BATON ROUGE — The fifth-ranked LSU softball team takes to the road this weekend to compete in the prestigious National Fastpitch Coaches Association Leadoff Classic, held in Columbus, Ga.
The 24-team field includes some of the top teams in the nation and is annually one of the nation’s top tournaments.
“We always talk about welcoming the pressure,” said LSU coach Yvette Girouard. “The greatest achievements come when you beat these teams, the best teams in the nation. When you have the opportunity to beat a Nebraska or a Cal-Berkeley or a UCLA, that is what you live for when you put on a uniform.”
LSU matches up with New Mexico, Nebraska and Illinois-Chicago on Friday and Saturday in pool play before heading into bracket play on Saturday night at 4 and 6:30 CST.
The Tigers face the Lobos first, a 4:30 p.m. CST start time. It will mark the first time the two schools have met on a softball diamond.
Nebraska, ranked ninth in the nation, and LSU met this past weekend in the UNLV Invitational. In a close, hard-fought game, the Tigers took a 4-2 victory behind a three-run homer from Christy Connor in the fourth inning.
“We know the SEC is a great conference and has a lot of tough competition,” Girouard added. “But after this weekend, we won’t see any better pitching than we will have faced already.”
Connor, who started the season relatively slowly, has been on a tear recently. The Katy, Texas, native has hit .625 with 11 RBIs in her past six games and has two home runs in the span.
“Connor is obviously seeing the ball like a beach ball right now,” said Giroaurd. “She is one of the best hitters I have ever coached. We have her right up there in the top of the line up because we count on her for the RBIs. She is the player we trust in that situation this year and so far, so good.”
As a team, LSU is hitting .302 in those six games while scoring more than four runs per contest.
The team leader in hitting is senior Trena Peel at an incredible .459 clip.
Peel leads the team with 14 runs scored and has five triples to her credit already. The LSU single-season record is nine, which she is well on pace to break. With 18 in her career, she needs just three to pass Dee Douglas’ career mark of 20.
Kristin Schmidt and her minuscule 0.84 ERA leads the pitching staff into the weekend. Schmidt, a first-year Tiger after transferring from Notre Dame is a team-best 4-1 while overpowering opponents to the tune of 46 strikeouts in just 33 1/3 innings.
“Kristen has been an unbelievable addition for us,” noted Giroaurd. “When Britni (Sneed) has struggled she has been there to pick it up and when she has struggled, Britni has been there. So they are a good compliment to each other and that can really throw hitters off.”