BATON ROUGE — The eighth-ranked LSU softball team plays host to Purple and Gold Challenge Tournament this weekend at Tiger Park in Baton Rouge. Teams participating are LSU, Houston, Tulsa, McNeese State and Southern Miss.
“If Mother Nature cooperates, we are looking forward to playing at home this weekend,” said head coach Yvette Girouard. “We need to get some more game in before we start SEC play next weekend against Florida. As a team we need to get back to being more aggressive at the plate and confident in our offensive game.”
LSU’s 6 p.m game on Friday will be broadcast by the Pelican Sports Network on tape delay Saturday at 9 a.m. and Noon on Cox Cable Baton Rouge Channel 18.
The Tigers 2 p.m. game on Saturday will be shown on Sunday at 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.
The Tigers enter the weekend with a record of 13-4 following a two game losing streak at the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Columbus, Ga. The Tigers went 2-3 on the weekend, defeating Seton Hall, 7-2, and Illinois-Chicago, 8-0. However, the Tigers dropped games with No. 9 Stanford, 2-0, No. 5 California, 3-0, and No. 18 Michigan 3-1.
LSU starts the weekend with Houston on Friday at 2 p.m. A first-year program, the Cougars are coached by former Louisiana-Lafayette three-time All-American Kyla (Hall) Holas.
Girouard believes that Holas may be the most talented player that she ever had the chance to coach. Holas has led her team to a record of 6-13 this season and comes to Tiger Park following a 7-3 win over Sam Houston on Tuesday.
The Tigers face McNeese State at 6 p.m. on Friday following the game with Houston. LSU is 9-0 against the Cowgirls all-time. LSU last swept a double header with McNeese State in Lake Charles on February 14, 3-1 and 4-0. The Cowgirls enter the weekend with a record of 8-8 following a double header sweep of Nicholls State, 4-3 and 3-0.
Rivals face off at 2 p.m. on Saturday when LSU takes on No. 21 Southern Miss for the first time since the loss to the Golden Eagles in the NCAA Regional championship game in Tiger Park on May 21, 2000. The Eagles advanced to the Women’s College World Series with a 1-0 nine inning win. The two powerhouses faced off in a 13 inning game that lasted four hours and 21 minutes on May 20 that LSU won 1-0 to advance to the championship game. The Eagles lead the all-time series against the Tigers 4-2. LSU also defeated Southern Miss to win the 2000 Purple and Gold Championship game, 4-3 in eight innings.
Southern Miss enters the weekend with a record of 10-5 for the season following a 2-1 win over the 2000 defending national champion Oklahoma Sooners.
The final game of pool play will pair LSU up with the University of Tulsa. The Tigers have not met the Golden Hurricanes in action. Tulsa enters the weekend with a record of 4-7 following a 4-2 win over South West Missouri State on Feb. 25.
Following the round robin format on Friday and Saturday, the teams will be seeded for Championship play on Sunday, starting with the No. 1 seed facing the No. 4 seed at 10 a.m. The game between the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds will start at noon followed by the Championship game at 2 p.m.
After the Purple and Gold Challenge, the Tigers host Northwestern State in a single game at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 7 in Tiger Park.
Purple and Gold Challenge Schedule
Friday, March 2
Houston vs. Southern Miss Noon
LSU vs. Houston 2:00 p.m.
Tulsa vs. McNeese State 4:00 p.m.
McNeese State vs. LSU 6:00 p.m.
Southern Miss vs. Tulsa 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, March 3
Houston vs. McNeese State 10:00 a.m.
McNeese State vs. Southern Miss Noon
Southern Miss vs. LSU 2:00 p.m.
Tulsa vs. Houston 4:00 p.m.
LSU vs. Tulsa 6:00 p.m.
Sunday, March 4
#1 vs. #4 10:00 a.m.
#2 vs. #3 Noon
Championship game 2:00 p.m.