Following Wednesday night’s rainout at Southeastern Louisiana University, LSU softball coach Yvette Girouard said she’s looking forward to another opportunity to play at home in the new Tiger Park.The No. 22 Tigers (6-4) host the Easton Purple and Gold Challenge this weekend.”It’s all about us, the Tigers, making adjustments right now to succeed,” Girouard said.The four-team tournament includes Alabama-Birmingham, Northern Iowa and Texas State. Pool play opens up at 3:45 p.m. today when UAB and Texas State square off. LSU and Northern Iowa follow with a 6 p.m. matchup.  ”The competition is a little better than we anticipated … three very good opponents coming in here this weekend,” she said.The Tigers are no strangers to UAB (2-3). They split two games with the Blazers two weeks ago in Hawaii at the Paradise Classic. LSU won the first meeting, 10-5, on Feb. 5, with UAB defeating the Tigers, 5-3, the next day.  Northern Iowa (7-2) is off to its best start since 2002, while Texas State (6-4) knocked off two ranked foes last week. The Cougars are fresh off a 3-2 upset of No. 19 Texas A&M on Wednesday and also surprised then-No. 14 Houston on Sunday with a 2-0 victory.With the stiff competition, the Tigers will be looking for more consistency at the plate. LSU is batting .250 through 10 games this season, 65 points lower than its average through 10 games last year.Girouard attributes the low team average to a slow start, particularly by the more experienced players.”[It’s] a slow start by some of our veterans, maybe a lack of focus on everyone’s part and the reality of the adjustments at this level,” she said. Senior pitcher Dani Hofer is still sidelined following wrist surgery last April and also has back problems. Girouard said she has no idea when Hofer will return to the lineup.The Tigers have relied on junior pitcher Cody Trahan and junior pitcher/outfielder Kirsten Shortridge to step up in Hofer’s absence.Trahan also has injury problems of her own, coming off back surgery during Christmas break. She experienced struggles in her first few outings and has yet to record a decision, but her 1.19 ERA leads the team.”Things have come around here toward the last two games, but there’s still a lot more to be done,” she said.Shortridge, a Baylor transfer, leads the team in batting with a .378 average and has also started three games as a pitcher.Two of those starts came against UAB. She was the winning pitcher in LSU’s 10-5 win against the Blazers at the Paradise Classic, allowing only one hit in three innings.”It’s awesome she transferred here when she did,” said junior outfielder Rachel Mitchell. “She’s our starting outfielder … And of course she also pitches for us — especially in this time of need when Dani had surgery and Cody had back surgery. She can step in and even it out.”The Tigers conclude pool play with two games tomorrow as they take on Texas State at 2 p.m. and UAB at 4:15 p.m.Bracket play begins at 9 a.m. Sunday, with the championship game scheduled for 3:45 p.m.- – – -Contact Sean Isabella at [email protected]