UPDATE:
The No. 8 LSU softball team’s matchup with Northwestern State on Tuesday has been cancelled due to anticipated weather conditions in Baton Rouge.
With less than one week remaining in the regular season, the game won’t be made up.
The cancellation makes the Tigers’ 4-3 victory against No. 7 Alabama on Saturday their final regular-season home game of the season. LSU (40-11, 15-6 Southeastern Conference) clinched at least a share of the SEC Western Division title with a three-game sweep of the Crimson Tide last weekend.
The Tigers will finish the regular season this weekend, traveling to face Georgia (35-18, 12-9 SEC) for their final conference series. LSU can secure the SEC West title outright with just one victory against the Bulldogs.
The LSU softball team will play its final regular season home game Tuesday when Northwestern State makes its way into Tiger Park.
The Tigers (40-11) will have to make a quick transition from a weekend highlighted by a sweep of No. 4 Alabama to playing a midweek game against a team that has yet to topple the Tigers in 22 meetings.
“Those midweek games are big games as well,” said junior right fielder Simone Heyward. “Those are the ones that people usually fall to because those are the ones they take for granted. I think we need to take the momentum we had here and take it into there because we still have another series this week.”
The only blemish on the Tigers’ midweek schedule is a 12-5 loss to No. 18 South Alabama on March 27.
Senior pitcher Rachele Fico said having a target on the team’s back will only be compounded by the competitiveness of an in-state opponent.
“There’s so many teams out there that come to Tiger Park and get so excited to play us and look forward to play us and that’s a really special thing,” Fico said. “That means we’re doing something right.”
Northwestern State (35-11) of the Southland Conference shares four common opponents with LSU.
The only major conference game the teams have in common is a matchup with Mississippi State. The Lady Demons beat the Bulldogs 10-5, while the Tigers took two games in its series.
Junior pitcher Meghan Patterson and Fico are tied for the Tigers’ most midweek starts this season with three apiece.
Fico allowed 11 runs on 17 hits in midweek contests while Patterson posted only three runs on 10 hits. Most of Fico’s stats, however, came against tougher opponents.
While it isn’t clear who will get the start for the Tigers — LSU coach Beth Torina typically waits until closer to game time to make a final announcement — Tuesday’s game will be the final time Fico wears an LSU jersey during a regular season game in Baton Rouge.
“I don’t think we take anything lightly, we don’t treat games differently, we just keep playing hard every time we take the field,” Torina said. “I think our team understands that they’re capable of a lot of things when they all comes together.”
