LSU’s softball team shouldn’t be too concerned about a Southeastern Conference road trip after its past three games.The Tigers (19-7, 7-2) play their second consecutive midweek series against Ole Miss tonight (12-16,1-10), but that seems fairly manageable after LSU’s last series in the Magnolia State.The Tigers swept Mississippi State in Starkville, Miss., last weekend, which isn’t exactly an easy task for a team that has started as many as five freshmen in some games this season.”We were down in two of those games and managed to fight our way back,” said LSU coach Yvette Girouard. “There’s no quit in our team.”As the Tigers rolled to their fifth-straight win, Ole Miss found itself getting rolled by Alabama. The Crimson Tide crushed the Rebels by a combined score of 31-4, putting Ole Miss on a three-game losing streak.As hot as the No. 2 Crimson Tide’s bats were in Oxford, Alabama couldn’t get a win in Baton Rouge. The Tigers swept the Tide in a doubleheader last Wednesday, giving the Crimson Tide just its second and third losses of the season.”The ‘Bama wins were just a huge boost in confidence for our younger players,” Girouard said. “Our pitching staff is putting things together bit by bit, but we’re finally starting to get production from the lineup.”The big week was enough to earn junior outfielder Rachel Mitchell SEC Player of the Week honors Monday. Mitchell knocked six hits and 11 RBI and added three runs of her own, including a game-winner against Alabama.”Rachel Mitchell has been absolutely on fire — she’s been monumental,” Girouard said. “We have her [fourth in the lineup] to get RBIs. She’s our RBI girl.”As hot as LSU has been, Ole Miss has been equally cold, if not more so. The Rebels have lost 9-of-10 SEC games with their only win coming against South Carolina, which is 1-11 in conference play. Girouard said getting ready for the Rebels won’t be much of a challenge, despite their poor record. “They beat us in two-of-three games last year in Baton Rouge,” Girouard said. “The returners understand that. The young ones don’t understand yet, but [Oxford] is a difficult place to play for us.”Ole Miss took two from LSU despite finishing 2008 with a 9-19 SEC record, so it’s not likely the Tigers will look past Ole Miss’ three-game losing streak.While LSU has Mitchell, the Rebels also boast one of the conference’s top hitters in junior All-American infielder Lauren Grill. Grill has six home runs and 20 RBI in the early going of the season, and it was Grill’s pair of home runs that helped Ole Miss to the series win at Tiger Park last season.”They’re in most of their games, and they don’t go away,” Girouard said. “They have a player in Lauren Grill, who could start for any team in the SEC, and if you don’t show up you’re going to get beat.”
 
 
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