During Southeastern Conference play, getting excited and emotional for mid-week games against lesser opponents is not the easiest thing to do.
“It is always tougher [to get up for a mid-week game], but you can’t have that mindset going into the game,” said softball left fielder Leslie Klein. “You have to go into the game like it is Georgia and give it your all.”
Coming off a three-game series with No. 15 South Carolina, the Tigers would love nothing more than to get a head start on preparing for No. 7 Georgia. But as it is, the Tigers must first travel to Shreveport to take on the Centenary Ladies today at 5 p.m.
The No. 5 Tigers head into today’s game winning 20 of their last 22 games. Conversely, Centenary is trying to break out of a two-game losing skid.
This will be the second time LSU and Centenary have played this season. LSU took the first game 9-0 in Baton Rouge on Feb. 6.
“They gave us a good game last time,” said third baseman and co-captain Julie Wiese. “We just have to stay with our game plan and do what we do best and hopefully pull out a ‘W.'”
In the first meeting between the two teams, LSU used four Ladies errors and a 3-for-4 performance from LaDonia Hughes to secure the win.
Freshman pitcher Emily Turner started the game, which was her first in a Tigers uniform, and pitched a complete game two-hit shutout. Turner (9-2) will get the nod again today for LSU.
On the season, Turner has appeared in 15 games, pitching 74 innings and accumulating a 1.70 ERA.
Coach Yvette Girouard said the line-up behind Turner tonight may look a little different than in previous games. Girouard said the mid-week game will be a perfect opportunity for her to rest some of her starters in preparation for the weekend series with SEC rival Georgia. Girouard did not comment on who will not play.
“We played them in the first game of the season and [Centenary] made a bunch of errors, but I think they are a much better team than what that game showed,” Girouard said. “They have beaten Florida. They have taken Louisiana Tech to the wire, and they gave us good games last year. So, I expect a good game over there, and I am sure they will be ready for us.”
The Ladies are coming off a tough weekend of its own. Centenary played in the Oklahoma/Worth Invitational, and played No. 6 Oklahoma in back-to-back games on Sunday. The Ladies lost both of those games by a combined score of 15-0.
Centenary (13-13) is led offensively by freshman outfielder Micah Rhodes. Rhodes leads Centenary with a .403 batting average and 14 runs scored. As a team, Centenary is batting .265.
Ladies coach Mark Montgomery said today’s game with LSU and last weekend’s games with Oklahoma serve as a barometer of where his team is heading into its conference schedule.
“It lets us see what to work on, in all honesty,” Montgomery said. “I think we are growing as a team and growing more confident as we play.”