After winning its first Southeastern Conference series since April 3 last weekend, the No. 14 LSU softball team aspires to keep its National Championship hopes alive.
Fresh off a series win against Mississippi State, the Tigers (32-13, 7-11 Southeastern Conference) are hoping to use momentum gained from the series win versus the Bulldogs against the Lady Demons, (24-18, 7-11 Southland Conference) beginning at 6 p.m. on Wednesday in Tiger Park.
The road back on the right path could be easy for the Tigers, as eight of their final 11 games are in Tiger Park, where they’ve posted a 21-8 record so far this season.
“Like Southeastern [Louisiana] last weekend, just get our confidence back up, hit the ball and hopefully it’ll take us forward to South Carolina,” said LSU senior third baseman Bianka Bell.
The Tigers started the season as the third-ranked team in the country in the Coaches Poll and were picked by many to contend for a national title during the preseason.
Last year’s team only had 14 losses en route to its Women’s College World Series third-place finish.
This season, though, doesn’t match 2015’s success.
The Tigers are only one loss away from matching the amount of losses in 2015.
Regardless of their record, LSU second baseman Sahvanna Jaquish plans on ending the season with a championship.
“Ending strong,” Jaquish said. “That’s all that matters. Last year we had a winning streak and we came out strong. Still, we had a great season and ended up third overall, but we want to be number one.”
At times this season, the Tigers flashed their offensive capability, scoring 30 runs in a game earlier in the year.
But on April 3, the team also began a lingering offensive slump, when they scored more than five runs only twice in 10 games.
The Tigers went 5-5 during the stretch and were shut out three times.
Even though the team has gone through a rough patch, LSU coach Beth Torina knows the success her team is capable of producing.
“We’ve shown we can win a lot of different ways,” Torina said. “We shown we have a lot of talent and ability and skills. We just have to put it all together.”
LSU enters the matchup with the Lady Demons undefeated in midweek games, boasting a 25-2 record against nonconference opponents this season.
But the Lady Demons’ lineup has hit a total of 43 homers this season, which ranks first in the Southland Conference. They also harbor a 1-0 record versus SEC opponents — including 7-1 against nonconference competition.
To senior second baseman Sandra Simmons, LSU isn’t overlooking the Natchitoches, Louisiana, team at all.
“They have beaten some teams,” Simmons said. “They’ve beaten Mississippi State, they’re a good competitor and we’re going to have to prepare for them.”