LAFAYETTE, La. — After claiming their second-straight Southeastern Conference Tournament title last weekend, the top-seeded LSU softball team opens NCAA Tournament play against No. 6-seeded Northwestern State at noon on Thursday at Lady Cajun Park in Lafayette.
The winner will advance to play the winner of the Arizona State-Mississippi State game on Friday at 7:30 p.m. The loser will play the loser of the ASU-MSU game in an elimination game on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
The Tigers (53-9) earned their third-straight No. 1 seed in regional play, taking the top seed in Region 3. Northwestern State (37-23) earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament as the winner of the Southland Conference Tournament.
“As soon as the pairings were released on Sunday, I said that Northwestern State was the toughest sixth seed in the nation,” said LSU head coach Yvette Girouard. “They have good pitching and play the short game as well as anyone we have seen all year.”
Earlier this season, LSU defeated the Demons four times. Twice the Tigers topped Northwestern State in the Tiger Classic, including a 2-1 victory in the tournament championship game. LSU also swept a regular-season doubleheader from the Demons in Baton Rouge.
“We are 4-0 against them this year and it is always hard to beat a team five times in one year, but this is do-or-die time and our players know that.
They want to return to Oklahoma City for the WCWS and know that it all begins with a win over Northwestern on Thursday.”
This will be the second meeting between LSU and Northwestern State in NCAA Regional play. In the 2000 regionals, the Tigers defeated the Demons, 7-1, in Baton Rouge.
Hitting the road for the regional came as a surprise to the Tigers, who had hosted regionals the last three years. The site has great significance, since Girouard spent the first 20 years of her career as the head coach at Louisiana-Lafayette, leading the Lady Cajun program into national prominence.
“We had not expected to travel this week, but being back in Lafayette definitely brings back memories for me,” said Girouard. “It was disappointing for the girls to have to go on the road, especially the seniors who have played their final game in Tiger Park. I told them that we have to just roll with the punches, deal with being on the road and make this park our own.”
The winner of the regional championship game on Saturday will earn a trip to the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City, Okla., to play for the national championship beginning May 23. LSU made its first trip to the WCWS last season, finishing in third place.
In other regional action in Lafayette on Thursday, No. 2-seeded Arizona State and fifth-seeded Mississippi State will face off at 2:30 p.m., while regional host and No. 3-seeded Louisiana-Lafayette will take on fourth-seeded Massachusetts at 5 p.m.