BATON ROUGE — The ninth-ranked LSU softball team will host the Tiger Classic this weekend as the Tigers begin play on Friday at 5:30 p.m. against Grambling State as part of the three-day tournament at Tiger Park.
Along with Grambling, LSU (1-1) is hosting Indiana and Southern as part of the tournament, which beings on Friday at 3:15 p.m. and concludes with the championship game on Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
The tournament features round robin play on Friday and Saturday and wraps up with championship play on Sunday. Friday’s other game includes Southern against Indiana at 3:15 p.m.
“We are very excited to be at home this weekend to open up our 2005 schedule in Tiger Park,” said LSU head coach Yvette Girouard. “It will be nice to welcome in a Big Ten team in Indiana and our two sister schools in Southern and Grambling. We look forward to a weekend of great softball and hopefully some very good weather. It will be a fun atmosphere and we hope that everyone comes out to watch.”
In Saturday’s action, the Tigers will face Indiana at 12:15 p.m. before taking on Southern at 4:45 p.m. to conclude round robin play. Play begins on Saturday as Grambling faces Indiana at 10 a.m., while Southern will take on Grambling at 2:30 p.m. in the day’s other match up.
The tournament will conclude on Sunday as the second seed and the third seed play at 9 a.m., followed by the game between the top seed and the fourth seed at 11:15 a.m. The winners of the morning’s contests will play in the championship game at 1:30 p.m.
LSU split a pair of games last weekend to open the season at the UNLV Desert Classic in Las Vegas. The Tigers lost their season opener to No. 24 Illinois, 5-3, before coming back to defeat Louisville, 7-1. Freshman Vanessa Soto went 3-for-8 at the plate for LSU, including a pair of doubles and her first collegiate home run, while freshman Quinlan Duhon leads LSU with a .500 batting average after going 3-for-6 last weekend.
Southern enters the Tiger Classic with a 2-3 record after opening the season at the Southeastern Louisiana Lion Classic last weekend. The Lady Jaguars posted wins over Mississippi Valley State and Grambling State, with losses to Troy, Louisiana Tech and Samford. Southern is scheduled to take on Nicholls State in Baton Rouge in a single game on Thursday prior to the start of the Tiger Classic.
LSU holds the 2-0 series advantage over the Lady Jags, defeating Southern 4-0 to open the 1998 season and 12-0 in the first round of the 1999 NCAA Region 3 Tournament. For her career, head coach Yvette Girouard is 1-0 all-time against the Lady Jags.
Indiana enters the Tiger Classic with a 1-4 record after opening the season at the Alexis Resort Classic in Las Vegas two weeks ago. The Hoosiers defeated UTEP, 5-2, for their only win. This will be the first meeting between the Tigers and Indiana, while head coach Yvette Girouard holds a 2-1 all-time series advantage over the Hoosiers.
Grambling State enters the Tiger Classic with an 0-10 record to open the season. LSU holds the 2-0 series advantage over Grambling, defeating the Lady Tigers 19-0 and 9-1 in the LSU Mini-Tournament in 1997. For her career, head coach Yvette Girouard is 8-0 all-time against Grambling, all while at UL-Lafayette.
This will be the sixth time LSU has hosted the Tiger Classic. The Tigers are 23-6 all-time in the tournament, having captured the tournament title in 1999, 2000 and 2001. Last season, LSU defeated Centenary and Illinois before falling to Oklahoma. The Tigers came back to defeat Southeastern Louisiana before dropping a decision to Illinois. This is the second time that Southern has participated in the Tiger Classic. The Lady Jags competed in the first classic in 1998.
Friday, Feb. 18
3:15 p.m. Southern vs. Indiana
5:30 p.m. LSU vs. Grambling
Saturday, Feb.19
10 a.m. Grambling vs. Indiana
12:15 p.m. Indiana vs. LSU
2:30 p.m. Grambling vs. Southern
4:45 p.m. Southern vs. LSU
Sunday, Feb. 20
9 a.m. No. 2 seed vs. No. 3 seed
11:15 a.m. No. 1 seed vs. No. 4 seed
1:30 p.m. Championship Game