The Kentucky softball team will look to knock off their fifth top-25 opponent of the season when they welcome the No. 4 LSU Tigers to Lexington for a weekend Southeastern Conference series. The Cats (21-20-1, 5-16 SEC) will open series play against the Tigers with a 1 p.m. doubleheader Saturday at the UK Softball Complex.

UK returns to Lexington after a seven-game road stretch that saw the squad win five games. The Cats swept intrastate rivals Eastern Kentucky and Morehead State during the week while taking 1-of-3 from No. 18 South Carolina last weekend in Columbia. UK has already surpassed their win total from 2003 with 15 regular season games left this season.

LSU (36-7, 14-3 SEC) swept Arkansas in mid-week SEC series and now holds possession for first place in the overall SEC standings. Sophomore Lauren Castle currently leads LSU with a .386 batting average for the season. Freshman Leslie Klein boasts a .363 average and a team-best 44 RBIs and 40 runs scored.

The Cats are paced by senior Rachel Friberg, who is hitting at a .331 clip this year. Freshman Amber Janneck, who broke UK?s single-season home run record last week, leads the team in runs (25), homers (10) and RBIs (28). Her grand slam against Morehead State on Wednesday placed her second in the conference in home runs.

UK is 0-15 all-time vs. LSU, including an 0-5 mark in Lexington. The Tigers are the only SEC team in which Kentucky has never recorded a win against. UK also came into the season winless against Alabama, but a defeat over the No. 6 Crimson Tide broke an 18-game losing streak to the SEC foe earlier this year.

The Cats have defeated four teams that are in this week?s ESPN/USA Softball Top 25 poll, including Alabama, No. 13 Florida, No. 18 South Carolina and No. 23 Georgia Tech. UK is 3-13 this season against opponents that are ranked at game time.

Live stats can be accessed for all three games this weekend at www.ukathletics.com.