The No. 3 LSU softball team’s start is nearing a school-record level, but a major obstacle comes in the form of No. 2 Texas, which visits Tiger Park on Tuesday for an 11 a.m. start.
The Tigers (22-0) swept Kentucky on the road last weekend but had only a one-day turnaround to get ready for a team ranked No. 1 in hitting and No. 5 in ERA in the nation.
LSU needs to win four more games in a row to eclipse its record start of 25-0 in 2015, but No. 23 in 2024 is the toughest one yet. LSU coach Beth Torina is not concentrating on such feats at the moment.
“We’ve talked about not listening to the noise, having blinders and earmuffs,” she said. “A lot of the time you’re talking about that when things aren’t going well. It’s the same conversation when they are, not listening to opinions and noise, staying true to ourselves and what we do.”
The Longhorns (21-2) had an eight-game winning streak snapped by Houston 12-10 on Thursday. The only other loss was to Stanford, 4-3, while they’ve beaten Stanford, Tennessee and UL twice.
LSU and Texas last met in 2022, with the Longhorns sweeping a three-game series in Austin, Texas.
“They are good, with a really deep pitching staff with a lot of different looks,” Torina said of Texas. “It’s a challenge to get prepared for that in a one-day turnaround. They have about every different look you can come up with — power, spinner, change-up, lefty, they have them all.
“They are a speed-based offense. They run really well and have speed throughout the lineup.”
Texas has the nation’s top batting average as a team (.401), led by designated hitter Joley Mitchell, catcher Reese Atwood and center fielder Kayden Henry.
Mitchell is batting .490 with four homers and 17 RBIs and a .596 on-base percentage. Atwood is batting .458 with 10 home runs and 40 RBIs, which leads the nation. Henry, who bats leadoff, is hitting .426 with six homers and 17 RBIs. She has stolen 11 bases in 13 attempts. Texas has stolen 43 bases in 51 attempts.
Texas pitching entered the Houston series with an 0.68 ERA, but it rose to 1.22 after allowing 20 runs in three games. The Longhorns pitching ace is Teagen Kavan, who is 10-0 with a 1.22 ERA and 54 strikeouts in 51⅔ innings. Opponents are batting .132 against her.
If the Longhorns have a weakness, it’s fielding. Their .955 percentage ranks 198th in the country.
LSU did a little bit of everything to come up with its sweep of No. 21 Kentucky, scoring in the top of the seventh to win Game 2 and getting six runs in the sixth to break a tie and take Game 3.
The Tigers pounded out 35 hits as freshman third baseman Sierra Daniel led the way with six. Ali Newland had two hits that gave LSU the lead for good among her five. McKenzie Redoutey and Maci Bergeron also had five hits.
Sydney Berzon pitched 10⅓ innings to get two victories, allowing 12 hits and three walks with nine strikeouts.
“They did a great job, having answers for everything — the weather, the delays, the rain, Kentucky’s pitchers,” Torina said. “We were able to find ways. It’s part of being a veteran team and we’ve done it all year long. It’s not always the prettiest but they find ways to make it happen.”