Senior pitcher Dani Hofer will throw the first pitch for the No. 19 LSU softball team at Sunday’s Senior Day game against South Carolina.Then she will return to the dugout — her playing career at LSU finished.”We can officially say it. She’s going to throw out the first pitch, and that’s it. She’s done,” said LSU softball coach Yvette Girouard.It’s a strange turn of events for a player with a 59-16 record, who was named first team All-Southeastern Conference and SEC tournament Most Valuable Player in 2007, as well as preseason first team All-American in 2008.”It’s been weird,” Hofer said. “I feel like I’ve left the player role and taken on a coaching role. Coach [Girouard] wants me in the bullpen working with the pitchers, giving them whatever advice I can … It’s been a weird shift of roles, but I like it.”The reason her first pitch Sunday will also be her first (and last) pitch of the season dates back to 2008, when a wrist injury hampered the end of her junior year and sidelined her for the entire offseason. She was scheduled to return to the active roster in February, but that quickly became an impossibility as Hofer’s wrist never responded to rehab.”There was always that hope in the back of our minds that she would come back and save the season for us,” said junior pitcher Cody Trahan. The injury all but finished Hofer’s career and left the Tigers’ pitching staff injured and inexperienced.Trahan, afflicted with a back injury herself, became the Tigers’ veteran ace seemingly overnight.”That’s definitely something new for me, and I’m still trying to fit into that role,” Trahan said. “We’ve all had to do our part. Brittany Mack’s done a great job coming in as freshman, and she wasn’t even supposed to pitch this year.”Mack has an 11-3 record despite a forearm injury. The trio has pitched to a combined 24-11 record despite the injuries.”We’ve just got to suck it up,” Mack said. “At practice, we take it easy and we get treatment a lot, but once we get in the game, we’ve just got to suck it up.”The Tigers (27-14-1, 10-9-1) have plenty of work to do before Hofer’s swan song. LSU is in the midst of a four-game losing streak. The Tigers have been outscored 20-3 in the past week and were swept by No. 1 Florida and then dropping Wednesday night’s game against McNeese State.Hofer said one of the most difficult things about not playing has been watching the team struggle through its recent tough stretch.”It’s very hard,” Hofer said. “I’m a senior, and I should be out there playing. It’s very hard to keep those feelings, but there’s nothing I can do about it. I just have to help the younger pitchers and help give them the best year I can.”The Gamecocks (20-19, 5-16) are last place in the Southeastern Conference and could be a perfect pick-me-up for LSU with just two weeks until postseason play.”At this point in the season, you really focus on the bullpen,” Hofer said. “You have to get into the groove. You have to hit your spots. You have to go over the video. Every little detail adds up to be big, and that’s probably what we’ll be doing to get ready for the postseason and help out the girls.”    —-    Contact David Helman at [email protected]