TUCSON, Ariz. — After sweeping through the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional last weekend, the 15th-seeded LSU softball team travels to face second-seeded Arizona in the NCAA Super Regionals at Hillenbrand Stadium in a best of three series that begins on Friday at 7 p.m. (CT).
The pair will then play on Saturday at 8 p.m. (CT), with a 10:30 p.m. game scheduled to follow if necessary. The winner of the best-of-three Super Regional will advance to the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City beginning on June 1.
“Obviously we are all very excited to be at this point, playing for the chance to get to the College World Series,” said LSU head coach Yvette Girouard. “It’s going to be an elite atmosphere. Whenever you mention college softball, you think of two names, and Arizona is one of those two names.”
All of LSU’s NCAA Super Regional games will be broadcast on the LSU Sports Radio Network in Baton Rouge on The X – 104.5/104.9 FM. The broadcasts can also be heard in the GeauxZone powered by USAgencies on LSUsports.net.
In addition, the three games will be televised on ESPNU, marking the Tigers’ fourth, fifth and sixth appearances on the ESPN network this season. If Texas and Washington do not play their “if necessary” game on Saturday, LSU’s second game with Arizona will be televised on ESPN2, in Baton Rouge on cable channel 36.
The Tigers (54-12) advanced to the NCAA Super Regional after sweeping through Regional 15 in Baton Rouge. LSU topped Princeton, 5-0, before a pair of close wins over Louisiana-Lafayette. The Tigers took a 7-6 win over the Ragin’ Cajuns in 10 innings in the semifinal before earning a 5-4 walk-off win in the regional championship.
Like LSU, Arizona (47-9) swept through its regionals to advance to the super regionals. The No. 1 team in the nation according to the ESPN/USA Softball poll, the Wildcats run-ruled Marist, 9-0, in six innings to open regional play. Arizona then knocked off Ohio State, 6-3, to advance to the championship game. The Wildcats defeated Auburn, 4-2, in the championship to advance. LSU knocked off Auburn in three of four meetings this season, with the only loss a 1-0 defeat in the series finale in Baton Rouge.
“We’ve got our challenges ahead of us, but I like our chances if we continue to play well,” said Girouard. “We understand that we have to do a lot of things well to have the results that we want. The bottom line is that we have earned the right to be here. The kids have paid the price and now they just have to go out and execute. If they do that, then we’ll see some good results.”
Junior Leslie Klein leads LSU with a .397 average, including 14 doubles, four triples, nine home runs and a team-best 53 RBIs. The center fielder led the Tigers with a .455 average, including two home runs and a team-best four RBIs in NCAA Regional play.
For the season, four Tiger starters are hitting above a .300 clip, including Lauren Castle, Vanessa Soto and Stephanie Hill. Soto leads the team with 17 doubles, three shy of the single-season school record, while LSU has recorded 102 for the year, which is tied for the fourth most in SEC single-season history. LSU is currently 21 behind the SEC and school record of 133 set in 1988.
In addition, LSU ranks third in the SEC and 29th in the nation in stolen bases per game, recording 91 steals in 110 attempts this year. Sophomore Dee Dee Henderson leads the team with a career-high 28 steals, a mark that is tied for the fifth-most in single season school history. Klein is 17-for-20 this season, while senior Camille Harris has recorded 16 stolen bases. As a team, eight players have stolen at least four bases for the season, while 11 total players have at least one steal this year.
Arizona is hitting at a .313 clip as a team for the season with five players posting average over .300. Caitlin Lowe leads the Wildcats with a .435 mark, including eight doubles, four triples and two home runs. In addition, she has stolen a team-best 27 bases. Callista Balko leads Arizona with 13 home runs, while Chelsie Mesa is the only Wildcat with double figures in doubles with 13. Kristie Fox is hitting .395 for the season with a team-best 54 RBIs.
In the circle, Emily Turner has thrived as the No. 1 starter for LSU. The first-team All-SEC and second-team All-South Region selection boasts a 27-7 overall record with two saves and a 0.83 earned run average, ninth best in the NCAA. In addition, she has posted 16 complete-game shutouts in her 36 appearances, which is tied for the second-most shutouts in a season. The right-hander has also posted 246 strikeouts this season.
Dani Hofer has also had a phenomenal freshman campaign. The SEC All-Freshman team selection is 16-5 on the year with a save and a 2.01 ERA, including wins over nationally ranked Washington and Oklahoma. In addition, she held Pac-10 opponents UCLA and Stanford to just two and three hits respectively in a pair of early season losses.
As a team, the Fighting Tigers boast a 1.23 earned run average, the 10th best mark in the NCAA this season, with 31 shutouts in 66 games. The pitching staff averages almost eight strikeouts per seven innings while allowing opponents to hit just .180 against them.
Alicia Hollowell is the aces of the Arizona staff with a 25-4 record and an 0.92 earned run average. In addition, she has recorded 15 complete-game shutouts with 338 strikeouts in 197.1 innings. Taryne Mowatt is 21-4 on the year with a 1.20 ERA, including nine shutouts and 246 strikeouts. Mowatt earned the win over Auburn that sent the Wildcats to the Super Regionals. As a team, Arizona boasts a 1.11 earned run average with 24 shutouts and 599 strikeouts.
LSU and Arizona have met on four previous occasions, but the Tigers have yet to record a victory, coming within one run in 1999 in Tucson, 7-6. The last time the pair met was in 2001 and only one current player has faced the Wildcats in college. Senior Lauren Castle was a member of the 2003 Louisiana-Lafayette squad that fell, 4-1, to Arizona at the Kia Invitational in Fullerton, Calif. Girouard has recorded a 1-6 all-time record against Arizona, with her one win coming while she was the head coach at ULL.
GAME FACTS: 15th-seeded LSU Tigers (54-12) vs. second-seeded Arizona (47-9)
DATE/TIME:
Friday, May 26 – 7 p.m. (CT)
Saturday, May 27 – 8 p.m. (CT)
Saturday, May 27 – 10:30 p.m. (CT)
RANKINGS:
LSU (#12 NFCA/USA Today Coaches Poll, #10 ESPN/USA Softball Poll)
Arizona (#3 NFCA/USA Today Coaches Poll, #1 ESPN/USA Softball Poll)
STADIUM: Hillenbrand Stadium
RADIO: The X – 104.5/104.9 FM
TELEVISION:
ESPNU – If the third Texas-Washington game is not played on Saturday, then second LSU-Arizona game will be broadcast on ESPN2
INTERNET: Audio broadcast and live stats in the GeauxZone powered by USAgencies at www.LSUsports.net
SERIES RECORD: Arizona leads 4-0.