BATON ROUGE — The LSU softball team is set to take on East Tennessee State in a 5:30 p.m. doubleheader to open the Tigers’ home season at Tiger Park on Monday, Feb. 9.
“We are really excited about our home opener,” said head coach Yvette Girouard. “We hope that the fans will show up in large numbers to cheer for the Tigers. I am also excited about my first game as an LSU coach in Tiger Park. We just have to step up and be ready to play. East Tennessee State is a new team and we cannot take them lightly. As always, we have to face each opponent one day at a time to reach our goals.”
The Tigers enter the game on a five game winning streak with a record of 7-1. East Tennessee State comes to LSU with a record of 1-5 after falling to the Northwestern State Demons in the championship game at the University of Houston Tournament this past weekend.
LSU swept a double header with instate opponent McNeese State last Wednesday defeating the Cowgirls 3-1 and 4-0. Junior pitcher Britni Sneed threw a one-hitter in the first contest to pick up a win and improve her record to 4-1 on the season. Senior Ashley Lewis pitched her first shutout of the season in game two for her second win of the year.
A first year program, the East Tennessee State Bucs are coached by former Louisiana-Lafayette standout Stephanie DeFeo. DeFeo played as a Ragin’ Cajun under the new LSU head coach Girouard from 1994-97. She was a member of the team that made Women’s College World Series appearances in 1995 and 1996 and was a three-time All-American selection. DeFeo also has other ties with the LSU coaching staff. She is the sister of assistant coach James DeFeo, who is the Tiger hitting coach. She was also a teammate of LSU assistant coach, Lori Osterberg at Louisiana-Lafayette.
After facing the Bucs, the Tigers will take on instate opponent Nicholls State on Tuesday, Feb. 20 in a 5:30 p.m. double header before heading to Columbus, Ga., for the NFCA Leadoff Classic this weekend.