The LSU softball team’s season kicks off Thursday, and the Tigers’ opening weekend pitching rotation is still up in the air.LSU softball coach Yvette Girouard said Monday senior pitcher Dani Hofer’s wrist injury hasn’t gotten better, and now the Tigers’ ace is having back problems.Hofer injured her wrist last April and had surgery last summer.  She had a 19-8 record last season but was only 3-6 in her final 11 appearances.”Hofer is not pitching right now,” Girouard said. “There have been complications, and she’s not healthy. I’m not quite sure when she will throw.” Girouard also said junior pitcher Cody Trahan is injured but should still see playing time.”Cody Trahan, over the Christmas break, had a little back surgery,” Girouard said. “She is coming back from that. She has thrown some.”Girouard said junior Baylor transfer Kirsten Shortridge also has an injury but is expected to start in the outfield in this weekend’s Paradise Classic in Hawaii.”Kirsten Shortridge, who is a pitcher, lead-off hitter and centerfielder for us, also had a little arm surgery before she came in here,” she said.LACK OF HOMEFIELD ADVANTAGEPractice, preparation and home-field advantage play major roles in how any team will perform during the season.The Tigers have had plenty of practice and preparation, but they still don’t feel that home-field advantage.The team has been going back and forth between practicing in the old Tiger Park and the new Tiger Park, because the new stadium is not yet finished.”We spend an hour out here [in old Tiger Park] at a time, usually scrimmaging,” said sophomore Jessica Mouse. “Then we have to pack our bags up and get mentally prepared for the second practice.”Plenty of distractions still bother the team once players finally make it to the new field each day.”They’re still doing construction, so it’s hard to hear each other,” said freshman Juliana Santos. “It’s hard to communicate because there are people sanding and machines going.”The Lady Tigers are only allowed to do defensive drills because of the construction. “All we can do is take defense,” Girouard said. “We can’t even do pop-ups to the catchers or down the sidelines. We can do no hitting.”The women are eager to practice on the new field because there are many differences between the two ballparks.”The field orientation is totally different,” Girouard said. “The sun is in the leftfielder’s eyes there; the sun is in the rightfielder’s eyes [in the old Tiger Park].”Girouard said she isn’t sure when her team will finally be able to hit and have full practices on the new field.”[The date we move in] has switched a million times,” Girouard said. “The facility was supposed to be finished in November. Now they are saying hopefully Feb. 5 for the whole thing.”Eddie Nunez, associate athletic director of Operations and Project Development, did not answer or return phone calls about the park’s possible completion date.——Contact Jarred Leblanc at [email protected]