BATON ROUGE — LSU softball seniors Leslie Klein and Kristen Hobbs are the subject of an ESPN.com feature article by Graham Hayes that is currently on the ESPN college sports front page.
The article touches on both student-athletes struggle to return to the field after career-threatening injuries during their four seasons at LSU. A two-time All-American, Klein suffered a pair of torn ACL injuries to her right knee, but has returned to the field as one of the nation’s best outfielders. Hobbs underwent Tommy John surgery prior to her junior year and has come back as a senior with the best offensive numbers of her career.
Click here to access the full article on ESPN’s website.
The fifth-ranked Tiger softball team is preparing to host No. 1 Tennessee this weekend at Tiger Park to determine the Southeastern Conference leader with only two weeks remaining in league play. Fans are encouraged to wear white to the top 5 showdown as LSU tries to “white out” Tennessee.
On Saturday, ESPN2 will broadcast the first game of the series as the doubleheader is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. The weekend will conclude with a single game on Sunday on ESPN2, with the first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m., as the Tigers celebrate “Senior Day” to honor the three seniors ?Hobbs, Klein and Emily Turner.
The first 1,000 fans on Saturday will receive FREE white LSU softball t-shirts for what is expected to be a standing room only crowd at the series. In addition, the first 500 fans will receive LSU softball trading cards with the first 200 fans also receiving LSU softball “Home Plate” cookbooks.
On Sunday, the first 500 fans will once again receive LSU softball trading cards and the first 200 fans will take home LSU softball “Home Plate” cookbooks. The Tigers will hold “Senior Day” festivities following the series finale with presentations for Hobbs, Klein and Turner.
With only two weeks remaining in the SEC schedule, the Lady Vols hold a slim one-game lead over LSU in the overall conference standings as both teams lead their respective divisions. The Tigers have won five SEC Championships in the last 10 years, the most of any conference school, while Tennessee has never won the league title.
With the top three spots in the conference essentially wrapped up, it will come down to LSU, Tennessee and Alabama for the overall title as the Crimson Tide currently sit one game behind the Tigers in the standings. The Lady Vols will take on the Crimson Tide next weekend, which gives Tennessee the toughest road remaining with six games against Top 5-ranked teams. Alabama faces Kentucky in a three-game series this weekend, while LSU closes out the conference slate at Georgia next week. The Tigers took two out of three from the Crimson Tide in Baton Rouge earlier this season, giving LSU the tie-breaker over Alabama.