BATON ROUGE – The 14th-ranked LSU softball team is back in action this weekend, traveling to No. 10/13 Tennessee. Game one of the three-game series is slated for Friday at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN2. Game two on Saturday begins at 12 p.m. CT on ESPN2 with the series finale at 12:30 p.m. CT on Sunday on SEC Network+.
All three games are available through the WatchESPN app with Beth Mowins and Michele Smith on the call. Live stats will also be available at LSUStats.com.
Note: Game one’s time was originally slated for 5 p.m. CT but changed to a 6 p.m. CT start time and now airs on ESPN2 instead of ESPNU.
Series Records
>> Tennessee leads the all-time series, 30-27-1
>> In the last meeting, the Tigers claimed a 6-2 victory over the Vols in the 2017 SEC Tournament.
>> The last time the Tigers took a series in Knoxville was in 2015 and the last sweep for the Tigers was in 2001 in Baton Rouge.
Torina’s Thoughts
“Tennessee brings a consistent offense year-in and year-out, which is really hard to do. They have a bunch of players that can do a lot of things, triple-threat type players. They can run and hit for power. They always have all of these weapons and they do a good job of being consistent. Every time we play them, it’s going to be a ball game.”
About the Tigers
LSU goes into the weekend with a 32-7 overall record and is in fourth place of the SEC with a 7-4 mark. The Tigers are coming off a series victory over Ole Miss, coming out on top in game one, 2-1 in a LSU and SEC record of 19 innings and in game two, 1-0. Amanda Doyle continues to lead the team offensively with a .357 batting average. She owns a team-leading six home runs and 11 doubles. The Tigers are ranked sixth in the nation in earned run average at 1.11, which is second among the SEC. Allie Walljasper is 11-3 with a 0.74 ERA (eighth in nation) and has only given up one earned run in the past 43 innings. Carley Hoover is 14-3 on the year and leads the staff in strikeouts with 141.
About the Vols
Tennessee comes into the weekend with a 34-8 overall record and sits in ninth in the SEC with a 5-7 mark. As a team, the Vols are hitting .325 which ranks second in the SEC and 10th among the nation. Aubrey Leach is hitting .452 on the season which leads the conference and ranks 14th in the country. As a pitching staff, the Vols own a 2.28 earned run average with Matty Moss leading the way with a 1.97 ERA and a 15-3 record. She has struck out 94 in 106.1 innings. Caylan Arnold is also a threat and has 166 strikeouts in 135.2 innings. She is 15-4 on the year and has a 2.27 ERA.
What’s On Deck
Following the series at Tennessee, the Tigers will return for a five-game home stand, beginning with a midweek against Northwestern St. on Tuesday at 6 p.m. The Tigers will then host Texas A&M Friday-Sunday and will finish up the home stand with a midweek game against South Alabama on April 24 at 6 p.m.
For all of the latest news and information on Tiger softball, visit www.lsusports.net/softball. Fans can also follow the program on its social media outlets at www.Facebook.com/lsusoftball along with @lsusoftball and @BethTorina on Twitter and @lsusoftball on Instagram.