With a third consecutive conference series win, the LSU softball team seems to be turning over a new leaf on a season that once seemed hopeless.
Today, it’ll find out just how much it has improved when it hosts a rematch of a disappointing loss earlier in the season.
The Tigers (27-20, 8-10 Southeastern Conference) will attempt to continue their recent success when they play South Alabama (34-9, 11-5 Sun Belt Conference) today for the second time this season at Tiger Park.
“I think we have really kept tunnel vision and aren’t worried about what other people say,” said freshman pitcher Baylee Corbello. “We have stuck to preparation and it has started to fall into place.”
LSU’s most recent accomplishment came this past weekend in Colombia, S.C., when it took two out of three matchups against South Carolina. Both wins were led by the offense, as the Tigers swept their doubleheader Saturday by a combined score of 27-6.
Saturday’s two victories marked the first time all season LSU tallied double-digit runs in consecutive games, and the team has now reached double digits in three of its last four SEC games. Coach Beth Torina said the Tigers’ strong schedule has helped them come alive offensively.
“We’ve put this team through every scenario you could possibly think of, and I feel like every time they take the field they are prepared for whatever scenario comes their way during a game,” Torina said.
LSU’s biggest star of the weekend was freshman infielder Sahvanna Jaquish, who batted .636 in the series including a 5-for-5 performance in the Tigers’ second win on Saturday. Jaquish received SEC Freshman of the Week honors on Monday for her performance.
Despite its sudden success on the weekend, LSU has struggled in its recent week games, losing two of its last three. It won’t be easy breaking out of the midweek slump as LSU plays a team that spent a portion of the season with a top-20 ranking.
South Alabama is led by its two dominant pitchers, junior Farish Beard and senior Hannah Campbell. The duo has combined to go 32-9 with 27 complete games, and each possesses an earned run average below 1.00.
In the first matchup of the teams, the Tigers fell to the Jaguars 2-1 despite recording four more hits. After South Alabama scored the go-ahead run in the fifth inning, the Tigers put runners in scoring position in each of the final three innings, but LSU never got the clutch hit to extend the game or send the game to extra innings.
Corbello said this is a different team than the one USA saw two months ago. This is a team that has shown signs of growth as it goes deeper into SEC play.
“I think that a lot of things have been clicking well for us,” Corbello said. “Our defense has always been pretty solid. Our pitching staff is figuring things out more and our offense is lights out right now.”