Preseason excitement surrounded the opening of the softball program’s new Tiger Park. But few could have predicted the Tigers would have played this many games at home with so little action on the road.LSU will play its 11th straight game in the new stadium tonight when the Tigers host Nicholls State. Rain and snow prohibited the Tigers (11-4) from playing in the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Columbus, Ga., last weekend. The Tigers were also rained out in Hammond against Southeastern Louisiana on Feb. 18. Aside from the season-opening Paradise Classic in Hawaii, those games were the only road contests LSU had scheduled up to this point.”When you are starting to get into a groove, you want to stay in that groove,” said LSU coach Yvette Girouard. “You want that continuity.”The Tigers enter tonight’s matchup with a five-game winning streak and are ranked No. 22 in the ESPN/USA Softball poll and No. 19 in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 poll.LSU has managed to remain in the rankings despite early concerns about the health of the pitching staff. Senior Dani Hofer and junior Cody Trahan have been dealt with wrist and back injuries, respectively, all season.But Girouard said the Tigers haven’t had problems in the circle so far.”I don’t think the problem has been pitching,” Girouard said. “I think the problem has been hitting.”LSU freshman shortstop Juliana Santos said the Tigers have concentrated on improving an offense that has scored 49 runs in 10 games in the new park. LSU has an 8-2 record at home this season.”We’ve been coming out an hour early every day for early hitting,” Santos said. “We’ve been focusing on our timing, which is a big issue.”Girouard said the team needs to produce hits when it has runners in scoring position.”It’s what we call ‘prime-time at bat’ — stepping up in an RBI situation,” Girouard said.The Tigers last faced Nicholls State in a doubleheader in the old Tiger Park on Oct. 17 in the LSU Collegiate Classic. The Tigers won, 3-1 and 9-2, respectively. Despite the victories, the Tigers aren’t taking Nicholls State — which is on a six-game winning streak — lightly.”You have to throw the fall out of the window. Nobody is playing to win it all in the fall,” Girouard said. “The team in the fall is always a whole different team in the spring.”Girouard said she expects to give all her pitchers “a couple innings” Wednesday night.Freshman pitcher Brittany Mack, who has been named Louisiana Sportswriters Association Softball Pitcher of the Week already this season, said she looks forward to getting back on in the circle for the first time since her no-hitter performance against Texas State on Feb. 21. “Going to Georgia felt like too long of a week off,” Mack said. “We need to make sure we don’t underestimate anyone.” Santos said Monday is normally the team’s day off, but after the rain outs the team practiced on both Monday and Tuesday to prepare for tonight’s game.”We’ll be excited to play a game and quit being rained out,” Santos said.——Contact Jarred LeBlanc at [email protected]