2020 LSU Tigers softball team

The 2020 LSU Tigers softball team represents Louisiana State University in the 2020 NCAA Division I softball season. The Tigers play their home games at Tiger Park. The 2020 softball season was cut short due to the 2020 Covid-19 Pandemic. As a result LSU had not played any conference games when the season ended on March 11, 2020. One notable highlight of the season was the program's first ever 7-inning perfect game thrown by Maribeth Gorsuch in a 4-0 victory over the Belmont Bruins on February 22, 2020.^[2]

2020 LSU Tigers softball
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 7
Record	21–3 (0–0 SEC)
Head coach	Beth Torina (9th season)
Assistant coaches	Howard Dobson Lindsay Leftwich
Home stadium	Tiger Park
Seasons ← 2019 2021 →

2020 Southeastern Conference softball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 7 Florida  ‍‍‍	3	–	0		1.000			23	–	4		.852
No. 23 Missouri  ‍‍‍	3	–	0		1.000			19	–	7		.731
No. 11 Kentucky  ‍‍‍	2	–	1		.667			20	–	4		.833
No. 14 Georgia  ‍‍‍	2	–	1		.667			23	–	5		.821
No. 10 Alabama  ‍‍‍	2	–	1		.667			14	–	8		.636
No. 20 Arkansas  ‍‍‍	1	–	2		.333			19	–	6		.760
No. 16 South Carolina  ‍‍‍	1	–	2		.333			17	–	6		.739
Texas A&M  ‍‍‍	1	–	2		.333			17	–	9		.654
No. 21 Mississippi State  ‍‍‍	0	–	0		–			25	–	3		.893
No. 5 LSU  ‍‍‍	0	–	0		–			21	–	3		.875
Tennessee  ‍‍‍	0	–	0		–			14	–	9		.609
Auburn  ‍‍‍	0	–	3		.000			16	–	11		.593
Ole Miss  ‍‍‍	0	–	3		.000			12	–	13		.480
† – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of March 13, 2020^[1] Rankings from NFCA

Previous season

The Tigers finished the 2019 season 43–19 overall, and 14–10 in the SEC to finish in a tie for second in the conference. The Tigers hosted a regional during the 2019 NCAA Division I softball tournament and later advanced to the Minneapolis Super Regional against Minnesota. The Tigers were defeated by the Golden Gophers 0 games to 2 as Minnesota advanced to the WCWS.

Preseason

SEC preseason poll

The SEC preseason poll was released on January 15, 2020.^[3]

Media poll
Predicted finish	Team
1	Alabama
2	Tennessee
3	LSU
4	Kentucky
5	Florida
6	Georgia
7	Arkansas
8	Ole Miss
9	South Carolina
10	Missouri
11	Auburn
12	Mississippi State Texas A&M

Schedule and results

2020 LSU Tigers Softball Game Log
Regular season
February Date Opponent Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save TV Attendance Overall record SEC record February 6 Central Arkansas No. 11 Tiger Park Baton Rouge, LA W 3–2 S. Sunseri (1–0) R. Sanchez (0–1) A. Kilponen (1) SECN+ 1,356 1–0 February 7 No. 13 Oklahoma State No. 11 Tiger Park W 1–0 S. Wickersham (1–0) C. Eberle (0–1) A. Kilponen (2) SECN+ 1,536 2–0 February 8 Florida A&M No. 11 Tiger Park W 8–0 (5) S. Sunseri (2–0) N. Zenteno (0–1) SECN+ 1,685 3–0 February 8 No. 13 Oklahoma State No. 11 Tiger Park W 3–2 M. Gorsuch (1–0) K. Maxwell (1–1) SECN+ 1,934 4–0 February 9 Florida A&M No. 11 Tiger Park W 16–0 (5) A. Kilponen (1–0) B. Boatwright (0–2) SECN+ 1,361 5–0 February 14 Samford No. 7 Tiger Park W 4–0 A. Kilponen (2–0) T. DeCelles (1–1) SECN+ 1,356 6–0 February 15 at No. 13 Louisiana No. 7 Lamson Park Lafayette, LA L 1–2 M. Kleist (3–1) M. Gorsuch (1–1) ESPN+ 3,107 6–1 February 16 North Dakota No. 7 Tiger Park W 8–0 (5) S. Wickersham (2–0) J. Jones (1–3) SECN+ 1,398 7–1 February 16 No. 13 Louisiana No. 7 Tiger Park W 4–3 A. Kilponen (3–0) M. Kleist (3–2) SECN+ 2,246 8–1 February 19 Louisiana Tech No. 6 Tiger Park W 9-2 M. Gorsuch (2-1) B. Hernandez (2-2) SECN+ 1,297 9-1 February 21 Belmont No. 6 Tiger Park W 4-0 A. Kilponen (4-0) B. Lee (0-1) - 1,295 10-1 February 21 Sam Houston State No. 6 Tiger Park W 12-0 (5) S. Wickersham (3-0) K. Sanchez (0-2) SECN+ 1,295 11-1 February 22 Sam Houston State No. 6 Tiger Park W 20-4 (5) Shelbi Sunseri (3-0) Darby Fitzpatrick (2-2) SECN+ 1,345 12-1 February 22 Belmont No. 6 Tiger Park W 4-0 Maribeth Gorsuch (3-1) Brittany Kennett (1-3) SECN+ 1,535 13-1 February 27 vs. Loyola Marymount No. 4 Anderson Family Field Fullerton, CA L 0-1 Linnay Wilson (4-3) Ali Kilponen (4-1) FLOSOFTBALL 235 13-2 February 27 vs. No. 25 Texas Tech No. 4 Anderson Family Field W 6-5 Shelbi Sunseri (4-0) GiGi Wall (1-2) FLOSOFTBALL 435 14-2 February 28 vs. California No. 4 Anderson Family Field W 5-1 Shelbi Sunseri (5-0) Chloe Romero (4-4) FLOSOFTBALL 201 15-2 February 28 vs. No. 2 Washington No. 4 Anderson Family Field L 1-3 Pat Moore (6-0) Shelby Wickersham (3-1) FLOSOFTBALL 389 15-3 February 29 vs. Colorado State No. 4 Anderson Family Field W 6-2 Shelby Wickersham (4-1) Taylor Gilmore (3-3) FLOSOFTBALL 376 16-3
March Date Opponent Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save TV Attendance Overall record SEC record March 6 Campbell No. 4 Tiger Park W (21-0) (5) Shelbi Sunseri (6-0) Megan Richards SECN+ 1,349 17-3 March 7 Campbell No. 4 Tiger Park W (5-1) Ali Kilponen (5-1) Georgeanna Barefoot (5-6) SECN+ 1,571 18-3 March 7 Illinois State No. 4 Tiger Park W (5-1) Shelby Wickersham (5-1) Morgan Day SECN+ 1,693 19-3 March 8 Illinois State No. 4 Tiger Park W (9-1) Maribeth Gorsuch (4-1) Amanda Fox (1-3) SECN+ 1,474 20-3 March 10 South Alabama No. 4 Tiger Park W (11-1) (5) Ali Kilponen (6-1) Jenna Hardy SECN+ 1,362 21-3 March 13 at South Carolina Carolina Softball Stadium Columbia, SC Cancelled March 14 at South Carolina Carolina Softball Stadium Cancelled March 15 at South Carolina Carolina Softball Stadium Cancelled March 18 Northwestern State Tiger Park Cancelled March 21 Mississippi State Tiger Park Cancelled March 22 Mississippi State Tiger Park Cancelled March 23 Mississippi State Tiger Park Cancelled March 25 Southeastern Louisiana Tiger Park Cancelled March 27 Georgia Tiger Park Cancelled March 28 Georgia Tiger Park Cancelled March 29 Georgia Tiger Park Cancelled
April Date Opponent Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save TV Attendance Overall record SEC record April 1 Louisiana–Monroe Tiger Park Cancelled April 3 at Ole Miss Ole Miss Softball Complex Oxford, MS Cancelled April 4 at Ole Miss Ole Miss Softball Complex Cancelled April 5 at Ole Miss Ole Miss Softball Complex Cancelled April 7 Lamar Tiger Park Cancelled April 10 at Alabama Rhoads Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL Cancelled April 10 at Alabama Rhoads Stadium Cancelled April 11 at Alabama Rhoads Stadium Cancelled April 17 Tennessee Tiger Park Cancelled April 18 Tennessee Tiger Park Cancelled April 19 Tennessee Tiger Park Cancelled April 21 Nicholls Tiger Park Cancelled April 24 Missouri Tiger Park Cancelled April 25 Missouri Tiger Park Cancelled April 26 Missouri Tiger Park Cancelled April 28 at McNeese State Joe Miller Field Lake Charles, LA Cancelled
May Date Opponent Rank Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save TV Attendance Overall record SEC record May 1 at Auburn Jane B. Moore Field Auburn, AL Cancelled May 2 at Auburn Jane B. Moore Field Cancelled May 3 at Auburn Jane B. Moore Field Cancelled
Post-season
SEC Tournament Date Opponent Seed Site/stadium Score Win Loss Save TV Attendance Overall record SECT Record May 6–9 Rhoads Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL Cancelled
Legend:        = Win        = Loss        = Cancelled Bold = LSU team member

Source:^[4]

*Rankings are based on the team's current ranking in the NFCA poll.

Rankings

Main article: 2020 NCAA Division I softball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
т = Tied with team above or below

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Final
NFCA / USA Today	11	7	6	4	5	5
Softball America^[5]	13	7	8	6	7	6
ESPN.com/USA Softball	11т	7	7	4	4	4т
D1Softball	11	7	6	4	5	5

References

1. "Softball". Southeastern Conference. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
2. "Gorsuch Throws First Seven-Inning Perfect Game in Program History". February 22, 2020.
3. "Alabama softball named preseason favorite for 2020". SEC Sports. January 15, 2020. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
4. "Softball Announces 2020 Schedule" (Press release). Louisiana State University Department of Athletics. November 4, 2019. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
5. "2020 D-I Top 25". SoftballAmerica.com. Baseball America Enterprises. Retrieved January 31, 2020.