After ending its nine-game winning streak Sunday with a 4-1 loss to South Carolina, the LSU softball team will be back to work today attempting to start another streak.
The Tigers (27-6, 7-2 Southeastern Conference) will meet in-state opponent Southeastern Louisiana (18-10, 5-4 Southland Conference) in a midweek matchup at 6 p.m. in Tiger Park, as they attempt to rebound from their second SEC loss of the season.
The No. 13 Lady Tigers enter a two-week hiatus from their SEC schedule, with their next conference series not coming until a trip to Arkansas beginning April 5. But in the meantime, LSU will take on a gauntlet of non-conference opponents including newly ranked No. 25 South Alabama and Atlantic Coast Conference foe Florida State.
“These midweek games are going to give us the momentum for our next series,” said freshman catcher Kellsi Kloss. “We have Arkansas in two weeks, and we need to get ready for that. We just need to get some runs on the board for sure, and our pitching will be stellar.”
LSU took the first two games in its series with South Carolina last weekend, but the Tigers couldn’t complete the sweep, as the Gamecocks roughed up senior ace pitcher Rachele Fico with four runs. Fico received her fourth loss of the season and her first dropped decision in SEC play.
After Sunday’s loss, LSU coach Beth Torina said Fico is going to have poor outings sometimes, but when she does, the Tigers’ offense has to provide more run support for her.
LSU managed only one run in support of Fico, but the Tigers missed multiple opportunities to add more, stranding seven base-runners throughout the game. Capitalizing on similar opportunities will be key for the Tigers going forward, Torina said.
“All of us needed to pick [Fico] up a little bit, and we didn’t give it to her,” Kloss said. “Maybe that reflected on her a little bit. But she always does good, and I know next time she’ll be coming right out and sitting them down.”
Southeastern enters today’s game having lost two of three in a Southland Conference series against league leader McNeese State. The Lady Lions are 1-17 all-time against LSU, and they have never bested the Tigers away from home. The Lady Lions’ only victory against the Tigers came in 2007 in a 1-0 win in Hammond.
Despite LSU’s history of success against Southeastern, Torina said the Tigers can never take an in-state opponent lightly because they will always have motivation to topple the state’s flagship program.
“Everybody brings their A game when they come to play us,” Torina said. “We have a big bull’s-eye on our back when we play any [in-state] teams.”
Who: No. 13 LSU vs. Southeastern Louisiana
When: Tuesday at 6:00 p.m.
Where: Tiger Park
