BATON ROUGE, La. – No. 2 LSU (23-0, 3-0 SEC) will have its home-opening SEC series against Ole Miss (18-7, 1-2 SEC) March 16-18 at Tiger Park.
Lyn Rollins and Yvette Girouard will call the series opener at noon CT on Saturday, March 16, on SEC Network +, and Mark Neely and Michele Smith will call the series’ last two games. Sunday’s March 17 contest is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT on ESPNU, and Monday’s March 18 game will be for 6 p.m. CT on SEC Network.
Patrick Wright, the voice of LSU Softball, will call each game of the series on 107.3 FM in the Baton Rouge Area and on the LSU Sports Radio Network.
The Tigers are the last undefeated team in Division I softball after knocking off No. 2 Texas 7-4 Tuesday morning at Tiger Park. Last weekend, LSU opened its SEC schedule with a three-game sweep at then No. 21/23 Kentucky in Lexington, Ky. LSU is batting .352 this year, behind 211 hits, and has had 10 double-digit hit games this season. The Tigers have tallied 153 RBIs and 20 home runs this season. In the circle, the pitching staff has a 2.12 ERA with 151 strikeouts and has thrown eight shutouts. The Tigers’ defense is ranked No. 4 in the SEC with a .978 fielding percentage and has turned 11 double plays this season, tied for the league’s third most.
Infielders Karli Petty and Sierra Daniel rank No. 1 and No. 4 in the SEC with a .480 and .462 batting average, respectively. Petty has 12 hits and 13 RBIs in 12 games played, and Daniel has collected 16 hits since entering the lineup against Houston on Feb. 23.
Outfielder Ali Newland has a team-high 26 hits, including 10 extra-base hits. She has a .388 batting average and a team-best nine multi-hit games this season.
First baseman Raeleen Gutierrez follows with a .373 batting average on 25 hits and 10 extra-base hits. Outfielder McKenzie Redoutey also has a .373 average at the plate with 22 hits. Shortstop Taylor Pleasants (.354) ranks No. 3 in the SEC with 30 RBIs, and outfielder Ciara Briggs (.338) sits at No. 9 in the league with 25 runs scored and 25 hits.
Pitcher Sydney Berzon (9-0) paces the staff with 66 strikeouts in 63.1 innings pitched and has thrown seven complete games in 13 appearances with a shutout and three saves. Pitcher Raelin Chaffin (7-0) has fanned 39 batters in 42.0 innings and has two complete-game shutouts and a save this season. Utility pitcher Kelley Lynch is 3-0 in 27.0 frames and has 28 strikeouts while holding opposing batters to a staff-low .132 average.
LSU leads the all-time series against Ole Miss 57-17 and has won six of the last 10 games, including a couple of 2-1 series wins.
