BATON ROUGE, La. – The 2024 Purple & Gold Challenge will take place March 1-3 at Tiger Park as No. 4/5 LSU (13-0) will play six games in three days against Illinois (3-6), San Diego State (8-6), McNeese (11-4) and Louisiana Tech (9-2).
LSU will have three consecutive days of doubleheaders, beginning with a 4 p.m. CT game against San Diego State and a 6:30 p.m. CT start versus San Diego State on Friday, March 1. On Saturday, the Tigers will play San Diego State again at 5 p.m. CT and end the night against McNeese at 7:30 p.m. CT. On the tournament’s final day, LSU will face McNeese at 3 p.m. CT and conclude the weekend with a 5:30 p.m. CT contest against Louisiana Tech.
Each of LSU’s games will stream on SEC Network +, with Lyn Rollins and Yvette Girouard calling the action.
LSU comes off a 5-0 performance at the 2024 Tiger Classic, featuring an extra-inning walk-off home run and two shutouts. The Tigers entered week four of the 2024 season, ranking No. 2 in the nation with 76 walks, No. 3 in the NCAA with a .448 on-base percentage, and No. 6 with a .374 batting average. In the SEC, LSU ranks No. 2 with 116 runs and 111 RBIs, No. 3 with a .629 slugging percentage, and No. 4 with 127 hits and 17 home runs. The pitching staff has a 2.44 ERA in the circle with 85 strikeouts in 86.0 innings pitched. They have also thrown seven shutouts, the fifth-most in the NCAA.
Four LSU Tigers with over 30 at-bats have a batting average of over .400, led by shortstop Taylor Pleasants, who is batting .444 and ranks No. 3 in the nation with 27 RBIs. She also leads the team with 16 hits, including four home runs, and hit her third career walk-off home run and first in extra innings last weekend against Boise State on Feb. 22.
Reigning SEC Player of the Week left fielder Ali Newland follows with a .429 batting average behind 15 hits, 16 RBIs, and 11 runs scored. Last weekend, Newland paced the Tigers with 10 hits behind a .556 average and had six extra-base hits, including two home runs.
Right fielder McKenzie Redoutey is batting .406 and leads the team with eight extra-base hits, including five doubles, a triple and two home runs. Redoutey has 13 hits and 12 runs scored with seven RBIs this season.
Pitcher Sydney Berzon is 4-0 in the circle in six appearances and has thrown three complete games, one shutout and one save this season. Berzon has fanned 36 batters in 31.0 innings pitched and has allowed just five walks. Pitcher Raelin Chaffin is also 4-0 in her five appearances and has two complete game shutouts and one save this season. Chaffin has rung up 26 batters in 27.2 innings pitched and holds opposing batters to a .196 average.
LSU is 85-21 against this weekend’s opponents, including a 4-3 record against Illinois, a 2-1 mark versus San Diego State, 52-13 against McNeese, and 27-4 versus Louisiana Tech.
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