The LSU softball team will play its ninth game in two weeks when South Carolina tries to win a series in Baton Rouge for the first time since Bill Clinton lived in the White House.
“Of late they’ve been down, but historically they’ve been a very good program,” said LSU coach Beth Torina. “With a new coaching staff and a staff that’s got them excited and is bringing them up, their offensive numbers are unbelievable this year.”
The No. 13 Tigers (25-5, 5-1 SEC) will have to avoid overlooking the much-improved Gamecocks, a team that failed to score a run in last season’s series in South Carolina.
The Southeastern Conference’s oldest softball team has earned a 17-9 record this season after not posting a winning season since six years and two coaches ago, but is still last in the SEC Eastern Division through the first weekend of conference play.
This season the Gamecocks have surged behind the plate to produce the SEC’s second -highest batting average at .348 and the No. 3 hitter in the conference — senior shortstop Samie Garcia who is hitting .467 on the season.
“I don’t think we take anybody for granted in the SEC,” Torina said. “We all understand they played tough games against Alabama. I think we all understand they swing the bat really well. We’re going to bring our best and we’re going to give them everything we’ve got.”
The Tigers have relied heavily on their strong bullpen this season to push them through tough games.
Senior All-American pitcher Rachele Fico has been Torina’s star pitcher in 2013 after producing an SEC-leading 146 strikeouts through 112.1 innings pitched.
However, according to Torina, LSU will need more than just strong pitching to beat South Carolina.
“I think it’s unrealistic to ask our pitchers to shut out a team that has hit above .350 as a team.” Torina said. “I think we’ll rely on our pitching staff, but we’re also going to have to score some runs as well.”
The Tigers are confident in their team — junior pitcher Ashley Czechner said the team expects nothing short of a sweep — but also cited the Gamecocks’ recent series against Alabama as cause for concern with the team.
South Carolina lost all three games to the Tide last weekend, but the largest margin of loss to the defending national champions was only two runs.
“They’re definitely playing really well,” Czechner said. “They just played Alabama very close. We’re not taking them lightly, but at the same time, we know what we’re capable of and we’re expecting nothing but the best from us and that’s a sweep.”
The Gamecocks will roll into Tiger Park at 6 p.m. Friday to kick off their best-of-three series.
When: Friday, 6 pm; Saturday, 3 pm; Sunday, 1 pm
Where: Tiger Park
How: Friday, Saturday and Sunday listen on 104.9. Watch CST on Saturday.
