The LSU softball team will end its eight-game road stint today in Lake Charles when the No. 11 Tigers take on McNeese State.

The Cowgirls (32-10) will attempt to be the speed bump in LSU’s (35-9) season, as they are sandwiched in the middle of a three-week period that includes three different top-10 opponents for LSU — the first of which was the Tigers’ most recent matchup in a 2-1 series victory against then-No. 10 Texas A&M.

“I don’t think it’s ever a letdown when we’re playing an in-state opponent, and McNeese always gives us a tough game,” said LSU coach Beth Torina. “We never look past them or any of our in-state opponents. Is it tough to get our kids to go on the road in the middle of the week? Definitely. But will we ever look past them? No.”

The Tigers will have to make a quick turnaround after Texas A&M with only one day of practice before getting back on the road to Lake Charles.

LSU senior pitcher Rachele Fico said the road trip has been long for the Tigers but believes as long as they keep doing what they need to do off the field — combined with the added excitement of playing another Louisiana program — the Tigers will be able to persevere through it.

Torina said she didn’t realize this game would be the eighth straight road game for her team until recently, but it doesn’t really matter because she’s taking it one game at a time, regardless.

This will be the third time the teams have met during the Torina era at the helm for the Tigers, with all three meetings last season resulting in LSU victories. The Tigers — who hold a 24-2 all-time record against the Cowgirls — swept all meetings with McNeese last season with a combined score of 8-1.

“McNeese has a 32-10 record, not too far off from Texas A&M,” Torina said. “Just because they’re in a different conference I don’t think that means they’re not going to be talented or bring their ‘A’ game. They have plenty of talented softball players to challenge us [tonight].”