BATON ROUGE — Having won four of their last six games, the LSU softball team now steps away from Southeastern Conference play to travel to Thibodaux for a mid-week game against Nicholls State on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at the Lady Colonel Diamond.
The Tigers (22-15, 6-12 SEC) have played themselves into the SEC Tournament, currently tied for seventh place in the league standings with Mississippi State and one game out of sixth place. The Lady Colonels (13-27, 8-13 Southland Conference) have lost their last three in a row after being swept by Texas-San Antonio last weekend.
“We went through a rough stretch to start conference play, but we seem to be hitting our stride now,” said LSU head coach Yvette Girouard. “We are heading into a crucial part of the season where every win counts and hopefully this will be a good tune-up as we get ready to close out the SEC schedule.”
On March 8 earlier this season, LSU defeated Nicholls State, 6-2, in Baton Rouge. Junior Camille Harris went 3-for-3 for the Tigers and was a double shy of hitting for the cycle. With LSU leading 3-2 in the fourth, Harris hit a solo home run to stretch the LSU lead to 4-2. In the bottom of the sixth with two outs and a runner on first, she tripled to center field, her second of the season, and scored on an error that gave the Tigers the 6-2 final.
Sophomore Emily Turner started and earned the complete-game win for LSU. She allowed two runs on four hits with a walk and nine strikeouts. The two runs she allowed were on a two-run home run in the top of the third. After allowing a double to lead off the fourth inning, Turner retired the final 12 batters in order to end the game.
Ally May started and took the complete-game loss for the Lady Colonels. She allowed six runs, three earned, on eight hits with a walk and a strikeout.
Junior Lauren Castle leads LSU with a .405 batting average on the season, while also recording 11 doubles, second-most on the team. Harris is right behind Castle with a .393 average, including seven home runs, which ties her for the team lead. Five Tigers are hitting over .300 on the season, while a trio of LSU batters have recorded 10 or more doubles.
As a team, the Tigers are hitting .320 on the season. LSU has posted 71 doubles, seven triples and 29 home runs for a .494 slugging percentage. In addition, the Tigers have a .966 fielding percentage on the year, committing only 35 errors in over 1,000 chances.
In the circle, Turner leads the Tigers with an 11-9 record and 2.62 earned run average. She has posted three shutout victories and not allowed more than three hits in her last three outings, while averaging seven strikeouts a game. As a team, LSU has a 2.85 ERA on the season with eight shutouts, while holding opponents to a meager .221 batting average.
Lindsey Coleman leads Nicholls with a .306 batting average with eight doubles, five home runs and 15 RBIs. As a team, the Colonels are hitting .225 on the season with 46 doubles, three triples and 25 home runs.
In the circle, Nichole Wagner leads Nicholls with a 3.69 earned run average and a 7-12 record. The senior has recorded one shutout and 49 strikeouts in 23 appearances. As a team, the Lady Colonels have posted a 4.53 earned run average with one shutout and 132 strikeouts in 259.2 innings of work.
LSU is 10-1 all-time against Nicholls State, including a 3-0 record in Thibodaux. The Tigers lost the first meeting, 3-0, in 1998, but have won the last 10 meetings since. Head coach Yvette Girouard is 67-19 all-time against Nicholls, including a 9-0 record at LSU.
The Tigers return to SEC play against Ole Miss at home this weekend. LSU will face the Lady Rebels in a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 p.m. and in a single game on Sunday at noon. All three games will be broadcast on the LSU Sports Network, while the first game of the series will be shown on tape delay on Cox Sports Television on Saturday at 5 p.m.
GAME FACTS:
LSU (22-15, 6-12 SEC) vs. Nicholls State (13-27, 8-13 SLC)
DATE/TIME:
Wednesday, April 13 at 6:30 p.m.
STADIUM:
Tiger Park
RADIO:
None
TELEVISION:
None
INTERNET:
None
SERIES RECORD:
LSU leads 10-1