LAS VEGAS — The fourth-ranked LSU softball team travels to the UNLV Invitational this weekend, where it will face three teams ranked in the top 12 in as many days.
The Tigers will face No. 12 Nebraska on Friday, No. 5 Cal on Saturday and No. 2 UCLA on Sunday. They are also slated to face Texas Tech and UC-Riverside.
Outside of the Red Raiders and BYU, which each face four ranked foes in the tournament, LSU (5-1) has the toughest weekend schedule of the 16-team field.
“We are excited to be here. This is a college world series caliber tournament,” said LSU coach Yvette Girouard. “Anytime you get a chance to play someone like UCLA, you welcome it. But before we even get to them, we have a bunch of tough opponents.”
The competition level is significantly higher than the season-opening LSU Tiger Classic last weekend. There the Tigers dropped their only game against a ranked foe, an 8-4 loss at the hands of 19th-ranked DePaul.
“We are definitely going to have to be on our game and take them one game at a time.”
Offensively, LSU is looking to improve on its opening weekend performance which saw the offense sputter at times, including in the championship game where both runs were unearned. Senior Trena Peel will be looked at to lead the charge.
Peel earned Tournament MVP honors a week ago and has LSU’s second highest batting average at .375.
“We know we can hit,” Girouard said. “We know we have hitters. It is just a matter of going out there and swinging the bat with some confidence.
“This is a tough tournament to come out of an offensive slump, because all the pitchers will be outstanding, but we are not going to lose any confidence in our hitting this week.”
Even without the offense piling up runs, the Tigers will be in every game as the All-Americans Britni Sneed and Kristen Schmidt combine to form one of the nation’s top pitching duos.
“The pitchers will definitely have to bring their “A” game,” Girouard added. “The desert is not a surface we are used to. The ball will bounce different in the field and it is something we will have to adjust to.”