BATON ROUGE — Having won six of their last eight games, the LSU softball team hosts Ole Miss in a crucial Southeastern Conference three-game series this weekend beginning with a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Tiger Park.
The series will conclude with a single game on Sunday beginning at noon. All three games can be heard on the LSU Sports Network in Baton Rouge on Country Legends 107.3 FM. The first game of the series will be televised on same day delay on Cox Sports Television in Baton Rouge on cable channel 37 at 5 p.m.
The Tigers (23-15, 6-12 SEC) are currently in sole possession of seventh place in the league standings, while the Rebels (25-19, 5-11 SEC) are in ninth. There are four teams – South Carolina, LSU, Mississippi State and Ole Miss – that are currently battling for the final three spots for the SEC Tournament in May. The tournament takes the top eight teams in the league and those four teams are all within one game of each other in the standings with four conference series to play.
LSU has one its last two SEC series, taking 2-of-3 from both Arkansas and Kentucky, while Ole Miss bounced back from having lost back-to-back series to Alabama and Georgia to defeat Mississippi State in the first game of its three-week three-game series on Thursday.
“We welcome a much improved Ole Miss squad this weekend,” said LSU head coach Yvette Girouard. “They took a game from Mississippi State on Thursday and like us are fighting for a berth in the SEC Tournament.”
Junior Lauren Castle leads LSU with a .408 batting average on the season, while also recording 12 doubles, second-most on the team. Harris is right behind Castle with a .385 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 .322 on the season. LSU has posted 74 doubles, seven triples and 29 home runs for a .494 slugging percentage. In addition, the Tigers have a .965 fielding percentage on the year, committing only 37 errors in over 1,000 chances.
Sophomore Mary Jane Callahan leads Ole Miss with a .404 batting average, while senior DeDe Justice has a team-best six home runs and 21 RBIs. As a team the Rebels are hitting .259 on the season with 48 doubles, nine triples and 18 home runs with 45 stolen bases.
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 2.91RA on the season with eight shutouts, while holding opponents to a meager .225 batting average.
Callahan also leads Ole Miss in the circle with a 1.31 earned run average and a 10-9 record. With a 14-inning win over nationally ranked UCLA earlier season, the left-hander has posted seven shutouts and 122 strikeouts in 128.2 innings. As a team the Rebels have recorded a 1.57 ERA with 11 shutouts and 224 strikeouts.
“This is a totally different Ole Miss team from the ones we have played in years past,” said Girouard. “When you can beat UCLA in any year, you have to be very talented. They have a different presence on the field this season and we will certainly have our hands full this weekend.”
Last season the Tigers swept the three game series at Ole Miss, defeating the Rebels 2-1 in 10 innings, 5-0 and 5-1. Then senior Kristin Schmidt pitched all three games for LSU after Turner was called to play third base because of an injury to then third baseman Julie Wiese.
In the first game, Kristen Hobbs scored the game-winning run on a sacrifice fly by Harris in the top of the 10th inning. Leslie Klein knocked in three runs in the second game, while former Tiger Leigh Ann Danos recorded three RBIs in the third game.
LSU is 26-2 all-time against Ole Miss, including a 13-1 record at home. The Tigers have won their last 19 consecutive meetings against the Rebels, dating back to a 2-1 loss on April 2, 1999 in Baton Rouge. Head coach Yvette Girouard is 16-0 all-time against Ole Miss, including a 12-0 record at LSU.
GAME FACTS:
LSU (23-15, 6-12 SEC) vs. Ole Miss (25-19, 5-11 SEC)
DATE/TIME:
Saturday, April 16 at 1 p.m. (DH) and Sunday, April 17 at Noon
STADIUM:
Tiger Park
RADIO:
LSU Sports Network (Country Legends 107.3 FM in Baton Rouge)
TELEVISION:
Cox Sports Television (Baton Rouge cable channel 37) – Saturday game one tape delay at 5 p.m.
INTERNET:
Radio broadcast and live stats at www.LSUsports.net
SERIES RECORD:
LSU leads 26-2