{"id":86733,"date":"2025-03-28T12:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-28T17:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/a-first-look-at-lsu-softball-ahead-of-weekend-series-against-south-carolina\/"},"modified":"2025-03-28T12:30:00","modified_gmt":"2025-03-28T17:30:00","slug":"a-first-look-at-lsu-softball-ahead-of-weekend-series-against-south-carolina","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/a-first-look-at-lsu-softball-ahead-of-weekend-series-against-south-carolina\/","title":{"rendered":"A first look at LSU softball ahead of weekend series against South Carolina"},"content":{"rendered":"

South Carolina\u2019s and LSU\u2019s sports teams have engaged in multiple engaging battles over the 2024-25 academic year. ESPN\u2019s College GameDay came to Columbia ahead of the Tigers\u2019 33-30 win on the gridiron on Sept. 14<\/a>. Four months later, the Gamecocks emerged victorious by a 66-56 score in women\u2019s basketball<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Now, the two teams are set to extend their budding rivalry to the diamond.<\/p>\n

South Carolina will hit the road this weekend for its second SEC series away from Beckham Field this season. The Gamecocks and the Tigers, two of the conference\u2019s top squads, are set for a heavyweight battle in a three-game set.<\/p>\n

Before the series begins, here\u2019s what LSU brings to the table.<\/p>\n

Get the inside scoop on all things Gamecocks for just $1 for 7 days\u2014lock in this special offer!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

How they got here<\/h2>\n

The Tigers head into this weekend with one of the best records in the conference and the nation as a whole. LSU has a 30-2 overall record in 2025, including a 5-1 mark against SEC opponents through six games.<\/p>\n

The Tigers cruised through non-conference play, with undefeated showings at the Tiger Classic, Purple & Gold Challenge and LSU Invitational \u2013 all regular-season tournaments hosted in Baton Rouge \u2013 helping them to a season-opening 14-game win streak. The team\u2019s only miscue before conference play began was a 6-5 upset loss to CSU Fullerton at the Judi Garman Classic on Feb. 27. LSU rebounded quickly from that defeat, though, winning its last nine non-conference games.<\/p>\n

The Tigers began conference play with a three-game sweep at home against Kentucky. That positive momentum carried over into their next SEC series against Georgia, as it went 2-1 in Athens. LSU had its final tuneup before facing South Carolina on Tuesday, when it picked up an 11-4 win over Louisiana-Lafayette.<\/p>\n

Last time out<\/h2>\n

The Tigers have dominated the two teams\u2019 all-time series, carrying a 53-20 record into this season. The two teams most recently engaged in a three-game slate in 2023, when a South Carolina win in game two was bookended by defeats.<\/p>\n

In that victory, South Carolina scored all the runs it needed in the fourth inning. Zoe Laneaux<\/strong> and Marissa Gonzalez<\/strong> drove in two runs apiece on a double and home run, respectively. In the circle, Bailey Betenbaugh<\/strong> pitched two innings of one-run ball before making way for Donnie Gobourne<\/strong>, who struck out 10 batters across five innings and allowed just four hits and one run. The Gamecocks went on to win 4-2.<\/p>\n

The opening game of the series, which South Carolina lost 9-1, also served as an important moment in program history. That day, the team celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Carolina Softball Stadium\u2019s opening.<\/p>\n

Where they sit in the rankings<\/h2>\n

There are four major polls in NCAA softball: D1Softball,\u00a0Softball America<\/a>, ESPN.com\/USA Softball and NFCA Coaches. LSU ranked in all of them.<\/p>\n

Three of the polls \u2013 Softball America, ESPN.com\/USA Softball and NFCA Coaches \u2013 list the Tigers as the No. 3 team in the country. Only Texas and Oklahoma have higher rankings than LSU in these polls.<\/p>\n

The D1 Softball poll, however, has the Tigers one spot lower at No. 4. Florida took the No. 3 spot in this set of rankings.<\/p>\n

Players to watch<\/h2>\n

Danieca Coffey<\/a> <\/strong>(Redshirt senior, infielder)<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 Coffey is back and better than ever after suffering a season-ending injury that cut her 2024 season short. She is amongst the nation\u2019s leaders in batting average, where she sits 16th with a .483 mark in that metric. What she lacks in power \u2013 she has just two home runs on the season \u2013 she has in spades when it comes to plate discipline. Coffey draws at least one walk per game on average (34 in 32 games) and possesses the team\u2019s highest on-base percentage (.616).<\/p>\n

Sydney Berzon <\/strong>(Junior, pitcher)<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 Should Berzon continue pitching at her current pace, she will log her third straight season with a sub-2.00 earned run average. She has pitched to a 13-1 record and 1.78 ERA through 14 appearances (including 13 starts) in 2025. Berzon has also struck out nearly one batter per frame (70 total punchouts) and walked just 15 total across 78 2\/3 innings pitched. She is coming off a 2024 season in which she earned First Team All-SEC and Second Team All-America honors.<\/p>\n

Tori Edwards <\/strong>(Redshirt freshman, utility player)<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 Edwards, like Coffey, suffered a season-ending injury last year. In her brief time on the field, she has quickly emerged as one of the Tigers\u2019 most dangerous power threats. Edwards currently leads the team with 11 home runs and 44 RBI, in addition to an .860 slugging percentage. She has found a way to reach base frequently, too \u2013 her .419 batting average is third amongst all LSU players this season, and she has a .505 on-base percentage.<\/p>\n

Series details<\/h2>\n

South Carolina\u2019s full schedule for the weekend series is below:<\/p>\n

Game 1: Friday, March 28 (6 p.m.)<\/p>\n

Game 2: Saturday, March 29 (7 p.m.)<\/p>\n

Game 3: Sunday, March 30 (2 p.m.)<\/p>\n

All three contests will be held at Tiger Park in Baton Rouge. The first two games of the series will be broadcast on the SEC Network, while the third will air on ESPN2.<\/p>\n

Visit The Insiders Forum, our exclusive Gamecocks-only, no-trolls message board!<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n

The post A first look at LSU softball ahead of weekend series against South Carolina<\/a> appeared first on On3<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

South Carolina\u2019s and LSU\u2019s sports teams have engaged in multiple engaging battles over the 2024-25…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-86733","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86733","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86733"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86733\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86733"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86733"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86733"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}