No. 12 LSU Travels to Florida for 2024 Clearwater Invitational

Georgia Tech went 3-3 during its opening weekend, including two losses to No. 14 Alabama. Through one week of play, GT has a .289 batting average behind 43 hits and eight home runs, a 2.51 ERA, and 37 strikeouts in 39.0 innings in the circle. 

Catcher Sara Beth Allen has a team-high .538 batting average and seven hits with four runs, three RBIs and one home run. Outfielder Ella Edgmon hits .368 and has seven hits, three RBIs, and one home run. 

Pitcher Blake Neleman is 1-1 in the circle with a 1.54 ERA and leads the staff with 19 strikeouts in 13.2 innings pitched. 

The lone meeting between these clubs happened in 2012 when LSU defeated GT 2-1 at Tiger Park in Baton Rouge, La. 

After dropping its season opener, Northwestern has reeled off four consecutive wins, featuring a 2-0 victory over tournament host Arizona State at the Kajikawa Classic. The Wildcats have a .349 batting average with 44 hits, 27 runs and 25 RBIs and have a 1.17 ERA behind 33 strikeouts and two shutouts. 

NU has three players batting over .500 and two hitting over .600. Outfielder Angela Zedak (.625) has a team-high 10 hits, with half being extra-base hits with five doubles and two home runs. She also has five runs and five RBIs. Infielder Kansas Robinson (.615) has eight hits with two home runs and five RBIs and leads the team with seven runs and six walks. Infielder Hannah Cady (.538) rounds out the top hitters with seven hits and a team-high seven RBIs. 

In the circle, pitcher Ashley Miller is 1-0 and has given up no runs while striking out 16 batters over 9.0 innings. Freshman Renae Cunningham (1-1) follows with 10 strikeouts and has a 0.95 ERA in 7.1 innings. Both pitchers have thrown one shutout this season. 

LSU leads Northwestern 2-1 all-time and is on a two-game winning streak in head-to-head meetings. LSU has outscored NU 14-0 in those two wins, including a 10-0 five-inning victory in the last meeting in February 2015.

Oklahoma State had a successful weekend out west as they won all five of its games in California, including a 9-1 run-rule victory over then No. 10 UCLA to cap its opening weekend. The Cowgirls outscored their opponents 39-5 and hit .382 behind 52 hits, tallying 39 runs, 34 RBIs and seven home runs. OSU also recorded a 0.75 ERA and logged 29 strikeouts in 28.0 innings.

Utility player Tallen Edwards and catcher Caroline Wang have mirroring statistics after week one. Both are hitting .615, going 8-for-13 at the dish. Edwards has team-highs of seven RBIs and five runs scored, and Wang has six RBIs and three runs scored but a team-high two home runs.

Pitcher Lexi Kilfoyl is 3-0 in the circle and has made four appearances with one start. She has seven strikeouts and has given up no runs in 8.0 innings. Pitcher Ivy Rosenberry has a team-high 10 strikeouts in 6.0 innings but has yet to get a decision in four appearances. Pitcher Kyra Aycock is 1-0 with seven strikeouts and a 1.00 ERA in 7.0 innings despite giving up 10 hits and a .345 opponent batting average. 

LSU is 12-5 all-time against Oklahoma State and has won seven of the last nine meetings, including a 10-2 victory in the 2022 Clearwater Invitational. 

Washington is 3-1, with its lone loss being an extra-innings 4-3 setback to No. 1 Oklahoma at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The Huskies have a .321 batting average, accounting for 35 hits, 23 runs and 20 RBIs. In the circle, UW has a 1.56 ERA and has 28 strikeouts in 27.0 innings pitched. 

UW is led by outfielder Brooklyn Carter’s .438 batting average, who is 7-for-16 at the plate with four runs scored. Infielder Rylee Holtorf follows with a .429 batting average, going 6-for-14 at the dish with four runs and two RBIs, and utility pitcher Brooke Nelson has registered a .417 average at the plate, going 5-for-12 with two runs scored. 

Pitcher Ruby Meylan is 1-1 with one shutout and one save in the young season. Meylan leads the pitching staff with a 0.62 ERA and 12 strikeouts in 11.1 innings pitched. 

LSU trails Washington in the all-time series 8-10 and is currently on a two-game losing streak. The last game between the two teams was at the 2022 Clearwater Invitational. 

Minnesota finished the opening weekend with a 3-2 record and picked up its first win over a nationally ranked team by defeating then No. 24 San Diego State 5-3 at the SDSU Season Kickoff. The Golden Gophers have a .282 average in the batter’s box with 40 hits and 19 RBIs and have a 3.86 ERA with 22 strikeouts in 35.0 innings pitched.

Infielder Kayla Chavez leads all players with a .389 batting average and seven hits, while infielder Jess Oakland is batting .353 with six hits and has a team-high seven RBIs and five runs scored.

Utility pitcher Sydney Schwartz (1-2) has a staff-low 2.03 ERA with 10 strikeouts in 13.1 innings, and pitcher Bri Enter (2-0) has a 4.00 ERA with 11 strikeouts in 18.0 innings. 

Although LSU is down 1-4 in the all-time series against Minnesota, the Tigers defeated the Gophers 3-0 last season at the Judi Garman Classic in California.