BATON ROUGE, La. – No. 10/12 LSU will conclude a 10-game stretch of road games with a 6 p.m. midweek game against Southeastern Louisiana on Wednesday, March 15 at North Oak Park in Hammond, La.
Fans can listen in on the action with Patrick Wright – the Voice of LSU softball – on 107.3 FM in the Baton Rouge area. The game is scheduled to be streamed on ESPN+, but due to an ongoing Internet outage at the Southeastern campus, there will likely be no video broadcast. Ticket sales will also be cash only.
The Tigers are 22-2 this season and is 2-1 in SEC play after winning their SEC opening series at South Carolina. LSU currently ranked No. 10 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll and No. 12 in the USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll. The Tigers have a No. 3 RPI ranking and the No. 4 strength of schedule thru games played on March 13.
LSU ranks No. 3 in the SEC with a .345 batting average and No. 2 with 223 hits. The Tigers have the league’s fourth lowest ERA at 1.76 and has a .977 fielding percentage.
Graduate pitcher Ali Kilponen leads the pitching staff and ranks No. 10 in the SEC with 60 strikeouts in 44.1 innings pitched. She is 8-0 in the circle with a 1.44 ERA and has tallied seven complete games, three shutouts and three saves this season. Kilponen is 12 strikeouts shy of breaking into the top 10 in career strikeouts as an LSU pitcher (currently has 422 career strikeouts).
Freshman pitcher Sydney Berzon is 7-1 this season and ranks No. 8 in the SEC with a 1.16 ERA with 45 strikeouts in 48.1 innings of work.
Junior infielder Danieca Coffey leads LSU with a .450 batting average, 36 hits, a .531 on-base percentage and 48 assists. Coffey’s 36 hits lead the SEC, while her batting average ranks No. 6 in the league.
Junior outfielder Ciara Briggs bats .407 and leads the team with 24 runs scored (No. 5 in SEC). Briggs’ 33 hits rank No. 4 in the conference and has a team-high six stolen bases.
Junior shortstop Taylor Pleasants’ 34 RBIs is the second most in the SEC and is batting .368 behind 28 hits, eight home runs and 20 runs scored. Pleasants ranks No. 4 in the LSU record book with 37 career home runs and No. 9 all-time with 152 career RBIs.
Graduate infielder Georgia Clark has a .381 batting average with 24 hits and has an SEC-best 21 walks. Clark has five home runs this season and has 18 RBIs. The Texas native ranks No. 6 all-time 35 career homers and tied at No. 7 all-time with 110 career walks.
THE LINEUP
LSU is 23-1 all-time against Southeastern Louisiana and is currently on a 14-game winning streak dating back to 2008, including last season’s 11-2 run-rule win at Tiger Park on March 15, 2022.
Southeastern is 20-5 overall this season and is 4-0 at home this season. The Lions opened the season 10-0 before falling to then No. 7 Alabama in consecutive games (Feb. 24-25). SELU is 0-3 this season against the SEC including a 6-5 loss to Mississippi State (March 9) in Starkville, Miss.
Southeastern is batting .316 as a unit behind 195 hits, has 128 RBIs and 24 home runs this season. They also have 66 stolen bases on 86 attempts. The Lions have a 2.52 ERA and has 156 strikeouts in 161.0 innings pitched.
Junior catcher Bailey Krolczyk has a team-high .400 batting average and leads the team with 26 hits. She also has 15 runs scored, 14 RBIs and four home runs. Freshman infielder Maria Detillier is batting .362 this season with four home runs and 13 RBIs. She is also second on the team with 20 runs scored. Detillier was named the Southland Conference Hitter of the Week last weekend after hitting .438. Junior infielder Lexi Johnson is another key batter for SELU batting .338 and matches Krolczyk’s 26 hits and leads the team with 26 RBIs, 47 total bases and five home runs.
Senior pitcher KK Ladner (5-1) has a staff low 1.00 ERA and team-high 70 strikeouts in 56.0 innings pitched. Junior pitcher Cera Blanchard (9-2) is second on the staff with 47.2 innings pitched and has 32 strikeouts and two shutouts. The Southeastern pitchers have held opposing batters to a .218 average this season.
ON DECK
LSU will have its SEC home opener March 17-19 against Tennessee at Tiger Park with each game being streamed on SEC Network +.
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