The LSU softball team will continue its Southeastern Conference homestand tonight at 6 p.m. in the first of three games against Mississippi State (17-9, 3-4 SEC) at Tiger Park.
The Tigers (16-8, 1-1 SEC) opened conference play by splitting a Wednesday night doubleheader with No. 22 Auburn, which snapped LSU’s six-game win streak with a 2-0 victory in the series finale.
LSU senior outfielder Ashley Langoni said even though the Tigers don’t play Auburn again in the regular season, there’s still an opportunity to avenge the loss.
“You’ve got to come out and take your anger out on the next team,” Langoni said. “It’s always payback time.”
The Louisiana Sports Writers Association named Langoni its Hitter of the Week on Thursday for her performance over the past week.
The Pueblo, Colo., native batted .500, scored seven runs and added six RBI over five games.
Mississippi State finished last season with an overall record of 24-32, but Langoni said the Bulldogs still pose a legitimate threat.
“They’re a 10 times better team than they were last year, and we can’t take them for granted,” Langoni said. “We can’t come out thinking that we’re going to win these three games.”
Mississippi State comes to Baton Rouge on a five-game winning streak on the road – its longest such streak since winning eight in a row in 2001 – including a doubleheader sweep against South Carolina (19-9, 2-3 SEC) in Columbia, S.C., on Wednesday.
The Bulldogs scored 19 runs over two games against the Gamecocks and have scored twice as many runs as their opponents this season.
“They have a really good offense from what we’ve seen,” said LSU coach Beth Torina. “Hopefully our pitching is good enough to hold any offense in the conference.”
The Tigers will continue the series Saturday at 4 p.m., with the series finale at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
 
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