BATON ROUGE — The No. 20 LSU softball team faces its toughest mid-week test of the season Wednesday as Baylor visits the new Tiger Park.
Former All-American hurler and current Baylor assistant coach Britni Sneed made history Tuesday evening as the first Tiger softball player to be inducted into the LSU Athletics Hall of Fame.
Sneed set the standard for LSU pitchers as the program leader in wins (120), ERA (0.89), strikeouts (1,370), shutouts (55) and opponent batting average (.147). She will be honored during a special ceremony prior to the game.
Wednesday’s game also pits Kirsten Shortridge against her former team. She was named Big 12 Freshman of the Year and was a key part to Baylor’s run to the 2007 Women’s College World Series.
“There’s some drama and excellent story lines for this game,” Girouard said. “We’re extremely excited for Britni to come back and be the first softball player inducted into the LSU Hall of Fame. She is the favorite daughter of LSU softball. Kirsten will be emotional playing against her former teammates. We will just have to play the game pitch-by-pitch.”
The Tigers (14-5, 1-1 SEC) have won eight of its last nine games, but were forced to make a couple of changes to its infield after second baseman Ashley Langoni was injured during game two of Saturday’s doubleheader against Kentucky.
Courtney Hollier will replace Langoni at second base. Anissa Young, who started LSU’s opening 18 games at first base, will stay at third base, while Jessica Mouse moves from third base to catcher. All three of those players started at those respective positions Sunday against Kentucky.
Rachel Mitchell comes in from the outfield and is scheduled to start at first base. She started a trio of games at third base during her freshman season in 2007.
“We’re a little banged up right now and will have to go with a makeshift lineup again, Girouard said. “Baylor has a reputation with their short game and speed. Our infield will have to think on their feet. The bottom line is to do what we can to play well with an emphasis of getting some answers before heading to Georgia for the weekend.”
The LSU offense is hitting .339 as a team over its last nine games. Shortridge and Mitchell along with Ashley Applegate and Jazz Jackson are all hitting .375 or better. The four players also have combined for 20 of the team’s 49 RBIs.
LSU is slated to face freshman Whitney Canion, who was a 10-6 record and 1.96 ERA. The southpaw has registered 149 strikeouts in 103.1 innings.
“We have a lot of respect for Whitney,” Girouard said. “She came here on a recruiting visit and is a hard-throwing lefty. That will be a different look for our offense to see.”
Cody Trahan has reeled off five consecutive victories for the Tigers in the circle. She has racked up 31 strikeouts and been touched up for only five earned runs on 16 hits in 30.2 innings of work during her streak.
First pitch against the Bears is slated for 6 p.m. and will be broadcasted live on The X 104.5 and 104.9 in the Baton Rouge area. Patrick Wright, the voice of Tiger softball, will call the play-by-play action with Jeff Palermo serving as a guest analyst. LSUSports.net also will provide live stats.
Wednesday also marks the third of four Weekday Worker’s Nights. By providing a business card at the new Tiger Park ticket office, fans will receive an adult ticket for the $3 youth price and will be entered to win a $50 gift certificate to LSUShop.net.