BATON ROUGE — For the second time this season, the LSU softball team will attempt to host Southeastern Louisiana in a mid-week in-state contest, as the Tigers are scheduled to meet the Lady Lions at Tiger Park on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.
The game is a make-up for the March 6 game that was cancelled due to rain. LSU’s last attempt at a make-up game was cancelled because of rain as the Tigers unsuccessfully tried to play McNeese State last Saturday for the Feb. 26 rain out.
“Hopefully we will be able to play a mid-week game at Tiger Park,” said LSU head coach Yvette Girouard. “That has been a rare occurrence this season.”
LSU (29-11) has won three straight games and four of its last five, including a doubleheader sweep over Centenary last Wednesday night, 4-0 and 2-0. Conversely, Southeastern Louisiana (12-22) has lost four of its last five games. The Lady Lions did, however, sweep a pair of games over Centenary two weeks ago.
“We know that Southeastern is going to try to come in here and take a game from the Tigers like other in-state schools,” said Girouard. “They always give us a good game and this should be no different.”
LSU is 3-0 all-time against the Lady Lions, all in Baton Rouge. With the exception of a 6-0 shutout victory in 2001, the games have been decided by one run, an 8-7 victory in 2000 and a 4-3 decision last year.
In the Tigers’ first game against Centenary last Wednesday, junior Kristin Schmidt recorded her third complete-game no-hitter and fourth no-no of the season. The Houston native was one hit batter from the third perfect game in LSU history. The no-hitter was the 23rd in Tiger softball history and the fifth of the season for LSU.
In the second game, she came on in relief in the top of the seventh with one out and the tying run on second. She proceeded to record back-to-back strikeouts to end the game, earning her third save of the season.
Junior LaDonia Hughes tied the school single-game record with a 4-for-4 performance in the first game and came back to go 1-for-3 in game two, improving her average to .285 on the season. In addition, the centerfielder from Farmville, Va., also scored three of the Tigers’ six runs on the day.
LSU is now 69-4 (.945) all-time against in-state opponents. The Tigers boast undefeated records against Centenary (8-0), Grambling State (2-0), Louisiana Tech (6-0), UL-Monroe (2-0), McNeese State (11-0), Northwestern State (19-0), Southeastern Louisiana (3-0) and Southern (2-0). LSU’s only losses to in-state schools are to UL-Lafayette and Nicholls State. The Tigers are 10-3 all-time against ULL and 6-1 all-time against the Lady Colonels.
LSU will next travel to Thibodaux for a single game with Nicholls State on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. The Tigers defeated the Lady Colonels, 5-3 in nine innings earlier in the season. LSU will return home for a three-game series against Kentucky this weekend with a doubleheader scheduled for Saturday beginning at 11 a.m. and a single game on Sunday at 11 a.m.