LSU softball coach Yvette Girouard is tired of hearing about losing streaks.Her No. 15 Tigers suffered through a five-game losing streak to Florida and Alabama, respectively.LSU rebounded with a sweep of Mississippi State this past weekend.”I think it was important for our psyche to have some success,” Girouard said. “Those losses will sting for a while. We’ve moved on. We want to stop talking about that and get to Nicholls.” The Tigers (32-9, 11-5) will travel Wednesday to Thibodaux to face Nicholls State (20-11) at the Colonel Softball Complex.The same Nicholls squad made an appearance in Tiger Park on March 23, only to be sent home with a 7-0 loss. But things could be different in Thibodaux. Last season, LSU narrowly escaped with a 2-1 victory on the road against the Colonels.The Tigers expect much of the same effort from Nicholls.”In-state schools are always tough,” said LSU senior pitcher Cody Trahan. “It’s always a big game for them at home. There’s always a big crowd. If we just stay concentrated on the game itself and not worry about that, we’ll be fine.”Girouard agreed. She said the Tigers see it often.”The crowd will be fabulous, and we’ll get their best shot,” Girouard said. “It’s always like that when we go on the road.”Girouard also said the Tigers will use multiple pitchers on Wednesday, much like they have in the past.These types of games haven’t bothered the Tigers yet this season. LSU has outscored in-state foes, 18-2, on the road, against Southeastern Louisiana and McNeese State, respectively.Senior outfielder Rachel Mitchell’s play at the plate has been a big part of LSU’s success against in-state and out-of-state opponents alike. Mitchell hit .462 during the weekend series against Mississippi State with one home run and five RBIs. Her play earned her Louisiana Sportswriters Association Softball Hitter of the Week honors.Mitchell said the team’s performance against the Bulldogs was critical coming off five consecutive losses.”It was really big that we were able to bounce back from the long road trip away,” Mitchell said. “It was good and helped boost our confidence and get us back on track.”While the Tigers are trying to move past the losing streak, Trahan said the team needs to use the experience as a catalyst for the remainder of the regular season slate.”It kind of helps us a little bit,” Trahan said. “We don’t want to cling to those and dwell on them, but we definitely need to have them in the back of our minds. They will push us and motivate us to finish out the rest of the season strong.”- – – -Contact Chris Branch at [email protected]