The LSU softball team’s bye week just won’t end.
Thanks to a rainout Tuesday night, the Tigers (18-12) have now gone a week without playing a game. By the time they travel to Arkansas this weekend, that layoff will have extended to nine days.
“It’s kind of crazy,” said LSU coach Yvette Girouard. “It’s just been a weird season already, with injuries and everything else. So it’s been about par for the course.”
The break comes from an off weekend in LSU’s Southeastern Conference schedule. The Tigers offset an 0-5 start in conference play by taking two of three from Kentucky and slamming Nicholls State, 8-0, but they haven’t had a chance to improve on the three-game win streak.
“Defense is defense. … Rest is always good for pitchers,” Girouard said. “The hitting is where you get concerned. Once you get on a roll you just want to play every day. Usually, rest is negative toward hitting.”
Girouard said it can be difficult for a hot lineup to regain its stride after a delay between games. The Tigers managed just seven total runs in three games against the Wildcats, but they exploded for eight in the rout of the Colonels.
“When you’re starting to hit well, you want to play every day,” Girouard said. “We’re starting to see the ball a little bit better now.”
Freshman center fielder Simone Heyward, who went 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI against Nicholls, said some players have to make an effort to stay in routine during a break.
“I need to practice every day, or else something just goes out my head,” Heyward said.
Other players weren’t as concerned with the downtime, using it instead to get away from the game.
“It’s awesome. I enjoy the break,” said junior pitcher Brittany Mack. “If you just want to have a break from softball, you can go do whatever — have some fun with friends, sleep, relax by a pool. It’s nice.”
Heyward’s week off wasn’t quite as eventful.
“I got my hair done, did my homework. That’s all I did,” she said. “I don’t have a car. I don’t go anywhere.”
Mack, the veteran of the Tigers’ three-headed pitching staff, said rest can only help pitchers, especially for a staff as small as LSU’s.
“If any muscles were sore or tender, they all get to heal,” she said. “By the time we come back for the next series, we’re ready to go.”
The week off certainly helped sophomore pitcher Rachele Fico, who Girouard said should be mostly recovered from a shoulder injury suffered earlier this season.
“She’s throwing a little bit harder now, and every day it seems to get better,” Girouard said. “She’s looked awfully good in practices the last couple of times.”
The Tigers also get junior outfielder Katie Guillory back from their laundry list of injuries. Guillory should be good to play this weekend after tearing her ACL during fall practice.
“This is the first week she’s been cleared to play,” Girouard said.
 
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Contact David Helman at [email protected]