BATON ROUGE, La. – No. 20 LSU and No. 5/3 Oklahoma will face off in a three-game series for the first time as SEC foes on March 27-29 at Tiger Park. It will be LSU’s fourth consecutive series against a nationally ranked program and second against a top-five team.
The series opens at 6 p.m. CT on Friday night with Lyn Rollins and Yvette Girouard calling the game on SEC Network+. Saturday and Sunday’s matchups will air at 11 a.m. CT on SEC Network and ESPN, respectively. Roy Philpott and Michele Smith will have the call for games two and three. Garrett Walvoord will have the entire series on the affiliates of the LSU Sports Radio Network, including Talk 107.3 FM in Baton Rouge, and streaming live at LSUsports.net/live, and in the LSU Sports Mobile Apps.
LSU (22-10, 3-6 SEC) trails Oklahoma (32-2, 6-0 SEC) 8-12 in the all-time series but holds a 3-2 edge in games played in Baton Rouge. The Tigers are on a three-game losing streak against the Sooners and are seeking their first win in the series since the 10-2 run-rule victory in 2015 at Tiger Park.
LSU is riding a three-game winning streak and has won four of its last five games, including Coach Torina’s 600th victory as an LSU Tiger on Tuesday night against Louisiana Tech. Prior to the 9-0 five-inning shutout to begin the week, the Tigers won their first SEC series of the season by taking down South Carolina, 2-1, in Columbia, S.C. LSU has a .262 batting average with 213 hits, and its 159 walks rank third in the league and fourth in the nation. The Tigers’ offense has produced 26 home runs and ranks No. 2 in the SEC with 48 stolen bases. The pitching staff has a 2.80 ERA, 162 strikeouts, and six shutouts. All six of the Tigers pitchers who have made an appearance have winning records, and the defense boasts a .973 fielding percentage and has turned 20 double plays, the sixth-most in the nation.
Jayden Heavener (7-6) paces the pitching staff with 68 strikeouts in 77.2 innings. She has a 2.79 ERA and nine complete games, including two shutouts. Cece Cellura (4-2) and Tatum Clopton (6-1) have 46.1 and 36.2 innings pitched, respectively. Cellura has thrown two consecutive complete games in SEC play and has 20 strikeouts, and Clopton has combined for two shutouts and has 23 punchouts.
Paytn Monticelli (3-1) has 36 strikeouts in 31.1 innings. Freshmen Cali Deal and Ashlin Mowery are both 1-0 in the circle, with Deal collecting eight strikeouts in 10.0 innings and Mowery having seven in 10.2 with a 0.66 ERA and 0.88 opposing batting average.
Sierra Daniel leads LSU at the plate with a .337 batting average and ties for a team-best 31 hits. She has scored 22 runs and has 15 RBI, while also turning 12 double plays at second base. Jalia Lassiter, who also has 31 hits, is batting .313 and has a team-high 30 runs. She has 20 RBI on the season. Kylee Edwards has bumped her batting average to .295 on 26 hits, highlighted by her team-leading .362 batting average on 21 hits, 12 RBI, and three home runs since the Clearwater Invitational. Tori Edwards (.259) leads the team with six home runs, 24 RBI, and 24 walks.
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