Overall Record: 35-15 [16-9 SEC]
Last Week: 4-0
April 27 – Southern Miss [W, 2-0]
April 29 – at Mississippi State [W, 4-2]
April 30 – at Mississippi State [W, 7-6]
May 1 – at Mississippi State [W, 3-1]
This Week:
May 3 – at Southeastern Louisiana [6 p.m.]
May 6 – South Carolina [6 p.m., CST]
May 7 – South Carolina [3:30 p.m., CST]
May 8 – South Carolina [1 p.m.]
Nominee for Player of the Week
Anissa Young, 1B, Jr., Fontana, Calif.
Young had a weekend to remember at the plate with a .714 batting average, .818 on-base percentage and a 1.429 slugging clip as LSU swept Mississippi State to push its winning streak to a league-best nine games. She reached base in nine of her 11 plate appearances sparked by a trio of extra base hits and four walks. The Fontana, Calif., native belted a two-run home run in the first inning of the series finale which proved to be the game-winner. It was Young’s ninth dinger, a personal season-best. She also notched two RBIs in game two of the series and now has a team-high 36 RBIs for the season.
AB R H BB AVG. RBI 2B 3B HR SB/SBA
7 2 5 4 .714 4 2 0 1 0/0
Nominee for Pitcher of the Week
Brittany Mack, P, Jr., Round Rock, Texas
Mack, the reigning SEC Pitcher of the Week, continued her run of dominance with three more victories, a save and a blistering 1.07 ERA as the Tigers completed a 4-0 week. The junior right-hander racked up 31 strikeouts against four walks and notched double digit Ks in both of her starts during her 19.2 innings of work. Mack opened the week and sat down eight of the last nine batters she faced during three frames of two-hit relief en route to her second career save versus Southern Miss. The Round Rock, Texas, native opened the first of her three wins at Mississippi State with an 11-strikeout performance. In the middle game, Mack tossed 3.2 frames of two-hit ball out of the bullpen, notched six strikeouts and mowed down seven of the final eight for the relief win. She was lights out in the series finale with 10 more strikeouts and became only the third SEC pitcher this season to win all three games of a league series.
GS W L ShO SV IP H R ER ERA BB SO
2 3 0 0/1 1 19.2 15 3 3 1.07 4 31
Nominee for Freshman of the Week
Jacee Blades, 2B, Baton Rouge, La.
Blades continued her hot streak at the plate and collected hits in all four games to push her career-long hitting streak to seven games. For the week, Blades connected for a .455 batting average, a full 200 points over her season clip. The Baton Rouge native scored runs in two of the three games during LSU’s sweep at Mississippi State. In the fifth inning of game two, Blades’ speed on an infield single forced the Bulldogs into a throwing error that plated the game tying run during the Tigers 7-6 comeback victory, while her double in the seventh inning of the series finale set up an insurance run in the 3-1 triumph.
AB R H BB AVG. RBI 2B 3B HR SB/SBA
11 2 5 1 .455 0 1 0 0 0/0
Notes on the Tigers
No. 21 LSU continued its winning ways highlighted by a weekend sweep of Mississippi State and extended the SEC’s longest streak to nine straight games. The Tigers have won 20 of their last 23 games dating back to March 19 and outscored their opponents by a 94-43 margin. With its three wins over the Bulldogs, LSU can finish no lower than sixth place in the overall SEC race. Brittany Mack notched all three wins over MSU and picked up a save versus Southern Miss to improve to 16-5 on the season. She garnered double digit strikeouts during both of her starts and sat down seven of the last eight batters she faced in her relief win. The junior right-hander joined Georgia’s Morgan Montemayor and Florida’s Hannah Rogers this season as the only league pitchers to claim all three wins during a SEC weekend series. Mack has rolled to an 11-2 mark with an ERA of under one since March 19. The Mack-Rachele Fico tandem has combined to pick up 29 of LSU’s 35 wins for the season. After having her 160 consecutive starts streak snapped to open her career versus Southern Miss, Anissa Young was dynamite offensively with a staggering .714 batting average, .818 on-base clip and 1.429 slugging percentage. She connected for a two-run home run in the first inning of the series finale. It was Young’s ninth home run, a personal season-best, after posting eight dingers apiece during her freshman and sophomore campaigns. Jacee Blades and Tiffany Shaw combined for an 11-for-22 week with four runs scored from the bottom two spots of the lineup. In the process, Blades pushed her career-long hitting streak to seven games. Tammy Wray provided the late-inning heroics with a sixth inning, RBI double to cap LSU’s 7-6 game two comeback victory. LSU heads to Southeastern Louisiana for a Tuesday tilt at 6 p.m. before welcoming South Carolina to Tiger Park for a weekend series to conclude the regular season. Friday and Saturday’s contests will be televised by CST. The three-game set also will celebrate the storied career of head coach Yvette Girouard, who is retiring following the end of the season.