BATON ROUGE — The sixth-ranked LSU softball team will travel to Columbus, Ga., for the NFCA Leadoff Classic tournament this weekend.
“It is a privilege and an honor to play at this tournament,” said LSU softball head coach Yvette Girouard. “By invitation only, it is a testament to your program to be included in the top flight field at the Leadoff Classic. I think that we have a good draw for the pool play. I have never seen Seton Hall or Illinois-Chicago in action. I know Stanford has a magnificent team and the game should be a great contest.”
LSU (11-1) is set to face No. 9 Stanford, Seton Hall and Illinois-Chicago in pool play on Friday and Saturday. The Tigers will face Seton Hall at 4 p.m. on Friday followed by Stanford at 6:30 p.m. LSU will finish its bracket play on Saturday morning with an 8 a.m. game versus Illinois-Chicago.
Following the three-game pool play, the tournament field of 24 teams will be placed into the Gold, Silver or Bronze bracket according to their record.
The field includes 15 teams that are ranked in the top 25 of the USA Today/NFCA Coaches poll. Teams are selected to play by invitation only based on its overall performance of the previous season.
LSU has made an appearance at the Leadoff Classic the past two seasons. In 1999 the Tigers finished the tournament with a record of 2-3. Last season in 2000, LSU earned an at-large spot in the gold bracket and posted a record of 3-2.
The Tigers are riding a nine-game winning streak entering the weekend after sweeping two double headers at home in Tiger Park versus East Tennessee State and Nicholls State. LSU is off to its best start in school history through the first 12 games of the season.
Following the weekend, LSU returns home to host the Purple and Gold Challenge at Tiger Park March 2-4. Teams participating will include Southern Miss, Tulsa, McNeese State and Houston.