“It’s been the year of the rainouts,” said sophomore infielder Jessica Mouse of No. 17 LSU’s 2009 softball season.LSU (22-7, 8-3) has canceled 11 games this season because of inclement weather. This weekend’s series against No. 13 Tennessee (27-8, 4-5) will be the Tigers’ first home games in more than two weeks.”It’s been hard,” Mouse said. “It makes us have to focus even more because we haven’t played an SEC team [recently], so we have to do everything right to be prepared for the weekend.”The rain hasn’t put a damper on the LSU’s recent hot streak. The Tigers have won seven of their last eight games not including a doubleheader with Mississippi Valley State, which was canceled by last week’s storms.”We’d like to keep pace with the leaders in the SEC,” said LSU coach Yvette Girouard. “This is a very good opponent that beat us two out of three last year … So there are a number of reasons to want to come out and play.”Mouse started a three-run rally Wednesday night against Southern Miss, continuing the momentum into the weekend. The Tigers trailed 2-1 but produced three runs in the sixth inning to secure a 4-2 victory.”All of us have confidence in one another every time we approach the plate,” Mouse said. “No matter what the count is we know we’re going to get the job done.”Girouard expects to see an appearance from junior outfielder Rachel Mitchell, who was questionable with an ankle injury.Mitchell played a limited role in the Tigers’ win against the Golden Ealges, going 0-for-3 from the plate with a walk as the designated hitter.”She looked alright,” Girouard said. “We didn’t play her defensively, but she seemed to run alright … Hopefully she’ll be fine by Saturday.”Junior pitcher Cody Trahan will get the start against the Volunteers — her first start since March 24 against Ole Miss. Trahan surrendered a two-run seventh inning in that game, allowing the Rebels to top LSU in extra innings.”Time off has been great for all of us,” Trahan said. “We’ve had time to rest and recover … I’ve just got to stick to my pitches and get them where I want them to be.”——Contact David Helman at [email protected]