For the first time this season, the LSU softball team has lost four straight games.
The No. 22 Tigers (26-9, 11-6 Southeastern Conference) will have a chance to get back on the winning track Tuesday against McNeese State (25-11, 8-2 Southland Conference) at Tiger Park.
Tuesday’s game will mark the third matchup of the season between LSU and McNeese.
The Tigers won their first game against the Cowgirls this season, 2-0, on Feb. 25.
In that game, junior pitcher Rachele Fico tossed a one-hitter after opening the game by giving up a triple.
Senior catcher Morgan Russell powered the LSU offense with two RBIs to secure the win for the Tigers.
In the teams’ second matchup of the season on March 28 in Lake Charles, senior pitcher Brittany Mack threw a shutout to propel LSU to a 4-0 victory.
The Cowgirls again notched a triple on their first hit of the game, but Mack fired back by retiring 10 consecutive McNeese batters.
LSU only put up five hits in the game, but three errors by McNeese and heads-up base running from LSU led to a Tigers’ win.
The last time LSU played McNeese, the Tigers had won 13 of their last 14 games. This time, LSU is looking to recover after being swept for the first time this season.
The Tigers lost three games at No. 10 Tennessee last weekend in a series in which the total score was 16-4 in favor of the Volunteers.
LSU kept it close Friday but couldn’t find any offense in a 2-0 defeat.
On Saturday, the Tigers put together a rally in the bottom of the seventh inning, but couldn’t find their way back from a 4-0 deficit, losing 4-2.
LSU jumped out to an early 2-0 lead Sunday, but Tennessee responded with five runs in both the fifth and sixth innings to claim a 10-2 victory.
After the Tigers play McNeese on Tuesday, they face another mid-week game against No. 21 Florida State.
LSU coach Beth Torina said the quick turnaround means the Tigers have to be ready for their busy week.
“We don’t have a lot of time to sit around and be down about the Tennessee series,” Torina said in a news release. “We have to bounce back immediately and try to take the five games on our schedule this week.”
The prior weekend, the Tigers lost two of three at No. 2 Alabama.
The lone LSU win on the weekend was the Tigers’ first win in Tuscaloosa, Ala., since 2006 and Alabama’s second loss of the season.
The Tigers dropped their other two games against Alabama by a score of 6-0 each.
 
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Contact Albert Burford at [email protected]