LSU softball coach Yvette Girouard wasn’t kidding when she said her team would see a step up in competition.The No. 20 Tigers (11-4) face two ranked opponents this weekend in No. 13 DePaul (9-2) and No. 25 Florida State (12-3) at the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Leadoff Classic in Columbus, Ga. — their first ranked competition in two weeks.”We’ve been coming out to practice and going hard every day,” said sophomore third baseman Jessica Mouse. “We’re ready for good competition, and that’s what we’re going to get. We’re excited to see how we do.”LSU has played two top-25 teams in the early going of the season with mixed results. The Tigers swept a pair of games against No. 5 Texas A&M at the Easton Tiger Classic two weekends ago but fell, 8-0, to No. 10 Oklahoma on Feb. 6.”You always say that with a young team your best players have to have very good years, and right now that’s not quite happening for us,” Girouard said. “The young players are seeing that this is another level.”The Tigers also face Georgia Tech (9-5) and Illinois State (4-6) on the trip.Girouard said she hopes the trip wakes up the Tigers’ bats. LSU’s last few games have been sporadic at the plate, with the Tigers winning games by scores of 11-0 and 8-3, but also failing to score in 1-0 and 2-0 defeats.
The Tigers only managed three runs against Southern Miss (6-10-1) on Wednesday, stranding 10 base runners.”It seems like it’s the same people that are not producing,” Girouard said. “We’ve got to have those people step up … They always seem to make a stand somewhere if we’re behind, but we’d like for that to happen earlier and more often than waiting until the seventh inning.”The circumstances surrounding the Leadoff Classic make for an interesting week.The team’s Mardi Gras holiday lasted until Monday. The Tigers practiced Tuesday before defeating Southern Miss on Wednesday night, and they boarded a bus for Georgia on Thursday morning.The Tigers will play five games in three days before returning to Baton Rouge.”We haven’t been able to practice a lot this week — we’ve been kind of busy,” said junior pitcher Cody Trahan. “We had our one day off, then practice and a game. [Thursday] is our travel day, so we’re just going to hope to get there in time to have another practice and get things ready.”Trahan’s presence in the circle has been a bright spot for LSU. She is still rehabbing after offseason back surgery, but her quick recovery has helped to her to a 2-0 record and 35 strikeouts so far this season.”If she’s pitching well, she’s going to stay out there,” Girouard said. “She threw a few too many pitches [Wednesday] so we got her out to make sure she was good for the weekend.”—- Contact David Helman at [email protected]