Softball team to play in P&G Challenge
Wouldn’t it be nice to see Tiger softball bats catch fire.
And better yet, with runners in scoring position.
That is what head coach Yvette Girouard is hoping for as the No. 5 Tigers (12-5) host the 2002 Purple and Gold Challenge this weekend at Tiger Park.
“We want to find some consistency,” Girouard said. “The bats look like they are trying to come around in some spots. We’d like to step up with runners in scoring position. If we could get three people hot at the same time, we’d probably be untouchable right now. We know one through nine [in the lineup] can hit. If that happens we’ll be dangerous, and it will happen, sooner or later.”
The four other participants of the five-team tournament include Georgia Tech (11-4), University of Alabama at Birmingham(10-3), Long Island University and in-state foe McNeese State(9-10).
None of the four opposing teams are ranked, a change from the past two weekends when LSU faced softball powerhouses of the likes of UCLA, Fresno State and Alabama.
Instead, the Tigers will take on McNeese State at 2 p.m. today and Georgia Tech later at 6 p.m. The Tigers will then face UAB and Long Island at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. Saturday, respectfully.
Bracket play will commence on Sunday, with the Tigers hoping to garner the No. 1 seed and take on the winner of the No. 4 and No. 5 seed game at noon on Sunday. The championship game is at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
Girouard has never faced UAB and Long Island. She is 3-0 in her coaching career against Georgia Tech and has a 61-21 record against McNeese State while coaching at both LSU and UL Lafayette.
Last season the Tigers beat McNeese 3-1 and 4-0 in Girouard’s first season at LSU.
“McNeese comes into town as an in state school,” Girouard said. “We don’t score a lot of runs usually on McNeese. They usually play good defense. In-state school. Enough said right there.”
If Girouard has had any gripe about the way the season has opened for the Tigers it has been the cold bats and not driving in runners in scoring position. Girouard said it is putting immense pressure on the Tiger pitching staff to pitch to near perfection.
“When you are giving up four hits and two hits and you’re getting beat, it’s a shame,” Girouard said. “Because if you are getting that kind of effort on the mound, you should be winning a lot of ballgames. It’s just a matter of our players going up there with a lot more confidence.”
The pitching staff is led by sophomore Kristin Schmidt. She leads the team in wins with a 6-1 record and leads in the earned run average department with a 0.94 ERA.
Schmidt said the low run support does not effect her. She said she goes out with the mentality that the score is 0-0 at every point in the game.
“I don’t really feel any added pressure just because I always try to focus and feel I don’t have a lead, so I [try not to] let them score,” Schmidt said. “I would rather [my own offense] not score. I always take that mentality.”
Schmidt said domination is the name of the game this weekend. She feels her teammates can come together and take the Purple and Gold Challenge this weekend.
“This is definitely a weekend where we need to go out and dominate,” Schmidt said. “I think we will, based on last weekend performance against ranked teams. I think we’ll do well.”
Girouard said the Tigers have to approach this weekend with aggressiveness and not give up at any point during any of the games.
“We don’t play the opponent, we play ourselves,” Girouard said. “It’s the Tiger Attack. We want to play the score like it’s 0-0 no matter if it’s 10-0. The game’s not over until the last out is made. We want to attack every inning.”
Chris Gibson