This weekend is the LSU softball team’s last chance to perfect its play before the Southeastern Conference slate begins Wednesday night.
The Tigers (11-7) kickoff the weekend against Mississippi Valley State (9-9), which started the season with eight consecutive losses.
But the Devilettes rebounded with nine wins in 10 games heading into their matchup with LSU tonight.
The Tigers enter the game coming off a 10-2 win Wednesday against Nicholls State that ended in five innings.
“We’re going to continue the offensive attack,” said LSU coach Beth Torina. “We’re going to try to continue to be aggressive.”
The offense was a problem for LSU last weekend, as the Tigers went 1-3 against Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, getting shut out in each loss.
“We’ve just got to learn from our losses,” said senior outfielder Ashley Langoni. “We made some crucial mistakes in the past couple games, and we’re working on them in practice and we’re getting better every day.”
Sophomore infielder Allison Falcon may help the offense, as she made her return to the lineup against Nicholls State on Wednesday after missing eight games because of an injury.
Falcon went hitless in her return but is still batting .417 on the season.
Langoni also seems to be hitting her stride from the plate.
Over the last three games, she has hit 6-for-9 with a home run, two doubles and three RBIs, and she leads the team in extra-base hits on the season.
“I think that’s what I needed — a little fire underneath me,” she said. “It came out to be a good thing. I’m back to where I need to be.”
While Falcon only saw the field as the designated hitter against Nicholls State, Torina said she may play on the other side of the ball this weekend.
“We keep trying to solidify the defense,” Torina said. “Hopefully we get to see Alison Falcon a little bit more on defense, too.”
After the Tigers’ tilt with Mississippi Valley State, they take the field again Friday night against Troy (16-2).
The Trojans have won five straight games and have shut out their last two opponents with a combined score of 14-0.
“We have this tournament this weekend that we need to take care of and play good ball,” said freshman infielder Dylan Supak.
Langoni said the Tigers are looking forward to playing at home after five straight games away from Tiger Park.
“I know there’s a couple people on other teams that say they hate playing at our field because our fans are so overpowering,” she said. “It’s a great feeling playing behind them.”
 
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Contact Albert Burford at [email protected]