BATON ROUGE, La. – No. 6/7 LSU (26-4, 5-4 SEC) will play its third series against a nationally ranked team when they host No. 11/12 Texas A&M (28-4, 8-1 SEC) March 28-30 at Tiger Park.
SEC Network + will stream the entire series with Lyn Rollins and Yvette Girouard on the call. Fans can tune in to Jeff Palermo on 107.3 FM in the Baton Rouge Area and the LSU Sports Radio Network.
LSU has won its last two games after winning the series finale 4-3 at No. 12/13 Missouri last weekend and downing Nicholls 10-2 Tuesday night. The Tigers rank No. 2 in the SEC with a .338 batting average and 269 hits and have a 2.39 ERA behind 194 strikeouts. LSU also ranks No. 4 in the conference with a .974 fielding percentage and has turned 17 double plays, tying Arkansas for the most this season.
The Tigers have five players batting over .350, led by infielder Karli Petty’s .404 batting average. In 19 games played, Petty has 19 hits, 15 RBIs, and 10 runs scored. Infielder Sierra Daniel follows with a .373 average and 19 hits.
Infielder Raeleen Gutierrez is batting .368 with 32 hits, leads the team with 15 extra-base hits, including five home runs, and has a .678 slugging percentage.
Outfielders Ali Newland (.366 average) and Ciara Briggs (.350 average) have team-highs of 12 multi-hit games. Briggs leads the team with 35 hits, 29 runs scored (No. 9 in the SEC), and eight stolen bases. Newland is one of three players with five home runs this season and has totaled 34 hits, 27 ribbies and 22 runs.
Other top hitters include outfielder McKenzie Redoutey, who has a .329 batting average and 26 hits; shortstop Taylor Pleasants, who has a .322 batting average and a team-high 32 RBIs (No. 8 in the SEC); and utility pitcher Kelley Lynch, who is batting .302.
Right-handed pitcher Sydney Berzon (10-1) has struck out 88 batters (No. 7 in SEC) in 82.1 innings pitched and has thrown eight complete games in 18 appearances with a shutout and three saves. Pitcher Raelin Chaffin (8-2) has turned away 48 batters in 53.1 innings and has two complete-game shutouts and a save this season. Lynch posts a 4-1 record in 43.2 frames and has 40 strikeouts while holding opposing batters to a staff-low .159 average, which ranks No. 5 in the SEC.
LSU leads Texas A&M in the all-time series 18-17 and has won four of the last five games between the two clubs.
