There's no doubt in the mind of LSU second baseman April Janzen about the current state of softball in the Southeastern Conference.
It's a subject that Janzen, a fifth-year senior from Central High, is well versed on and speaks with a wealth of knowledge.
"The SEC's only becoming stronger and greater with the talent coming in," Janzen said. "The players coming are not just good, but great and it's making the sport more powerful because the recruiting has become so much more defined."
Six years after (Tennessee began a year earlier) the SEC introduced softball, the conference has quickly become a player on the national scene.
Alabama and LSU have participated in the last two Women's College World Series. South Carolina, the only SEC school to already have a program in place, is a national fixture and Florida has also been to a NCAA Regional.
"I think the SEC immediately became the second best conference in the country," LSU softball coach Yvette Girouard said, anointing the Pac-10 at the nation's best league. "The SEC and the Big 12 have battled it out. Is there parity? No. But each and every team is better."
This year's SEC race predicts to be the best its been since the began competition in the sport. Ten of the 11 teams have winning records, three are nationally ranked and seven are ranked regionally, including Georgia, which pays a visit to LSU's Tiger Park for a key three-game series.
No. 5 LSU (24-7, 9-2) plays host to No. 21 Georgia (37-5, 7-5) in a doubleheader beginning at 11 a.m. today and concludes with a single game at 11 a.m. on Sunday.
The Tigers swept three games against Georgia last year by a combined score of 16-1 and have never lost to the Bulldogs in 12 tries.
"They're pitching better this year and they've got some better athletes," Girouard said of Georgia, which leads the SEC's Eastern Division. "I think (Georgia coach) Lu (Harris-Champer) has proven at every stop she's a good coach and her players believe they can win."
Harris-Champer, who led Southern Mississippi to consecutive World Series berths after guiding Nicholls State to within a game of WCWS, is a prime example of the league's emphasis on winning.
There have been four coaching changes in the league over the past three years because of a lack of success, including Georgia which was 28-33 prior to Harris-Champer's arrival.
"It's obvious that it's taken serious and everyone in the SEC wants to win," Girouard said, pointing to coaching changes at Georgia, Tennessee, Ole Miss and Florida in recent years. "It's a conference where you're expected to produce."
Georgia won 24 straight games this season before a 9-4 loss to Alabama.
The Bulldogs are the league's top hitting club at .313 and have stolen a school record 135 of 145 bases -- just eight away from LSU's SEC mark set in 2000.
Kim Wendlend tops Georgia with a .457 average, three homers and 36 RBIs, while center fielder Nicole Barber is batting .407 and has stolen 39 straight bases.
Lacey Gardner (15-3, 1.40 earned run average) and Michelle Green (13-2, 1.09) are the Bulldogs' top pitchers.
Reigning national player of the week, center fielder Trena Peel, leads LSU with a .404 average, two homers, 10 triples and 21 RBIs. Right fielder Megann Steege (.333, 7 RBIs) and third baseman Julie Wiese (.312, 2 HRs, 10 RBIs) are also batting over .300.
First-team All-America pitcher Britni Sneed (13-4, 1.23) and second-team selection Kristin Schmidt (8-3, 1.27) will pitch today. Sneed has 190 strikeouts in 114 innings of work this season.
"We have to stay on top of our game," Janzen said. "I feel our team is growing and gelling since the beginning of the season. We need to continue to play well and step up our play."
NOTES: Today's doubleheader and Sunday's single game can be heard on WJNH (107.3-FM). ... Former LSU first baseman Shaunte' Fremin, who served as a volunteer assistant under Girouard last year, is in her first season as a full-time assistant at Georgia.
