This week was destined to be a rocky one since LSU’s softball schedule was announced.
The No. 22 Tigers (15-7, 0-2) got off to a shaky start in Southeastern Conference play Wednesday night, dropping 8-1 and 5-0 decisions to No. 2 Florida.
The Gators managed 22 hits during the two-game sweep, while LSU could muster just four.
“You cant say too much about [Wednesday],” said LSU coach Yvette Girouard. “You’ve just got to go on and hopefully we’re going to fight a little better this weekend.”
The weekend won’t be any easier for the Tigers, though, as LSU travels to face No. 1 Georgia (17-1, 0-0) this weekend in Athens, Ga.
“This is a brutal opening,” Girouard said. “It’s just going to get much harder because Georgia is a very tough place to play.”
The Bulldogs have yet to open SEC play, but they have rolled through a stacked non-conference schedule this season.
Georgia boasts wins against No. 10 Oklahoma, No. 22 Texas A&M and No. 4 Arizona — all coming in the same Cathedral City Classic LSU played in two weeks ago.
“We’re as prepared as we can be, but it’s a whole other level when you get to the SEC,” said Georgia coach Lu Harris-Champer in a news release. “It’s a dogfight, no matter who you’re playing, to the last out.”
The Bulldogs demolished Arizona, 8-0, in five innings, while the Tigers fell, 4-1, to the Wildcats. Georgia isn’t perfect, however, as the Bulldogs fell, 1-0, to the same No. 20
Oklahoma State group that beat LSU.
This weekend is technically the Tigers’ second SEC series, but it will be their first experience with the new three-day weekend schedule. Rather than playing two games on Saturday and one on Sunday, SEC teams will play one game on every day of the weekend this season.
Girouard said during the preseason the new schedule would give her a better chance to rest her pitching staff, which currently features a collective 2.35 ERA.
“We have one day to recoup, and come Friday when we play Georgia we’ll have everything back together,” said junior pitcher Brittany Mack.