Some say the best offense is a good defense.It worked for a while for the LSU softball team. Then McNeese State came to town.The Cowgirls helped the Tigers hit rock bottom offensively Wednesday night, blanking LSU 3-0.The No. 16 Tigers (36-10, 14-5) will try to find their offensive niche this weekend when they travel to Lexington, Ky., to face unranked Kentucky (29-18, 11-11).”Hopefully we just play well,” said LSU coach Yvette Girouard. “We have to bounce back from [Wednesday] and swing the bat well. That’s what we’ve been working on all day [Thursday].”While the Tigers lost no ground in the SEC standings, the loss was a stark slap in the face for a team needing to rebound offensively, Girouard said.”Unless we start swinging the bats like we’re capable of doing, we’re not going to go too far,” Girouard said. “We have to get everybody’s attention here.”Girouard’s crew could only squeeze four hits Wednesday, with nary a runner crossing the plate against Cowgirl pitcher Meagan Bond.The loss, while it may seem minor, halted a few streaks for the Lady Tigers. Before the loss to McNeese, LSU had never lost a midweek game in the new Tiger Park. The defeat also snapped the Tigers’ 25-game winning streak.The Tigers might see much of the same pitching prowess against the Wildcats. Kentucky touts two double-digit game winners in Rachel Riley and Chanda Bell. Riley has posted a 10-6 record thus far this season with a 2.40 ERA, while Bell has notched a 16-10 record with a 2.45 ERA.The Wildcats are led on the offensive side by senior shortstop Molly Johnson. Johnson has battered opposing pitchers to the tune of a .378 batting average with 21 RBIs and 10 home runs.Kentucky heads into the weekend series coming off two straight run-rule victories against Austin Peay on Wednesday. The Wilcats previously lost two out of three against No. 4 Florida.Taking one from Florida is no small feat. The same Florida squad barrelled through LSU by a combined score of 13-1 just three weeks ago.”We have to give [Kentucky] respect,” Girouard said. “They’ve done something we didn’t do. I have a lot of respect for them. I hope [the players] do.”____Contact Chris Branch at [email protected]