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No. 11 LSU Begins Tourney Run Versus Prairie View A&M

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No. 11 LSU Begins Tourney Run Versus Prairie View A&M

BATON ROUGE, La. – No. 11/15 LSU (40-15) begins its postseason run against the champions of the SWAC – Prairie View A&M (30-18) – at 5 p.m. CT on Friday, May 19, on SEC Network in what will be game two of the Baton Rouge Regional at Tiger Park.

The winner of game two will take on the winner of the regional’s first contest between Sun Belt Conference Champions No. 22 UL-Lafayette (46-13), and the Summit League Champions Omaha (32-15) at noon CT Saturday. The losers of Friday’s games will face off in the loser’s bracket of the double-elimination tournament on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT.

Alex Perlman and Francesca Enea will call each game of the Baton Rouge Regional, and fans can listen to each game featuring LSU on 107.3 FM in the Baton Rouge area with Patrick Wright – the Voice of LSU softball.

The Tigers claimed the No. 10 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament after recording a 40-15 record, including a 13-11 mark in SEC games. LSU has reached 40 or more wins eight times under Head Coach Beth Torina, including back-to-back 52-win seasons in 2015 and 2016.

LSU has proved to be a well-balanced team all season as they lead the SEC with 453 hits and ranks No. 3 in the SEC with a .314 batting average, have the second-lowest ERA in the conference with a 1.95 ERA highlighted by 12 shutouts, and have a defense that ranks No. 3 in the SEC with a .978 fielding percentage and 25 double plays turned this season – the second most in the SEC. As a result of its success on the field, LSU had seven players receive SEC Softball postseason awards, including four players named to the SEC All-Defensive Team.

The Fighting Tigers have players in the lineup with a batting average of over .300 and at least 150 at-bats. Junior infielder Danieca Coffey paces the team with a .386 average (No. 7 in SEC) and ranks No. 3 in the SEC with 68 hits. Coffey matches junior outfielder Ciara Briggs with 40 runs scored this season, and Briggs has a .352 batting average and 64 hits this season (No. 5 in SEC). Briggs leads the team with 11 stolen bases.

Juniors Ali Newland and Taylor Pleasants each enter the tournament batting .331 with 51 and 49 hits, respectively. In the last 10 games against SEC opponents, Newland has turned in a team-high .429 average and 15 hits and added nine RBIs. Pleasants leads the team overall this season with 48 RBIs (No. 7 in SEC) and has the second most home runs on the team with eight. Graduate designated player Georgia Clark rounds out the .300 hitters with a .305 average with 46 hits, 42 RBIs and team-high 12 home runs. Clark also leads the team with a.570 slugging percentage and 40 walks.

Freshman pitcher Sydney Berzon (13-7) has thrown 129.0 innings, logging a 1.68 ERA behind 121 strikeouts, three saves, and three shutouts. Berzon’s 121 strikeouts rank No. 6 in program history for most strikeouts by a freshman.

Graduate pitcher Ali Kilponen is 13-7 in the circle and has a 2.16 ERA with 111 strikeouts (No. 10 in the SEC). Kilponen has tossed 13 complete games with four shutouts and three saves this season. Kilponen ranks No. 9 all-time in the program’s record book with 57 career wins and 473 career strikeouts.

THE LINEUP

LSU has an overall 24-13 record against the 2023 Baton Rouge Regional field, including a 23-13 record against UL-Lafayette and a 1-0 record against Omaha.

LSU and PVAMU will meet for the first time. The Panthers enter the tournament on a four-game winning streak after coming out of the SWAC Tournament unscathed en route to their second consecutive SWAC Tournament Championship title.

As a unit, Prairie View has a .272 batting average with 227 hits and 30 home runs this season. The Panthers’ pitching staff has a 4.51 ERA with 171 season strikeouts, allowing their opposing batters a .251 average.

Freshman outfielder Mia Nunez (.317) has 44 hits this season and leads Prairie View A&M with 28 RBIs, 38 runs and seven home runs. Junior Biviana Figueroa (.331) leads the team with 45 hits and adds 24 runs and 21 RBIs, and senior outfielder Audrey Garcia has a team-high .340 average behind 36 hits and 23 RBIs.

Both sophomore pitcher Cailin Massey and junior pitcher Jerrica Rojas have totaled 11 wins in the circle. Massey (11-5) leads the staff with 72 strikeouts in 115.2 innings pitched and has a 3.73 ERA. Rojas (11-2) has a 3.02 ERA and has logged 47 strikeouts in 86.1 innings pitched.

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