The No. 3 LSU softball team will look to add another championship to its resume as the Tigers will head to Tuscaloosa, Ala., next Thursday to take on South Carolina in the Southeastern Conference Tournament opener.
Fresh off clinching the SEC regular season championship last weekend, LSU (46-9, 22-6 SEC) will now look to return to the SEC Championship game for the sixth straight year.
Despite winning more SEC titles than any other team in the conference, coach Yvette Girouard said nothing will come easily.
“You can’t take anything for granted,” Girouard said. “The key to the SEC Tournament is to stay in the winners bracket, as in any tournament.”
With the No. 1 seed in hand, Girouard added she would like to avoid any extra pressure.
“We certainly aren’t going to put pressure on the team, and I don’t want [the team] to put pressure on themselves,” Girouard said. “They’ve been very good about handling the success and the length of the season.”
Although the pitching rotation is not yet set, senior All-American Kristin Schmidt will be the likely starter against South Carolina.
“[We need to play] Tiger softball,” Girouard said. “We should be okay. [South Carolina] didn’t really have a lot of success against Schmidty.”
LSU is 2-1 against the Gamecocks this season, winning both games in extra innings.
In two games pitched against South Carolina, Schmidt managed to give up no runs in 17 innings pitched while giving up just three hits and striking out 23 batters.
Girouard said she is more worried about LSU’s offense than its pitching.
“The bats need to come around a little bit more,” Girouard said. “To be successful in the next two competitions we face, the offense needs to be clicking like it was at one point in the season.”
Leading the LSU offense will be sophomore first baseman Stephanie Hill, who currently ranks third on the team with a .364 batting average.
“Our pitching is outstanding,” Hill said. “If we come out fired and ready to go, I see no reason why we should lose focus.”
Hill added having an extra week of practice has benefited the team.
“We had this whole week to work on individual things,” Hill said. “I have no reason to believe we won’t carry it into next week.”
With LSU’s final regular-season game last Sunday, the Tigers now have an 11-day layover until the tournament begins.
Senior second baseman Sara Fitzgerald said she wants to approach every game in the tournament with the same amount of enthusiasm.
“It’s a battle,” Fitzgerald said. “All eight teams there are quality teams. We’re really not approaching the game [against South Carolina] differently than any other.”
If the Tigers manage to get past South Carolina on Thursday, they will take on the winner of the Auburn-Alabama game, although Girouard said they need to take it one game at a time.
“Just South Carolina,” Girouard said. “That’s all we can worry about right now.”
Following the SEC Tournament, LSU will begin preparations for the NCAA Regionals.
Despite not receiving a home-regional bid, Fitzgerald said the team will manage.
“It was definitely disappointing to us,” Fitzgerald said. “But we’re a better team on the road. We’re disappointed, but we’ll be okay.”
Hill added the team has already proved itself.
“It’s not a matter of proving [ourselves],” Hill said. “It’s a matter of going out there with a vengeance no matter where we go.”