The NC State softball team will host the No. 16/15 LSU Tigers for a three-game series Friday, April 16, and Saturday, April 17, at Dail Softball Stadium in a matchup between ACC and SEC teams.
The Wolfpack (21-11, 14-11 ACC) is coming off a four-game sweep of Pitt this past weekend and has won its last seven games in a row. In those games, the Pack allowed just six combined runs and outscored its opponents by an average of nearly eight runs per game.
The Tigers (24-13, 8-7 SEC) are coming off a series win on the road against then-No. 19 Missouri and have won six of their last eight games. They are currently fifth in the SEC standings and one of eight ranked teams in the conference.
Leading the Tigers on offense is Aliyah Andrews, who is the team leader in batting average at .368 and hits with 46 on the season. Other players to watch out for when the Tigers are at bat are Taylor Pleasants and Ciara Briggs, each of whom is batting above .300 and has recorded more than 30 hits.
The ace on the mound for the Tigers is Ali Kilponen, who has a 10-4 record this season with an ERA of 1.55. Also likely to pitch for the Tigers is Shelbi Sunseri, who has a 6-5 record with an ERA of 2.11.
The Tigers have had one matchup against an ACC opponent already this season, which was an 8-4 loss at home to Duke. This is the first time the Tigers have played a series against an ACC opponent since the 2018 season when they were eliminated by Florida State in the Super Regionals of the NCAA Tournament.
This will be the Pack’s first game against an SEC opponent since the beginning of the 2020 season when it beat Ole Miss but fell to Kentucky and Mississippi State in the NFCA Leadoff Classic. This is also the Pack’s first three-game series against an SEC opponent since the 2017 season when it was swept by Tennessee.
In its lone series against a ranked opponent this season, the Pack went 1-3 against then-No.16/15 Virginia Tech. This series will be an opportunity for the Pack to redeem itself against another top-25 opponent and prove that it can compete with higher-quality competition. Conference pride may be on the line as well.
The action begins Friday, April 16 at 5 p.m. and continues with a doubleheader Saturday, April 17 at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. All games will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra.
