No. 11 LSU Takes on Top-Ranked Oklahoma in Midweek Matchup

BATON ROUGE, La. – The ultimate midweek sport performed at Tiger Park within the 2023 marketing campaign would be the largest of all of them as No. 11/12 LSU (33-7) host the reigning Nationwide Champions, No. 1 Oklahoma at 6 p.m. CT Tuesday, April 11 on ESPN2.

Beth Mowins and Michele Smith may have the decision on ESPN2, whereas Patrick Wright, the Voice of LSU Softball, might be calling the motion on 107.3 FM within the Baton Rouge space. The primary 500 followers in attendance Tuesday night time will obtain a free black LSU Softball shirt.

The Tigers are coming off a 2-1 SEC sequence win over Missouri and are 9-1 of their final 10 video games. As a unit, LSU ranks No. 2 within the SEC with 340 hits and No. 3 with a .326 batting common, whereas defensively recording the second-lowest ERA within the convention at 1.97.

Junior infielder Danieca Coffey continues to guide the SEC with a .442 batting common and 57 hits. Coffey additionally leads the Tigers with 34 runs scored and matches junior outfielder Ciara Briggs with a team-high 9 stolen bases. Briggs has a .357 batting common, and her 46 hits ranks No. 4 within the SEC to go together with 31 runs scored.

True freshman pitcher Sydney Berzon (11-2) ranks No. 10 within the SEC with 84 strikeouts and has a 1.71 ERA in 86.0 innings pitched. Berzon’s 84 punch outs are the tenth most in program historical past from a freshman.

Graduate pitcher Ali Kilponen is 10-4 within the circle and has a 2.05 ERA behind 82 strikeouts (No. 11 within the SEC). Kilponen has tossed 10 full video games with three shutouts and three saves in 92.0 innings pitched. Kilponen ranks No. 10 all-time in this system’s historical past with 54 profession wins and her 444 profession strikeouts ranks No. 9 in this system’s file e book.

Junior shortstop Taylor Pleasants is batting .360 with 41 RBIs (No. 3 in SEC) and has 36 hits, eight dwelling runs and 25 runs scored. Graduate infielder Georgia Clark has a .324 batting common with 34 hits and rank No. 2 within the SEC with 32 walks. Clark has a team-high 9 dwelling runs this season and provides 30 RBIs. Each Clark and Pleasants sit at No. 4 and No. 5 all-time in LSU softball historical past with 39 and 37 profession dwelling runs, respectively. Clark additionally ranks No. 3 all-time with 121 profession walks and No. 10 all-time with 149 profession ribbies, whereas Pleasants is No. 8 all-time with 159 profession RBIs.

The Tigers’ function gamers have shined starting with junior utility participant Raeleen Gutierrez and graduate infielder Karli Petty. Gutierrez has improved to a .360 batting common and Petty is batting .320 on the yr. Within the final 10 video games, Gutierrez and Petty is batting .407 and .387, respectively. In that span, Gutierrez has tallied 11 hits and Petty has collected 12. Junior outfielder Ali Newland leads LSU with 14 hits in SEC video games solely, and freshman pitcher Alea Johnson is 6-0 within the circle and ranks No. 5 within the SEC with a 0.97 ERA in 29.0 innings pitched.

THE LINEUP

LSU and Oklahoma are tied within the all-time sequence 8-8. The final time these two golf equipment met, the Sooners defeated the Tigers 7-3 within the 2016 NCAA Ladies’s Faculty World Collection. The final time the groups confronted one another within the common season, LSU took each video games towards Oklahoma 1-0 and 10-2 March 20-21, 2015 at Tiger Park.

Oklahoma is driving a 28-game profitable streak with its mortgage lack of the season being a 4-3 setback at Baylor Feb. 19 in Waco, Texas. The Sooners are 9-0 within the Huge 12, together with a sequence sweep towards Texas Tech final weekend that featured three consecutive shutouts.

OU leads the NCAA with a .380 batting common this season, a .988 fielding proportion and ranks No. 2 within the nation with a 0.91 ERA. Offensively, Oklahoma has 361 hits, together with 69 dwelling runs, whereas the pitching employees has held opponents to a .150 batting common behind 295 strikeouts and has a nation-best 22 shutouts.

The Sooners have three batters hitting over .440, together with junior outfielder Jayda Coleman (.464), senior utility participant Haley Lee (.446) and junior infielder Tiare Jennings (.446). Coleman leads Oklahoma with 45 hits, 44 runs scored, 11 stolen bases and a .918 slugging proportion (No. 7 in NCAA). Colman and Lee every have 11 homers to tempo the staff, and Jennings, who additionally has 45 hits, leads the offense with 39 RBIs.

OU has a dominant pitching employees that options junior pitcher Nicole Could (11-0) who has a staff-low 0.43 ERA and team-high 98 strikeouts in 64.2 innings pitched. Sophomore pitcher Jordy Bahl (11-1) has a 1.42 ERA and 92 strikeouts with 4 shutouts in 74.0 innings pitched. Senior pitcher Alex Storako (12-0) rounds out the highest arms for Oklahoma as she enters the midweek sport with a 0.74 ERA with 83 strikeouts in 66.2 innings pitched. She additionally holds opponents to a staff-low .137 batting common. Storako leads the nation with an 11.86 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

ON DECK

LSU will get again to SEC play with a three-game sequence at Auburn April 14-16 at Jane B. Moore Discipline in Auburn, Ala.

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