So much for tough in-state competition. The LSU softball team shattered any possibilities of any trap games Wednesday, trouncing Nicholls State, 15-2.”Well, everything clicked,” said LSU coach Yvette Girouard. “A lot of hits and a lot of runs. We had pretty good pitching. A lot of things that we did, we did well.”Senior pitcher/center fielder Kirsten Shortridge led the way for the Tigers after pitching 2 1/3 innings and allowing two runs. Shortridge also went 3-for-4 at the plate with two RBIs.”Her hitting was awesome, and she made some incredible plays in center field,” Girouard said. “Pitching, she struggled a little bit. She can throw better. She didn’t want to come out, but I had made up my mind I was going to use the other three pitchers.”Sophomore shortstop Heidi Pizer wasn’t to be outdone by Shortridge. Pizer hit 2-for-4 in the game and belted a solo home run in the second inning to open the floodgates.The Tigers scored four runs in the frame to open a 5-1 lead on the Colonels.”It just fell into place for me,” Pizer said. “I was just really proud of our team up and down the lineup.”Girouard agreed. She said she was proud of Pizer, who has not played recently, for seizing her chance to impress.”She got a chance and made the most of her opportunity,” Girouard said. “That’s what we tell them all the time when they’ve been sitting a while is that when you get your chance, you grab it.”Both teams played to a 1-1 deadlock after one inning. The aforementioned four-run second inning put the Tigers ahead for good.The Colonels got it to 5-2, but no closer. Two runs in both the fourth and fifth innings, coupled with six runs in the seventh frame flattened Nicholls for good.Shortridge said the big win is nice, but it’s just another game for LSU.”It’s always great to run-rule, but we don’t necessarily go into a game thinking that,” Shortridge said. “We just capitalized on their mistakes, barreled up the ball and had steady pitching all the way around.”Similar to previous in-state games, Girouard trotted out four pitchers to the circle. Shortridge, junior pitcher Tiffany Shaw, freshman right hander Rachele Fico and senior right hander Cody Trahan all threw against Nicholls.Fico pitched a stellar 2 2/3 innings of hitless ball, striking out three batters in the process.”She doesn’t need a lot of confidence building,” Girouard said. “She’s pretty confident as it is. She did her job, Cody did her job and they just shut them down.”—-Contact Chris Branch at [email protected].