Having earned a berth in the Southeastern Conference Tournament in last weekend’s sweep at Florida, many would consider LSU’s series against Tennessee this weekend unimportant. Yet for LSU coach Yvette Girouard, that would prove the opposite.
“All our preparations are for Tennessee,” Girouard said. “That’s all we’re thinking about. That and finals.”
LSU (30-18, 12-15 SEC) will conclude its regular season this weekend when the No. 10 Volunteers come to Baton Rouge for the three game series, set to begin on Saturday.
Following the series, the players will take final exams on Monday and Tuesday before heading for Gainesville, Fla., on Wednesday for the tournament.
Coming off a sweep of the Gators last weekend, Girouard said the team has maintained a good attitude.
“They’ve practiced hard,” Girouard said. “It’s just a matter of executing the game plan and we’ll be fine.”
Last week at this time, LSU was fresh off a three-game sweep at the hands of Auburn while clinging to a spot in the SEC Tournament. Yet following three straight wins in Florida and two losses by Ole Miss, who was battling LSU for the eighth spot in the tournament, LSU managed to secure its spot.
“The team just refused to get shut out of the tournament,” Girouard said. “They’ve never stopped working hard. Maybe the softball gods are just starting to shine on us.”
Tennessee is led by 6 foot 3 inch sophomore Monica Abbott, who leads the SEC in ERA, innings pitched and strikeouts.
Boasting a 37-7 record, Girouard said Abbott will be the key to this weekend’s series.
“Monica Abbott is what makes them so good,” Girouard said. “Everybody knew that when they signed her their program would change overnight. And it did.”
Last weekend, Abbott was named the Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I National Player of the Week after going 3-0 with three shutouts.
After holding Marshall to two hits and no runs with 15 strikeouts on Wednesday, Abott turned around to shut out Ole Miss twice in a row, holding the Rebels to no runs and striking out 23 batters in two games.
Offensively, Tennessee ranks atop the SEC with a .333 batting average.
For LSU, sophomore Stephanie Hill leads the team with a .383 average with 28 RBI and five home runs.
Sophomore Emily Turner will take the circle for LSU. On the year, Turner has compiled a 16-12 record and allowed 114 hits in 159.2 innings pitched.
“We just need to hit the ball hard and execute and play defense,” Girouard said. “That’s all a coach can ask for. To come prepared to play and play hard.”
With Georgia having already clinched the top spot in next week’s tournament, LSU will likely face off with Auburn next Wednesday.
Girouard said despite who LSU will play, the team can do some damage in the tournament.
“I do think we’ve scared some people,” Girouard said. “They know that we’re capable at any time of hitting the ball and scoring runs. We have some dangerous hitters.”
And with no Senior Day slated for this weekend as LSU is without any seniors, Girouard said she is just happy the team will get to play in the tournament.
“[Tennessee] is a quality opponent,” Girouard said. “The season doesn’t end this weekend, thankfully. But we won’t live and die by what happens this weekend.”