The LSU softball team has hit a skid, and getting out of it this weekend will not be an easy feat.
After winning eight of their first 11 Southeastern Conference games and climbing to No. 3 in the national poll, the Tigers have lost four consecutive conference games and will try to correct their path at No. 3 Texas during a three-game series beginning at 4:30 p.m. Thursday.
The teams play again Friday at 4:30 p.m. and wrap up the weekend series with an 11 a.m. game Saturday on ESPN2.
The No. 9 Tigers (35-8, 8-7 SEC) suffered their first sweep of the season at Texas A&M last weekend as the pitching faltered in 12-7, 9-7 and 4-2 losses. The sweep pushed the Aggies into the No. 1 spot in the national rankings while then-No. 1 Texas dropped two of three to Tennessee to fall two spots.
The Tigers continue to produce good offensive numbers, owning the second-best team batting average in the league behind Texas at .353. Tori Edwards took over the team lead in batting average at .435 and has 15 homers with 61 RBIs.
LSU third baseman and leadoff hitter Danieca Coffey has been in a bit of a slump during the four-game SEC losing streak with only three hits in 18 at-bats, but she鈥檚 still batting .432 for the season.
More worrisome is the pitching. Ace Sydney Berzon (15-3, 2.25 ERA) allowed five runs in the first two innings of the Texas A&M opener and finished with six earned runs in four innings pitched in the 12-7 loss. Jayden Heavener (11-3, 2.70) struggled mightily with her control, allowing seven runs on one hit and five walks, all in the first inning. She retired only two batters.
Texas, which lost in the 2024 Women鈥檚 College World Series finals against Oklahoma, has a potent offensive lineup that leads the conference in team batting average (.370) and is second in home runs with 59. The Longhorns are 39-5 and 11-4 in SEC play, a half-game behind A&M in the standings.
Leadoff hitter and right fielder Ashton Maloney leads the team with a .460 average, and center fielder Kayden Henry is right behind at .458 with 24 stolen bases in 25 attempts.
Those two set the table for a trio of power hitters. Catcher Reese Atwood is batting .419 with a team-best 14 homers and 57 RBIs. First baseman Joley Mitchell is batting .406 with 10 homers and 39 RBIs, and left fielder Katie Stewart has 11 homers and leads the team with 62 RBIs.
Right-hander Teagan Kavan is the Texas ace with an 18-3 record, a 1.54 ERA and 167 strikeouts in 122鈪� innings. Right-hander Citaly Gutierrez (8-0, 1.43) is the next best arm with 57 strikeouts in 54 innings and three saves.
