The LSU softball team will try to hit the jackpot this weekend as it travels to Las Vegas to play in the UNLV Invitational.
The No. 14 Tigers (3-2) will play Portland State and Wisconsin today, then will face off against No. 2 California and Utah on Saturday in the tournament.
Saturday’s match-up with California will mark the second consecutive week in which the Tigers will play a nationally-ranked Top 5 opponent.
Senior pitcher Kristin Schmidt said the game will go a long way in helping the pitching staff acquire some big game experience.
“I think facing top competition such as Oklahoma and California is essential for the success of our pitching staff,” Schmidt said. “Seeing the best teams in the country early in the season as well as throughout will make us continually raise the standard we set for ourselves.”
Schmidt (1-1) was knocked around in last weekend’s loss to Oklahoma and is expected to get the start against California. In the Oklahoma game, Schmidt gave up 12 hits and six runs in seven innings pitched.
“I think the key to our success this weekend is going to be playing with discipline and playing with control,” Schmidt said. “We all know what we are capable of, but it’s time to bring what we do in practice to our games.”
California, who has played in back-to-back national championship games, is led by the dominating pitching combination of Kristen Thorson and Kelly Anderson. Both head into Las Vegas with identical 3-0 records and 0.33 ERAs after three starts apiece.
Senior second baseman Sara Fitzgerald said the Tigers cannot focus on California’s past accomplishments and high ranking if they want to win.
“We are going to approach the game against Cal just like any other team we would face,” Fitzgerald said. “You have to play every team like they’re number one, so it really won’t be any different. The main thing, I guess, would be that we have to make every play on defense.”
Coming into the season, the Tigers were considered to be a powerful defensive ball club, but a five-error performance in the Tiger Classic has Fitzgerald and LSU refocused.
“We worked on a lot of situation stuff on defense this week,” Fitzgerald said. “Like coach [Yvette Girouard] always says, we have to have more passion when it comes to playing defense. I felt that we learned a lot on defense this past weekend. It’s just going to take a few games for us to get used to one another and we will be fine.”
While the defense struggled, the Tigers offense provided the much-needed spark. LSU hit a combined .345, with 33 runs scored and six home runs during the five-game tournament.
Designated player Stephanie Hill said the hitting needs to continue if the Tigers want to make some noise this weekend.
“I think that as long as we are aggressive hitters, our averages will be awesome,” Hill said. “One through nine of our lineup is very capable of producing great numbers.”
Fitzgerald said she attributes the successful hitting to the team’s “Tiger Attack” philosophy.
“Our coaches stress everyday about Tiger Attack hitting — pretty much just hitting the first good pitch we see,” Fitzgerald said. “I felt we did a good job of that all weekend, so that is what we need to continue doing.”
First pitch for the Tigers is slated for 1 p.m. today against Portland State.