The LSU softball team has earned a weekend off. Capped by a sweep of Auburn last weekend, the No. 14 Tigers (26-4, 8-0) have torched opponents since Feb. 20, their last loss. The top of the schedule is tonight’s midweek matchup against Nicholls State (14-8), after which the Tigers have off until March 24. “From here on in, it gets really tough for us on the road,” said LSU coach Yvette Girouard. “We have to take care of the midweeks this week, and we’re going to give them a well-deserved weekend off. We’re a little banged up right now, and I think everybody will benefit from that.”The Tigers have certainly been busy. Winning, that is. LSU’s formidable pitching stable of senior Cody Trahan, senior Kirsten Shortridge, sophomore Brittany Mack and freshman Rachele Fico has made life easy on Tiger hitters. Trahan and Fico were named Southeastern Conference Pitcher and Freshman of the Week, respectively, for their efforts in the circle. Trahan ran her record to 8-0 during the weekend against Auburn, allowing only one run and striking out 12 in the process. “She’s just a totally different pitcher right now,” Girouard said. “She starts ahead. That’s something we’ve fought her whole career. She could make as good a pitch as anybody in the country, but she couldn’t follow it up. That’s changed this year.”Fico and Mack have certainly benefited from LSU’s deep rotation. The evenly divvied innings have been crucial in the pair’s development in a sport known for high pitch counts. “It’s an incredible advantage,” Girouard said. “For Fico and Mack down the line and down the road, it’s innings off their arms. They know they don’t have to throw so much, and so by the time they’re seniors, they’ll be really healthy.”The hitters didn’t have too shabby a weekend themselves. The Tigers put up 15 runs to Auburn’s three in the series. Senior left fielder Rachel Mitchell went 3-for-3 Saturday, including a key two-run home run in the sixth inning to seal the victory. “I knew in my mind she was going to work me inside a lot,” Mitchell said. “I was looking for that one specific pitch, and she just happened to throw it to me. I made sure my foot was down on time, and I got it out of here.”Mitchell and the rest of the Tigers are showing no signs of slowing down. The players attribute the good play to team chemistry rather than hitting and pitching. “It’s been said time and time again that our team has awesome chemistry — we can’t stress it enough,” Fico said. “It really makes a difference on and off the field. We all really mesh well together. We’re all there for each other.”Fico, a freshman, has made a gargantuan impact this season. The Oxford, Conn., native has collected nine straight wins since the opening weekend. “I just came in with the attitude of doing whatever I could to help the team,” Fico said. “We’ve all been working hard since the start of the year. We all do what we can to help our team out. Every single person one through 20 matters.”Fico learned drop and rise techniques from Shortridge and Trahan.”Cody works with Rachele on her rise, and Shorty works with her on her drop and Mack has an incredible changeup,” Girouard said. “It’s been a great staff in that they’re all about the Tigers instead of themselves.”With Fico’s help, the pitching staff has the lowest ERA in the SEC. “I challenged them to truly become a staff, and they’ve done an incredible job of helping each other and noticing weaknesses,” Girouard said. “Never in my career have I had this many quality arms.”—-Contact Chris Branch at [email protected]