomore Jessica Jackson leads the team with 13 runs scored, while junior Sheena Townsend has recorded a team-best seven RBIs.
In addition to leading the team at the plate, Sloan is the Lady Bulldogs ace in the circle. Posting a 7-8 record this season, she boasts a 2.87 earned run average with two complete-game shutouts and 90 strikeouts. Against Austin Peay, she threw a one-hit shutout, preserving a 1-0 win over the Lady Governors.
LSU will next take to the road for a three-game SEC series against No. 7 Alabama. The Tigers will face the Crimson Tide in a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. The series will conclude with a single game on Sunday at 1 p.m. Sunday’s game will be televised on FoxSports in Baton Rouge on cable channel 38 as part of the league’s SEC-TV package.