The LSU softball team hopes to play a game this weekend.The No. 19 Tigers (12-4) open Southeastern Conference play Saturday against Kentucky just one week after rainstorms forced them to cancel five separate games.”Being off for a whole week is not much fun,” said freshman pitcher Brittany Mack. “Especially going all the way over to Georgia just to practice and go to a movie.”If the Tigers can avoid the rain, they’ll spend the weekend hosting the new Tiger Park’s first SEC opponent.LSU has been struggling at the plate recently, but Wednesday night’s game against Nicholls State helped them shake the rust off. Junior outfielder Kirsten Shortridge hit 3-of-3 for two runs and two RBI, and the Tigers pushed past the Colonels, 8-0, in just five innings.The win upped LSU’s current win streak to six games.”There’s been a lot of frustration — being young you don’t understand why you’re not hitting the ball every single game,” Shortridge said. “Making adjustments quick is what’s going to matter, and I think everyone is picking that up now.”Kentucky (9-4) is on a hot streak of its own. The Wildcats dropped four of eight games to start the season but have recovered and are enjoying a five-game win streak.”We made the mistake one time in our career here in that we didn’t explain the SEC to a very young team,” Girouard said. “They are going to get an education in how the SEC works.”The Wildcats will provide the first conference test for LSU’s developing pitching staff. Girouard has paced junior pitcher Cody Trahan’s surgery rehabilitation slowly in anticipation of SEC play, and Mack has yet to face conference competition.”It’s more than likely to be Cody and Mack this weekend,” Girouard said Wednesday. “There was a dilemma of whether to pitch them midweek, but they hadn’t thrown in awhile and they needed the innings. Every time Cody pitches she looks better and better.”Senior pitcher Dani Hofer is scheduled to return from injury for SEC play, but it remains to be seen exactly when that return will be.—-Contact David Helman at [email protected]