BATON ROUGE, La. – No. 20/15 LSU will host McNeese at Tiger Park for its final midweek game of the season at 6 p.m. CT on Tuesday, April 28.
Tuesday’s game will be streamed on SEC Network+, with Patrick Wright, The Voice of LSU Softball, calling the action on LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates, including Talk 107.3 FM in Baton Rouge, streaming at LSUsports.net/live, and in the LSU Sports Mobile Apps.
LSU (33-16) leads McNeese (35-18) in the all-time series 57-13, and is on a five-game winning streak, including a 9-3 victory for the Tigers in Lake Charles, La., earlier this season. The Bayou Bengals have a 34-6 record when playing against the Cowgirls in Baton Rouge.
LSU fell to Mississippi State in the three-game series, 2-1, but won game three, 5-3, behind a pair of home runs from Kylee Edwards and Tori Edwards. The Tigers have a .271 batting average with 340 hits, 270 runs, and 240 walks, ranking No. 5 in the nation. The Bayou Bengals have launched 26 home runs over the last 18 games and have nine multi-home run games in that same sample size. The pitching staff has a 2.84 ERA and 235 strikeouts, and the defense boasts a .975 fielding percentage and has turned 24 double plays, the fourth-most in the SEC and the fifth-most in the LSU single-season record book. The Tigers registered three double plays in the series finale against Mississippi State, tying for a program single-game record.
K. Edwards and Jalia Lassiter lead the team with a .338 batting average. K. Edwards has 49 hits, including 10 homers, and 32 runs on the year. Lassiter, who is on an 18-game reach streak, leads the team with 51 hits and 52 runs. Lassiter has scored 50 or more runs for the second consecutive season and ranks No. 17 among active Division I players with 175 career runs.
Sierra Daniel follows with a .317 batting average on 46 hits, 34 runs, 28 RBI, and has drawn 29 walks. Tori Edwards paces the team with 12 home runs, 39 RBI, and 39 walks, and Alix Franklin (.278) leads the SEC with six triples. Both T. Edwards and Franklin have 37 hits this season.
Paytn Monticelli has had the hot hand in the circle for the Tigers. After being named the SEC Pitcher of the Week last week, Monticelli picked up her fourth consecutive win in the finale at Mississippi State to improve to 7-3 on the year. Monticelli has a 2.73 ERA this season with 51 strikeouts.
Jayden Heavener leads the staff with an 11-7 record. Heavener has pitched 13 complete games and has three shutouts, including a no-hitter and two saves. In 118.0 innings, the left-hander has 99 strikeouts and has held opposing batters to a .217 clip. Cece Cellura is 6-5 in the circle, with 37 strikeouts, a 3.59 ERA, and six complete games.
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