BATON ROUGE – Fresh off a doubleheader split at No. 2 Florida, the No. 23 LSU softball team completes the home portion of its regular season home schedule as No. 12 Georgia visits Tiger Park for a SEC weekend series. Game times are slated for 6 p.m. [Friday], 4 p.m. [Saturday] and 1 p.m. [Sunday].
All three games of the series will have live audio and live stats inside the Geaux Zone on www.LSUsports.net/live. The game also will be carried live on Country Legends 104.9 FM in the Baton Rouge area with Patrick Wright and Kent Lowe set to call the action.
The final two games of the series will be televised on CST with Lyn Rollins and Yvette Girouard serving as the announcing team, while video of the series opener will be streamed on www.LSUsports.net/live.
The first 1,000 fans to Saturday’s game will receive a LSU softball lapel pin. The Tigers also will hold a special “Family Day” ceremony leading into the game.
Following Sunday’s contest, LSU will pay tribute to Ashley Applegate, Katie Guillory, Ashley Langoni, Brittany Mack, Morgan Russell, Heidi Pizer, Juliana Santos and Cassie Trosclair as part of Senior Day festivities. Guillory will return to the Tigers for the 2013 season as a redshirt senior.
“It will definitely be a bittersweet weekend for us,” head coach Beth Torina said. “Our eight seniors have been such a big part of this program. I hate seeing the end of their careers. At the same time, we enjoy seeing them get to go on with their life and do some special things in their future. I know all of them are going to be huge successes. We will enjoy honoring them and wishing them well. We will be sad to see them leave the LSU softball program. They have a lot more to do before they go, and a lot more left to accomplish this season.”
LSU (33-16, 14-8 SEC) enters the weekend one game ahead of Georgia (36-12, 13-9 SEC) for sole possession of fourth place in the overall SEC race.
Last time out, the Tigers notched a 1-0 victory over No. 2 Florida highlighted by Mack’s four-hitter during game two of Tuesday’s doubleheader. The Bulldogs ripped off a 9-1 five-inning triumph Wednesday over Kennesaw State.
Kristyn Sandberg headlines the UGA offense with a .351 batting average to go along with 16 home runs and 43 RBIs. She has been just as impressive defensively and limited opponents to 21 stolen bases. Paige Wilson has put together a fabulous freshman season. She has tallied a team-leading .355 hitting clip in addition to eight homers and 39 RBIs.
In the circle, Erin Arevalo has garnered a 19-5 record and a stout 1.70 ERA. She has recorded 199 strikeouts in her 160.1 innings of work and held the opposition to a paltry .193 hitting ratio. Morgan Montemayor, an All-SEC Freshman pick from last season, has tallied a 9-6 mark and contributed 127 Ks over 110.0 frames of action.
“Georgia is a very talented ball club and are going to bring a lot of things that we are going to have to be prepared for,” Torina said. “Hopefully, we will show up with the same drive, determination and pitching performances that we had Tuesday at Florida. We know we have a big challenge ahead of us without question, but we will be prepared.”
Langoni continues to be LSU’s triple crown frontrunner with a .308 batting average, six home runs and 28 RBIs. She also ranks among the program’s Top 10 in home runs, RBIs and walks.
Santos has collected a .287 hitting clip and ranks second on the squad with 21 RBIs. She has hit safely in 18 of her last 28 appearances dating back to March 3.
Allison Falcon places third on the team with a .275 hitting ratio and has added 17 RBIs. From the middle of the infield, Falcon and Santos have played a major role in LSU’s ability to post 12 errorless games in its last 20 outings.
Applegate is coming off a multi-hit performance and scored the game’s lone run during LSU’s 1-0 upset of No. 2 Florida. She joins Langoni on LSU’s all-time walks list.
Tammy Wray continues to swing a hot bat and posted hits in six of her last nine games since April 14 to raise her average by 38 points to a .178 ratio. She also has produced a pair of RBIs during the stretch.
LSU’s pitching tandem of Rachele Fico and Brittany Mack have racked up 29 of LSU’s 33 victories on the season. Both are ranked inside the SEC’s Top 10 with 155 and 149 strikeouts, respectively.
Fico sports a 15-8 record and a SEC-best 1.03 ERA. The junior right-hander matched her season-high with 11 Ks at No. 2 Florida and enters the weekend one strikeout away from becoming the seventh pitcher in program history to reach 500 for her career. In her eight setbacks, Fico has received only four total runs of support.
Mack has secured back-to-back victories after a four-game losing streak to start April. She fanned nine batters and stranded five runners over the final two innings to complete a four-hit shutout Tuesday at No. 2 Florida. For the season, the senior right-hander has compiled a 14-8 mark and a 2.40 ERA.
Fans can follow every pitch of LSU softball this season via live in-game updates on LSU softball’s social media outlets at www.Facebook.com/lsusoftball and @lsu_softball on Twitter.
The Tiger Park Ticket Booth will open 90 minutes prior to first pitch. Fans can purchase tickets on-site starting at $5 for adult general admission and $3 for youth ages 3-12. Tickets also are available online at www.LSUtix.net.
The LSU Athletics Ticket Office continues to urge season ticket holders to be cautious when separating their bar-coded tickets. The barcode must be attached to the ticket when arriving at the gate for scanning purposes upon entrance to Tiger Park. If the barcode detaches, season ticket holders must stop by the LSU Athletics Ticket Office on the first floor of the Athletics/Administration Building for a reprint of their tickets.