The No. 19 LSU softball team opened its season with mixed results in the Paradise Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii.The Tigers (3-2) began the tournament with a 10-5 win Thursday against Alabama-Birmingham to increase the team’s season opening record to 12-1 since 1997.”There is always jitters in the first game,” said LSU coach Yvette Girouard. “We hit the ball well.”The Tigers showed their lack of depth in the circle against No. 10 Oklahoma in an 8-0 loss Friday.Girouard said the pitching rotation is going to be a problem for the team for a while.”This pitching staff right now is truly piecemeal,” Girouard said. “[Junior Baylor transfer Kirsten] Shortridge did have surgery before she got here, so she’s been limited. Really the only healthy pitchers we have are a freshman in Brittany Mack and [sophomore] Casey Faile.”Faile stepped in the circle against Hawaii in the team’s second game Friday and led the Tigers to a 6-5 victory against the Warriors.Faile threw the Tigers’ first complete game this season despite giving up a three-run home run in the seventh inning.”It was hers to win or lose,” Girouard said. “She had thrown a great game up until that point.”The Tigers opened Saturday with a rematch against UAB.LSU tried to rally late against the Blazers, scoring thee runs in the top of the seventh to pull ahead, 3-2, but a walk-off three-run home run by UAB’s Amanda Allen in the bottom of the inning gave the Blazers the victory.Shortridge struck out four and gave up six hits in 3 1/3 innings.”We didn’t get it going right off the bat like we should have,” Shortridge said. “I was definitely struggling.”The team managed to salvage the day when LSU held off Hawaii again, 6-5, in a nine-inning rematch.Girouard said the trip to Hawaii was a good recruiting tool because it showed recruits the team can travel all over the country. She said the team had to move its schedule around to budget for the trip, and as a result, most away games in the Southeastern Conference will be bus trips instead of flights.”So this is our one big trip,” Girouard said. “Next year we have to take a whole lot more flights in the SEC, so that would have been truly out of the window for us to be able to come here next year.”Freshman Juliana Santos said the opportunity to play in Hawaii was intriguing when she was deciding what school to attend.”When I found out that we were going to go Hawaii my freshman year, I was very excited,” Santos said. “We were very blessed to have the opportunity to come to Hawaii and enjoy this beautiful paradise.”
 
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