April 5, 2007

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina softball returns to SEC action this weekend when they travel to Baton Rouge, La. to take on the No. 5/6 LSU Tigers. The Gamecocks are hoping to snap an eight-game losing streak in conference play and will open the series with a doubleheader on Friday, April 6 at 5 p.m. (ET). The series will conclude on Saturday, April 7 at 2 p.m. (ET).

The Gamecocks enter the contest 25-13 and 3-8 in the SEC and are fourth in the SEC East, while the Tigers are 35-5, 10-2 in the SEC and hold the top spot in the West. The Gamecocks are coming off of a three-game sweep to Mississippi State, and the Tigers just completed a three-game sweep over Auburn for a current six-game win streak.

LSU leads the overall series 20-10 and has won the last four of six meetings. Last year, the Tigers swept the Gamecocks in Baton Rouge. The Gamecocks last win against LSU was in 2005 when South Carolina won the series 2-1 in Columbia.

Statistically, LSU ranks third in conference games in batting average (.262) and the Gamecocks are ninth with .215. Pitching wise, the Tigers are second in the league with a 1.43 ERA and South Carolina is fifth with a 1.90 ERA.

LSU has three players hitting over .400 in Killian Roessner (.419), Leslie Klein (.410) and Jazz Jackson (.403). Klein leads the team in RBI (39), hits (50), runs (30) and doubles (15). The Tigers have five players with a team-leading five home runs each. Emily Turner and Dani Hofer combine for a 26-5 record with 274 strikeouts and 11 solo shutouts. Turner has an ERA of 1.29 and Hofer’s is 1.35.

Ashton Payne leads South Carolina with a .336 average and 39 hits. Senior McKenna Hughes is the Gamecocks’ driving force for runs as she leads in RBI with 25. She has driven in the runs with 10 doubles and eight home runs. In the circle for the Gamecocks are Kate Pouliot and Melissa Hendon. Pouliot has a 1.08 ERA and a 13-3 record, while Hendon has a 1.45 ERA and a 10-9 record. Hendon is hoping to snap an eight-game losing streak. Her last win came on March 14 against Virginia Tech. Pouliot’s last win came on March 27 against Winthrop.

All three games can be followed live via audio broadcast or Gametracker online at www.uscsports.com.