No. 6 LSU Faces Penn State, Nicholls, Southern Miss in LSU Invitational

Penn State went 2-3 last weekend at the Fonseca Memorial Tournament hosted by South Florida and is 0-3 against top 25 teams this season, including a 6-2 loss to Mississippi State (Feb. 8).

Penn State bats .273 with 67 hits, 44 runs, and 34 RBI through the season’s first two weeks. A pair of .429 hitters in infielder Brooke Klosowicz and outfielder Natalie Lieto leads the Penn State offense. Klosowicz paced the team with 12 hits, two homers and nine RBI. Including the home runs, Klosowicz has five extra-base hits with two doubles and a triple.

The Nittany Lions have a 3.50 ERA, one shutout and 31 strikeouts in 62.0 innings pitched. Abigail Britton (1-5) threw the staff’s lone shutout of the season and has 15 strikeouts and a 5.12 ERA in 26.0 innings pitched.

LSU and Penn State have split eight games evenly in the all-time series at Tiger Park. Although PSU has won two of the last three head-to-head contests, LSU won the most recent game, a 14-1 decision in 2017.

Southern Miss is coming off a 5-4 victory at home Wednesday night against Jackson State, which marked Head Coach Natalie Poole’s 600th career win. Two of the Golden Eagles’ wins have been in Hattiesburg, Miss., including a 10 inning 2-1 victory over Ole Miss on Feb. 13.

USM has a .190 batting average with 45 hits, 31 runs and 26 RBI as a unit. Outfielder Hannah Christian leads the offense with a .286 batting average and eight hits, and infielder Maddie Weeks follows with a .217 average behind five hits, including a team-high two home runs and nine RBI.

In the circle, Kayla Giardina (1-0) has made the most appearances (6) and has the most strikeouts (18) in 17.2 innings. The team has an 8.86 ERA with 48 strikeouts.

LSU has won the last six games against Southern Miss. The last meeting between the two clubs happened in the 2021 season. The Tigers are 19-3 when playing USM in Baton Rouge.

Nicholls pulled off back-to-back five-inning sweeps over Alcorn State Wednesday night and are winners in three of its last five games.

The Colonels offense has started strong, batting .321 and has 92 hits, including 14 extra-base hits with 65 runs and 52 RBI. Infielder Ally Mooneyham leads the team with a .444 batting average, and utility player Claire Sisco follows with a .414 average. Both players have 12 hits, and Sisco leads the team with five stolen bases.

Nicholls’ pitching staff has a 5.12 ERA. Averi Paden (1-3) leads the pitching staff with 13 strikeouts in 18.2 innings pitched. She has a 3.75 ERA and has allowed 30 hits and 19 runs.

The Tigers have won 35 consecutive games against Nicholls dating back to 2000 and are 25-1 when the teams play in Baton Rouge.