BATON ROUGE – The No. 14 LSU softball team hits the road for the first time since opening weekend and Kirsten Shortridge shared some thoughts as the Tigers embark on SEC play with a weekend series at South Carolina.
“Dear My Lovely, Amazing, Gorgeous, & Handsome Tiger Fans,
It has been extremely refreshing to see so many faces in the crowd at beautiful Tiger Park during our tournament season. As a student athlete, it’s impossible to put into words the meaning of looking into stands that are filled with purple and gold. It’s truly special. We work everyday not only for ourselves, coaches, and opponents but for YOU as well. What is a program without support? The tradition and family atmosphere around Baton Rouge and Tiger Park is just unbeatable. I’m confident there is nothing in the nation that compares.
We have enjoyed playing at Tiger Park for the last three weekends and look forward to starting SEC play this weekend in South Carolina. As we all know, there are ups and downs along the way, but I believe it’s extremely important to improve from the downs and embrace the ups. These past three weeks have been a tremendous experience for our team.
We have matured and developed in many ways. As a senior, I’m so ecstatic to see the way our freshmen and sophomores have embraced this season so far and worked so hard. This team has a ton of depth and that’s so important to know that we can count on each other in any situation. As an athlete, confidence is the key. It’s vital for this team to be feeling good about ourselves. We’re excited about our first SEC opponent, the South Carolina Gamecocks. I’m a strong believer in the SEC being one of if not the most prestigious conferences for softball.
After our second home tournament, we were told that we were boring to watch. Everyone on this team personally held themselves accountable by doing what they needed to do to win our crowd and get on the score board EVERY INNING.
There’s always a goal for us. When we fall short, we do our best to mature from it and strive to work on and develop that weakness. We have worked extremely hard to come out and compete in our SEC opening weekend. The preseason portion of our schedule has absolutely flown by, and we find ourselves on a 13-game winning streak!
Once again, thank you so much for taking the time to tune in and cheer on your Tiger Softball team. Your support is greatly appreciated, and it takes ALL OF YOU to get us where we need to be. Keep that in mind as we come home to play Ole Miss and Auburn next week. See you soon
Geaux Tigers & God Bless,
Kirsten