After completing another sweep of a Southland opponent and maintaining its lead in the conference title chase, the McNeese State softball team will take another crack at LSU when the Tigers visit Cowgirl Diamond at 6 p.m. today.

No. 12 LSU (34-10) beat the Cowgirls 6-2 on March 21 in Baton Rouge, scoring four runs in the bottom of the fourth inning after McNeese had tied the score in the top of the inning on a Mariana Torres home run.

The game is the first of two midweek games for the Cowgirls (32-12), who have the weekend off from Southland play. Texas-Arlington will visit Wednesday for a nonconference game.

Cowgirls head coach James Landreneau said he wants to see a continued high level of play from his team, which has won its last six games, including a sweep of Nicholls State over the weekend.

“I want to see us play good softball,” Landreneau said. “When you go up against a team like LSU, you just can’t make mistakes. That’s the biggest thing — can we go out there and pitch it well, spot up, give ourselves a chance, stay in the game and compete? I like our chances when we play clean softball.

“Last time we played them, I felt we were undisciplined at the plate. You know you are going to see great pitching. We need it. It is a great challenge, a great opportunity for us.”

LSU lost two of three at Auburn last weekend, including a 1-0, nine-inning loss in the final game of the series. Danieca Coffey leads the Tigers with a .418 batting average while Georgia Clark and Taylor Pleasants have combined for 18 home runs. LSU has a team ERA of 1.97. Primary starters Ali Kopenen and Sydney Berzon are a combined 22-9, while Raelin Chaffin is 5-1, including a win over McNeese. All five pitchers to start a game for LSU has an ERA of 2.52 or better.

McNeese has been dominant in the circle as well, with a team ERA of 2.04. Ashley Vallejo and Whitney Tate are a combined 25-10. Vallejo has earned a win in each of her last five appearances. Torres leads the Cowgirls in hitting (.336) and RBIs (32).

NOTES: McNeese outfielder Erin Ardoin was named this week’s Southland Conference Softball Hitter of the Week after going 5-for-10 in four games last week, including a pair of two-hit games and the first home run of her first career, a two-RBI blast in the second inning in the opening game of the Nicholls series. Ardoin had three RBIs and two stolen bases on the week. … LSU leads series against McNeese 38-3. LSU has won last 13 meetings.