When the SEC Tournament begins today in Plant City, Fla., the No. 12 LSU softball team will have a clean slate.
The No. 3 seed Tigers square off against Tennessee at 11 a.m, and all that matters for LSU coach Yvette Girouard is for the team to compete hard in the double elimination tournament. LSU (45-14) has won the last two conference tournaments and three of the last four titles.
“It’s a new season,” said second baseman Sara Fitzgerald. “The division and the SEC champions are decided — it’s postseason now.”
Girouard said the team’s regular season performances against SEC squads should help in the tournament, but she just wants them to focus on winning. During the season, the Tigers lost a weekend series to top seed Georgia, won its series against No. 2 seed Alabama and took the series against Tennessee.
“You’ve got to think Georgia is going to go in there with supreme confidence after winning the overall title,” Girouard said. “I like our chances; we’re going to go into it with the mindset that we’ve got to lock in and play the game.”
If LSU wins, it would face the winner of Alabama and No. 7 seed Auburn. If it loses, it would face the loser of that game. The Tigers have a 19-5 tournament and last faced UT in 1998, knotching an 8-1 win.
Kristin Schmidt (30-11) and Tessa Lynam (15-3) will rotate in the circle throughout the tournament. Schmidt has a 1.02 ERA in 260 innings this year while Lynam has a 2.22 ERA.
“I think we’re still definitely going in looking to win the tournament,” Schmidt said.
Although Britni Sneed and Treena Peel are no longer in the lineup, the Tigers have three seniors and numerous upperclassmen with post season experience. Girouard said she wants the players, regardless of their experience, to step up.
Fitzgerald said her experience will give an edge to the team, particularly this year.
“It’s an advantage, especially going into this year,” she said. “I’ve been there, and I know what the atmosphere is like.”
Fitzgerald is confident the team can shake off losing its season finale at Florida. She said the team has a long way to go, but they are not ready to end the season.
“I think we’re ready,” Fitzgerald said. “Right before the Florida series we were on fire, playing awesome. Although we only took one game from [Florida], I don’t think it set us back at all. We’re still climbing the mountain to the top.”
LSU’s regional fate may be determined by its showing in the tournament. With the NCAA Tournament expanding to 64 teams, the Tigers likely are secured a spot, but winning the tournament could keep them out of a Pac-10 hosted West regional.
“I don’t think anybody really knows what’s going to happen with regional pairings,” Girouard said. “Obviously if we could win this thing it would help our chances of having a higher seed. We just have to concentrate on the process; we can’t dictate where we go.”
The Tigers have made the last seven conference tournaments and have been in the title game the last four years.
“You can’t compare those teams,” Girouard said. “This is a different team with different strengths, and we’re capable of playing very well in this tournament, and that’s what we need to concentrate on.”