BATON ROUGE – The No. 11/10 LSU softball team opens the 2019 regular season on Thursday evening, taking on Tulsa at 6 p.m. to open up the annual Tiger Classic.
The Tigers, under eighth-year head coach Beth Torina, return 14 student-athletes from the 2019 and welcome in 10 newcomers, including All-SEC performer Amanda Sanchez, a graduate transfer from Missouri.
All five of LSU’s games this weekend will be streamed online through SEC Network+ and WatchESPN with Lyn Rollins and Yvette Girouard.
Tickets & Giveaways
Tickets are still available for all games this weekend. Visit LSUtix.net or by calling the LSU Ticket Office at 225-578-2184.
Weekend Schedule
LSU vs. Tulsa, Feb. 7, 6 p.m., SEC Network+
LSU vs. Iowa, Feb. 8, 3:30 p.m., SEC Network+
LSU vs. Tulsa, Feb. 8, 6 p.m., SEC Network+
LSU vs. Iowa, Feb. 9, 3:30 p.m., SEC Network+
LSU vs. Bucknell, Feb. 9, 6 p.m., SEC Network+
LSU vs. Bucknell, Feb. 10, 11 a.m., SEC Network+
Torina’s Thoughts
On opening the season…
“It is exciting to get started. We do have a lot of returners. We return the majority of our lineup. It’s always exciting to see what mark these players will leave on the program. I’m excited to see who they are going to be. This team has a ton of depth and I think it really depends on how this team come outs and what their personality will be.”
Series Record Against…
Tulsa: LSU leads 5-1
Iowa: LSU leads 1-0
Bucknell: LSU leads 1-0
Scouting the Opposition
Tulsa
Tulsa ended the 2018 campaign at the NCAA Normal Regional after going 34-25. Tulsa won its third consecutive conference title last season, defeating USF 4-1 in the American Athletic Conference Championships game. Tulsa is led by John Bargfeldt, who is in his 13th year as head coach of the Hurricanes.
Iowa
Iowa will be directed under a new head coach in Renee Gillispie, coming from UFC in the American Conference. In 2018, Iowa went 21-32, but returns Allison Doocy, a All-Big Ten performer in the circle. Iowa also picked up the 2018 Junior College Player of the Year in DoniRae Mayhew. She led the JUCO level with 30 home runs and 90 RBIS to go along with a .446 batting average.
Bucknell
Bucknell finished the 2018 season with a 27-23-1 record and a second round exit in the Patriot League Tournament with losses to Boston and Lehigh. Senior Lauren Hadley was named First Team All-Patriot League and was a Patriot League All-Tournament selection in 2018. Hadley ranks sixth in program history in home runs (13) and stolen bases (37). The Bison are coach by Joey Lye, who is in her first season.
What’s On Deck
The Tigers will take their first road trip of the season February 14-16, heading to the St. Pete/Clearwater Elite Invitational. The Tigers take on tough opponents in Oklahoma State, Oregon, Texas, Ohio St. and Florida St. Four of the five games will be live on the ESPN family of networks.
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.