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No. 10 LSU Hosts McNeese in Midweek Showdown

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No. 10 LSU Hosts McNeese in Midweek Showdown

BATON ROUGE, La. – No. 10/12 LSU (23-5, 2-4 SEC) looks ahead to its midweek matchup against McNeese State (19-9, 3-0 SLC) at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 21 at Tiger Park.

The game will be televised on SEC Network with Mark Neely and Kayla Braud on the call. Fans can also listen to Patrick Wright – the Voice of LSU softball on 107.3 FM in the Baton Rouge area.

The first 500 fans through the gates tomorrow night at Tiger Park will receive a deck of LSU playing cards.

The Tigers are coming off a weekend series against Tennessee where they fell in all three games. LSU has a .320 batting average (No. 4 in SEC) behind 239 hits (No. 3 in SEC) and has a 2.04 ERA this season which comes in as the third lowest ERA in the conference.

Graduate pitcher Ali Kilponen is 8-2 in the circle and has a 1.89 ERA behind 71 strikeouts (No. 10 in the SEC). Kilponen has tossed eight complete games with three shutouts, three saves, and has allowed 48 hits, 27 walks and 22 runs over 70.1 innings. Kilponen ranks No. 10 all-time in the program’s history with 52 career wins and is one strikeout shy of breaking into the top 10 in career strikeouts as an LSU pitcher (currently has 433 career strikeouts).

Freshman pitchers Sydney Berzon (7-2) and Alea Johnson (5-0) are other top producing arms this season. Berzon has thrown 56.2 innings and has a 1.73 ERA, 52 strikeouts, three saves and two shutouts. Johnson has held opposing batters to a .167 batting average in 25.0 innings pitched and has 23 strikeouts. Johnson’s 1.12 ERA ranks No. 7 in the SEC.

Junior infielder Danieca Coffey leads LSU with a .430 batting average that ranks No. 6 in the SEC, and has 40 hits, ranking No. 2 in the league and No. 16 in the NCAA. She also sits tenth in the conference with a .514 on-base percentage. Junior outfielder Ciara Briggs follows with a .366 batting average and her 34 hits, and 26 runs ranks No. 6 and No. 7 in the SEC, respectively.

Junior shortstop Taylor Pleasants is batting .363 with 36 RBIs (No. 2 in SEC) and has 29 hits, eight home runs and 21 runs scored. Pleasants ranks No. 4 in the LSU record book with 37 career home runs and No. 9 all-time with 154 career RBIs.

Graduate infielder Georgia Clark has a .329 batting average with 24 hits and an SEC-best 24 walks. Clark has five home runs this season and has 19 RBIs. The Texas native ranks No. 6 all-time 35 career homers and No. 7 all-time with 113 career walks.

THE LINEUP

LSU has won 12 consecutive games against the Cowgirls including a pair of wins last season where they outscored McNeese 17-2 in a home-and-home series.

The Cowgirls are currently on a five-game winning streak and have won of their last five games on the road. McNeese is coming off a series sweep at Incarnate Word to open its Southland Conference (SLC) schedule. McNeese has a .291 batting average with 201 hits and has a 2.35 ERA with 125 strikeouts.

Senior outfielder Alayis Seneca is the offensive leader for McNeese as she paces the team with a .343 batting average and has accumulated 24 hits, 13 runs, five RBIs and a team-high 10 stolen bases. Junior catcher Chloe Gomez and sophomore infielder Rylie Bouvier follows closely with a .333 batting average each. Gomez has a team-high 25 hits, and Bouvier who has 23 hits has one home run this season.

Senior pitcher Whitney Tate (9-1) leads the pitching staff with a 1.38 ERA which ranks No. 4 in the SLC. Tate also has 43 strikeouts in 71.0 innings pitched and has six complete games and four shutouts. Junior pitcher Ashley Vallejo (5-7) has a team-best 46 strikeouts (No. 5 in the SLC) but has a 3.50 ERA in 56.0 innings pitched.

ON DECK

LSU jumps back into SEC play with a three-game series against Ole Miss March 24-26 at the Ole Miss Softball Complex in Oxford, Miss.

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For the latest news and information on Tiger softball, visit www.lsusports.net/softball. Fans can also follow the team on its social media outlets at www.facebook.com/lsusoftball and @lsusoftball on Instagram and Twitter.