2/22/2020
Story Courtesy of: LSUsports.net By: Chelsey Chamberlain | Assistant Communications Director BATON ROUGE – The No. 6 LSU Softball team claimed their third run-rule of the weekend and a perfect game, downing Sam Houston State 20-4 and Belmont 4-0 on Saturday in Tiger Park. The Tigers improve to 13-1 on the year, while Sam Houston State drops to 6-9 and Belmont falls to 1-7. GAME 2 RECAP:: Maribeth Gorsuch threw a game that will go down in the record books Saturday night as she threw the first seven-inning perfect game in program history. She faced the minimum 21 batters and threw 21 first-pitch strikes. She struck out a career-high 16 including eight straight from the second through fourth innings. After Gorsuch threw a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the first, the Tigers took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the inning. Ciara Briggs put down a bunt and ran it out. The third baseman over threw first and Briggs went all the way to third. Georgia Clark walked and Briggs scored on the last pitch of Clark's at-bat as it was a wild pitch, taking a 1-0 lead for the Tigers. In the third, the Tigers put another run on the board. Andrews led off with an infield single, stole second and moved to third on Pleasants single to center. With two out, Sunseri hit a hard ground ball off the third baseman to score Andrews and make it 2-0, LSU. Briggs made it 3-0 in the fifth as she stole third and scored on a throwing error by the catcher and Pleasants scored on a double play to give the Tigers a 4-0 lead. Gorsuch improves to 3-1 on the year, while Brittany Kennett is charged with the loss, dropping to 1-3. GAME 1 RECAP:: Sam Houston State got on the board in the first inning as the Bearkats loaded the bases and scored on a fielding error by the Tigers. The Tigers answered by scoring 11 runs off four hits and an error. In that inning, the Tigers recorded eight walks. Aliyah Andrews led off with a walk and stole second. Taylor Pleasants and Georgia Clark had back-to-back walks with one out and Pleasants scored on Morgan Cummins' RBI walk to tie the game 1-1. The offense continued as Shelbi Sunseri hit a base-clearing double to left center to take a 4-1 lead. Taylor Tidwell followed with a walk and advanced to second on a Amanda Doyle single up the middle to load the bases. Savannah Stewart and Andrews tallied back-to-back RBI walks and Ciara Briggs singled to left to score Doyle. Andrews scored on an error by the shortstop and Briggs came in on a single by Cummins. The final run came across on a sacrifice fly by Sunseri. After the one run allowed, Sunseri kept Sam Houston State off balance the next two innings. Taylor Edwards made her second appearance as a freshman. She allowed three runs in the fourth. The Tigers scored eight more runs in the fourth to claim a 20-4 win, the most runs in the new Tiger Park. Sunseri claimed the win in the circle to improve to 3-0 on the year. Darby Fitzpatrick was charged with the loss as she drops to 2-3 on the year. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ **LSU Pitcher Maribeth Gorsuch On throwing a perfect game… "It's amazing but I have to give all of the credit to my catcher, my teammates, and my coaches. Without their support none of this would be possible, we work hard day in and day out. The pitching staff was amazing this weekend, nothing beats the support from them." **On being locked in … "I was super focused and locked in. I have been working hard all week and all season, so I just went at them with confidence that comes from my teammates. I was trying super hard to just stick to my routine, make sure I kept my breathing consistently which is really big for me. I was worried about the batter and took it one pitch at a time." **LSU Head Coach Beth Torina On Maribeth Gorsuch's perfect game … "It was special, it was a really awesome night for her. She did some things that I've never seen in my entire career on a softball field tonight. 21 first pitch strikes is unheard of, I don't know if I have ever been a part of something like that. As nervous as I was in seventh inning knowing what was on the line, I just kept calming myself down thinking about what no matter what happens it was a great night for her. She pitched as well as I have seen her." **On the pitching staff as a whole … "I think that the thing that is so tough about us is that they are all so different and are able to matchup with different offenses depending on what their weaknesses are. We are able to put people out there in places that they can succeed in and that's proving to be true." **On it being the first perfect game in seven innings in school history … "It's shocking honestly, I had no idea that was the case. MB (Maribeth Gorsuch) has really embodied what this program means; we call it living tigers and she's done it for her entire career so it's fitting that she is the first one." **Up Next:: The Tigers will be on the road next weekend, competing in the Judi Garman Classic in Fullerton, California. The Tigers face Loyola Marymount, Texas Tech, California, Washington and Colorado State. 2/22/2020 Story Courtesy of: LSUsports.net
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2/21/2020
Story Courtesy of: LSUsports.net By: Chelsey Chamberlain | Assistant Communications Director BATON ROUGE – The No. 6 LSU Softball team put together a 8-0 run-rule of Belmont in five innings as Ali Kiponen threw a one-hit shutout. The Tigers are now 10-1 on the year, while Belmont drops to 1-5. Kilponen was off to a hot start in the circle. She walked the first batter of the game, but came back to strike out the next three. The offense was slow to start but the Tigers had a chance in the second. Georgia Clark led off with a 10-pitch at-bat that led to a walk. Shelbi Sunseri followed with a fielder's choice to third and Clark was safe at second. The next three went down in order, ending the threat on a ground out back to the pitcher. The offense exploded in the fourth inning as the Tigers scored six runs off four hits. Morgan Cummins hit a base-clearing double to take a 3-0 lead. Anna Jones followed with a walk and scored on Aliyah Andrews triple to left center. Ciara Briggs followed with a double to left field to score Andrews, taking a 6-0 lead. Clark started off the fifth inning with a double. Raeleen Gutierrez came in to pinch run and moved to third on a Taryn Antoine's dropped fly ball in left field. Amanda Doyle brought in Gutierrez on a sacrifice fly to right center. The Tigers run-ruled on a dropped fly ball in right center, bringing Antoine in to end the game. Kilponen improves to 4-0 on the season. Check back for a full recap as the Tigers take on Sam Houston State at 6:25 p.m. 2/21/2020 Story Courtesy of: LSUsports.net 2/21/2020
Story Courtesy of: LSUsports.net By: Brandon Adam BATON ROUGE: Beth Torina began to tear up as a video of messages from former players commemorating her 500th career win played on the big screen at Tiger Park following LSU softball's 12-0 no-hitter over Sam Houston State on Friday night. She celebrated with her players, staff, administrators, and, most importantly, her family. Torina's three young daughters – Taryn, Tatum and Tenley – ran around the infield, each holding a digit indicating her milestone achievement. "It's a really special moment," Torina said. "Seeing my kids carry the sign out is the icing on the cake, I guess. Seeing them walk out – knowing we've had them throughout the 500 wins too – and being able to do this whole thing is something I'm really proud of." "I'm so incredibly blessed to be a part of that," said sophomore catcher Morgan Cummins, who was 2-for-3 with a grand slam and six RBI. "She's an incredible woman, and I am so honored to say she's my coach. There's nobody like her – absolutely nobody – and she inspires us every single day. She's an amazing mother, she's an amazing coach, and I'm just so honored to be able to play for her here." Torina's run as LSU softball's head coach has been a success since the moment it started in 2012. In her first season, Torina guided the Tigers to a 40-25 record and their third-ever College World Series appearance, becoming the first coach in school history to accomplish the feat. The Tigers built off of the strong season in Torina's first year by starting out the 2013 season 14-1, the best start for the program at the time since 2007, and ended the season with 12 wins over top-25 teams. After an eighth straight postseason appearance in 2014, Torina and the Tigers became one of top programs in all of college softball in 2015. LSU won its first 25 games, the longest win streak in program history, and were ranked the No. 1 team in the nation before finishing with 52 wins and a second appearance in the College World Series under Torina. Torina followed up by once again leading LSU to the College World Series the next two seasons and winning 100 games in the process. Since 2000, LSU is one of nine schools to reach the College World Series in three consecutive seasons and one of four schools to do so since Torina arrived in Baton Rouge in 2012. In her time at LSU, Torina has compiled a record of 371-156 in addition to her 129-111 record in four seasons at Florida International from 2008-2011. Through her first eight seasons at LSU, Torina has coached eight All-Americans, and her players have won 16 national player or pitcher of the week honors. And as many of those players like Brittany Mack, Sandra Simmons, Shemiah Sanchez, Allie Walljasper, and Sahvanna Jaquish said their congratulations to their former coach in video messages, Torina was able to reflect on all who were involved and what they have all done. "It was really cool," Torina said. "I was truly thinking about all the women that made it happen. All the people that pitched the games, hit the home runs, did the things that made all those wins happen and it is a really special group. So many women that I just love dearly and unconditionally, and it just makes me proud of all things they've accomplished." 2/21/2020 Story Courtesy of: LSUsports.net 2/19/2020
Story Courtesy of: LSUsports.net By: Chelsey Chamberlain | Assistant Communications Director BATON ROUGE – The No. 6 LSU softball team claimed a 11-0 one-hitter over Louisiana Tech Wednesday night in Tiger Park. The Tigers improve to 9-1 on the year, while the Lady Techsters fall to 2-7 on the season. The Tigers had chances in the first two innings, leaving two on in the first and three on in the second. The bats came alive in the third inning as Georgia Clark led off with a double. Shelbi Sunseri followed with her first home run of the year, a two-run shot over the centerfield wall to take a 2-0 lead. In the fourth, the Tigers loaded the bases and scored another run off an RBI walk from Taylor Pleasants, bringing in Amanda Doyle. Clark followed with her first grand slam as a Tiger, taking an offspeed pitch over the left field wall. Another run came in off a Morgan Cummins double to left. The offense continued in the fourth with a Taylor Tidwell two-run shot to give the Tigers a 10-0 lead. Jordyn Perkins followed with a home run as she came in to pinch hit, her second in her career. The Tigers ended up scoring nine runs in the inning. Maribeth Gorsuch pitched a spectacular game as she allowed just one hit and one walk on the game with six strike outs. She improves to 2-1 on the year. Bre Hernandez was charged with the loss, dropping to 2-2 on the year. 2/19/2020 Story Courtesy of: LSUsports.net 2/16/2020
Story Courtesy of: LSUsports.net By: Chelsey Chamberlain | Assistant Communications Director BATON ROUGE – The No. 7 LSU softball team took care of business against North Dakota and No. 13 ULL on Sunday afternoon, downing the Fighting Hawks, 8-0 in five innings and claiming a 4-3 win over the Ragin' Cajuns. The Tigers improved to 8-1 on the year, while North Dakota goes to 3-6 and ULL goes to 7-2. GAME 1 RECAP:::: After Shelby Wickersham pitched a scoreless first inning, the Tigers were on the board, taking a 3-0 lead. Aliyah Andrews led off with an infield single and scored on a Taylor Pleasants single through the left side. Amanda Doyle brought in two more on a single to left field, scoring Georgia Clark and Pleasants. Wickersham continue to deal in the circle, as she struck out two more in the circle in the fourth inning. She sat down the first six batters. The Tigers' offense continued in the second as they scored two more to extend their lead to 5-0. Savannah Stewart walked with one out and stole second. She moved to third on Andrews' single through the left side and scored on a throwing error by North Dakota. Andrews came in on an RBI ground out by Ciara Briggs. Tidwell hit her second bomb of the year in the fourth inning, a solo shot over the right field wall to extend the Tigers' lead to 6-0. She singled again in the bottom of the fifth to score two more and end the game for the Tigers in run-rule fashion. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ GAME 2 RECAP:::: The freshmen got the offense going in the bottom of the first as Ciara Briggs singled up the middle with one out. She would then score on Taylor Pleasants' two-run home run over the centerfield wall, her second dinger on the year. After a scoreless second inning, the Ragin' Cajuns tied the game up with two runs off a solo home run and a single down the left field line to score from second. The Tigers had a chance in the third as Savannah Stewart singled to the infield. She advanced to third on a Pleasants double to left center. Georgia Clark battled to a 2-2 count, but struck out to end the inning. In the fourth, the Tigers took a 3-2 lead on Morgan Cummins' second dinger on the season, a solo shot over the centerfield wall. Sunseri kept the Cajuns off balance in the fourth and fifth innings but they got one across on a throwing error by the Tigers to tie the game up at 3-3. The Tigers got out of the inning on a line drive double play by Tidwell and Pleasants. With two outs in the bottom of the sixth, Cummins doubled to left center to bring in Akiya Thymes from second to take the 4-3 lead for good. Ali Kilponen earned the win in the circle to improve to 3-0 on the year. ULL's Kleist takes her first loss of the year. Sunseri, who started the game, allowed two earned runs off six hits, while striking out two and walking two in 5.1 innings of work. Kilponen pitched 1.2 innings of work. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Beth Torina's Post Game Comments:: On what the win means to the team… "It just almost feels like the world is right. I think the two schools playing, the crowds, the atmosphere, the way we were able to win at home. I just almost feel like the world is right and it's a big deal for the state, it's a big deal for softball." On the crowd at Tiger Park… "They were awesome. Our fans are amazing. They were in every pitch with us. I think our team did a great job keeping them in every pitch. But it's nice to have the fans support. We wouldn't rather be anywhere but Tiger Park in the whole country." ** Up Next: The Tigers take on LA Tech in Tiger Park on Wednesday at 6 p.m. The game will stream live on SEC Network+ and will be available via live stats at LSUStats.com. 2/16/2020 Story Courtesy of: LSUsports.net By: Chelsey Chamberlain | Assistant Communications Director 2/15/2020
Story Courtesy of: LSUsports.net By: Chelsey Chamberlain | Assistant Communications Director FAYETTE, La. – The No. 7 LSU softball team fell to No. 13 ULL on Saturday by a score of 2-1. The Tigers are now 6-1 on the year, while the Cajuns improve to 6-1. The Tigers got on the board first in the second inning. Morgan Cummins hit a sac fly to deep right field to bring in Shelbi Sunseri for the first score of the game. ULL responded in the bottom half of the inning as the Cajuns tied the game up with a solo shot over the left field wall. They took the lead on a sac fly to center. The two teams went scoreless the next four innings. The Tigers had runners in scoring position in the fifth, but a ground out ended the inning. In the sixth, the Tigers hit a couple of line drives, but couldn't get anything to go through. Cummins tried to get something going with two outs in the seventh as she singled up the middle. But a ground out to first ended the game. For the game, the Tigers tallied three hits. Maribeth Gorsuch took the loss in the circle, her first of the season. She is now 1-1 on the year. She allowed two runs, off five hits. Megan Kleist earned the win and improved to 3-1. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Beth Torina's Post Game Comments:: On the team's approach at plate… "I liked our offensive approach. I thought we hit some balls hard that just did not fall in. It was just one of those days where you do everything right but you don't walk away with a win." On Gorsuch keeping ULL off balance… "They had one big inning against her. I wish we could have stopped it from snowballing into what it turned into but other than that I thought she did a very nice job." On what this matchup means for both teams… "I think it is great for the state of Louisiana but I will be happy to be in Tiger Park tomorrow." **Up Next: The Tigers finish the weekend at home on Sunday taking on North Dakota at 12:30 p.m. and matching up again with ULL at 3 p.m. These games can be streamed on SEC Network+ and WatchESPN. Story Courtesy of: LSUsports.net By: Chelsey Chamberlain | Assistant Communications Director 2/14/2020
Story Courtesy of: LSUsports.net By: Lacey Dodson | Communications Student BATON ROUGE – The No. 7 LSU softball team defeated Samford 4-0 Friday evening in a Valentine's Day face-off in Tiger Park. The Tigers move to 6-0 on the season while Samford falls to 3-3 on the year. The Samford Bulldogs threatened in the top of the third and put a runner on first, but Taylor Pleasants came through with a clutch double play to end the inning and gain momentum for the Tigers. In the bottom of the third, Taylor Tidwell singled down the left field line which gave the Tigers their first hit of the night. Aliyah Andrews came up big with a double to the left-center gap to score Tidwell from second. Savannah Stewart recorded an RBI on a sacrifice fly, plating Ciara Briggs from third. Morgan Cummins blasted her first career homerun deep to right-center in the bottom of the sixth to increase the lead. Tidwell followed Cummins lead and took her first career homerun over the right field fence to extend the lead to 4-0. Ali Kilponen retired seven straight Bulldogs through the first four innings and tallied six strikeouts on the night. She is now 2-0 on the season. Taylor DeCelles took the loss for the Bulldogs and moved to 1-1 on the season. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Beth Torina's Post Game Comments:: Tonight's overall thoughts… "I thought our team did a good job. I liked that they continued to score throughout. Scoring first was great. We went a little quiet but I liked that we continued to score and have that answer there late. That was a big difference maker in the game and then Ali Kilponen had another good night for us." On the bottom third of the order producing six hits… "They did a good job. It was nice seeing Morgan (Cummins) and (Taylor) Tidwell swing that way. Ciara (Briggs) just continued to battle for us, had some really great at-bats, so I was happy with that." Up Next:: The Tigers travel to Lafayette on Saturday to face ULL at 4 p.m. The game will air on CST and stream live on ESPN+. Live stats will also be available. They'll finish the weekend at home on Sunday taking on North Dakota at 12:30 p.m. and matching up again with ULL at 3 p.m. These games can be streamed on SEC Network+ and WatchESPN. 2/14/2020 Story Courtesyof: LSUsports.net 2-9-2020
By: Terrill J. Weil Da Boot Sports! Baton Rouge: The LSU Softball team (5-0 overall), would go 4-0 in the 2020 Tiger Classic this weekend, as they would easily defeat Florida A&M Sunday, 16-0. Oklahoma State would post a 2-2 record in the Classic, while Florida A&M would finish 0-4. The 16-0 victory would come in five innings, as the Tigers would register 14 hits, and every non-pitcher position player on the roster would see game action for the LSU. Starting pitcher Ali Kilponen would get the win, (1-0), pitching the first three innings, while Taylor Edwards, and Victoria Abrams would each pitch an inning to complete the contest. All three combined would pitch a no-hitter... The Rattlers would go three up-three down in four of the five innings played, leaving one player on base, and finishing the game without a hit. The Tigers would do all their damage in the second inning, as their half of the inning would last for 50 minutes, scoring 15 runs, and sending twenty players to the plate. So far this season, the Tigers pitching staff has been the strength of the team, as Shelbi Sunseri (2-0), Ali Kilponen (1-0, two saves), Shelby Wickersham (1-0), and Maribeth Gorsuch (1-0), have all performed at a high level. At the plate, LSU has been lead by freshman, Taylor Pleasants (9 hits, .692 batting average, two doubles, 4 RBIs, and a home run), and Sophomore, Georgia Clark (4 hits, .667 batting average, 5 RBIs, and two home runs). Defensively, the Tigers have played solid, but have committed five errors in the first five games. This is not surprising, due to a young team with several new starters throughout the lineup, combined with early season jitters, have been the main contribute to the mistakes. Coach Torina and her staff will have the team show quick, solid improvement in this area. Next up, the Tigers will host the LSU Invitational, (February 14th - February 16th), as Samford, UL-Lafayette, and North Dakota will visit Tiger Park to participate. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Beth Torina's Post Game Press Conference:: On what she liked most out of her team's performance… "Well, I like seeing a lot of different players today, and I thought everybody stepped up and did their job. That was exciting, you know, I liked what the freshmen class brought to us this weekend. I thought that was really nice. I think, you know, before the first game, everybody's asking, 'How's the team going to be, how's the team going to be' and I think we proved the team's going to be OK." On Ali Kilponen… "I think she was fabulous all weekend. I think she is a really special player and person. I pulled her out of a perfect game, which is a terrible thing to do to somebody. But, she wanted to come out because she wanted the other kids to have an opportunity, and it's rare that you get a player like that, rare that you get a pitcher like that, but she is special and we are lucky to have her." On the second inning… "Yeah, we've had a couple of those in our time, you know, but I think it's just a nice opportunity to let kids that work equally as hard have some opportunities. I mean, all of our kids work hard, so it's nice to give some people opportunities. We were able to get everyone in at some point this weekend. Every kid on the team played this weekend, which is an amazing opportunity, so I think it's only going to make us stronger moving forward, that everybody will be seasoned, have an at-bat in the game, has pitched in a game, those kinds of things. I think it will make us stronger moving forward in an opportunity like this." On the freshman pitching appearances… "I thought it was fun, you know, I enjoyed seeing Taylor Edwards come out, she throws so hard, and then, you know I thought Victoria (Abrams) was able to fight through some nerves. I didn't think she looked nervous at all really, so you know it's nice to get them out there; you just never know how throughout the course of a season how you might end up needing somebody or using somebody." 2-9-2020 By: Terrill J. Weil Da Boot Sports! 2/8/2020
Game Recap: Courtesy of LSUsports.net Softball 2/8/2020 3:30:00 PM By: Lacey Dodson: Communications Student BATON ROUGE - The No. 11 LSU softball team shut out Florida A&M 8-0 in five innings in their second game of the Tiger Classic. The Tigers' defense came out strong and retired the 10 straight batters. Shelbi Sunseri dealt in the circle, tallying four strikeouts through that stretch. Aliyah Andrews got things started for the Tigers with a leadoff walk, then stole second to put a runner in scoring position. Andrews advanced on a sacrifice fly from Sunseri to put a runner on the corner with two outs. Georgia Clark blasted her second homerun of the season on a 3-0 pitch to put the Tigers on the board first 2-0. Taylor Pleasants grabbed a leadoff walk in the bottom of the inning, and Raeleen Gutierrez recorded an infield single that put runners on first and second. Andrews added another walk to load the bases for the Tigers. Savannah Stewart walked which plated Pleasants from third, giving the Tigers a 3-0 lead. The Lady Rattlers threatened in the top of the fourth as they loaded the bases with two outs, but quick defense got the Tigers out of the inning. In the bottom half of the inning, Taylor Tidwell walked to lead off and Ciara Briggs laid down a bunt to advance the runner. There was an error on the throw and Tidwell scored from first and Briggs also scored to make the score 5-0, LSU. Pleasants led off the bottom of the fifth for the Tigers with a two out single to the right-center gap. Gutierrez singled over the middle of the field which put runners on the corners for the Tigers. Tidwell tripled off of the wall to drive in Pleasants and Gutierrez. Briggs then sealed the deal for the Tigers with a single down the left field line to drive in Tidwell. Sunseri earned the win in the circle improving to 2-0 on the season. She allowed no runs and recorded five strikeouts. Florida A&M's Nadia Zenteno took the loss for the Lady Rattlers allowing six earned runs and two unearned runs. 2-8-2020 Article Courtesy of LSUsports.net 2-8-2020
By: Terrill J. Weil Da Boot Sports! The Tigers (3-0), would rematch Oklahoma State (1-1), in day two of the Tiger Classic. The Cowgirls blasted Florida A&M earlier this morning, 21-0, while LSU defeated the Rattlers, 8-0 in five innings. Senior Maribeth Gorsuch would get the start on the mound for the #11 ranked Tigers, and started the game smoking hot, getting the Cowgirls up and down in order to bring LSU up to bat. After two quick outs, Taylor Pleasants would lift a single to left field, but would be left on base to end the first inning. Gorsuch would continue to pitch well in the second inning, recording three outs after only facing four batters. For LSU, Morgan Cummins would smash a two out double to deep right center field, but the Tigers again would leave a base runner stranded. Oklahoma State would have a spark of offense in the top of the third inning, as Sydney Springfield would draw a lead off walk. OSU would put in Chelsea Alexander as a pinch runner for Springfield. Alexander would advance to second on a sacrifice punt. Kiley Naomi would then single to left center, scoring Alexander to give the Cowgirls the lead, 1-0. Gorsuch would record the final out to retire the side. LSU would answer in the bottom of the inning. Briggs would fly out, Aliyah Andrews would reach base safe on a error by first base. Then Savannah Stewart would fly out for the second out of the inning. With Taylor Pleasants up at the plate, Andrews would steal second base, setting up an opportunity for the Tigers to tie things up. Pleasants would end up with a walk. Then Georgia Clark would draw a walk to load the bases with 2 outs. Shelby Sunseri would then get hit by a pitch to send the tying run across the plate. All knotted up at 1-1, both teams would go three up- three down in the fourth inning.. as both pitches continued to perform well and both defenses made the tough outs. Gorsuch would start the fifth inning as strongly as she started the contest, getting the Cowgirls out, three up-three down. For the Tigers, Taryn Antoine and Savannah Stewart would each fail to reach base, as Taylor Pleasants would come up to bat with two outs. She would rip a single to center field, setting up Georgia Clark. Clark would draw a walk after a nice at bat. Shelby Sunseri would then ground out to end the LSU scoring threat. Gorsuch would start the top of the sixth inning registering two quick outs. It looked like OSU would go three up-three down again for the third consecutive inning, however, Sydney Pennington would blast her first pitch out of the park over the left field wall giving the Cowgirls the lead, 2-1. First two Tiger hitters would fly and strike out. Taylor Tidwell would draw a walk, setting up Ciara Briggs. Briggs would drive the ball all the way to the wall in right center to record a RBI double to tie the game up at 2-2. Meribeth Gorsuch and the defense would hold the Cowgirls scoreless, setting up the Tigers last at bat. Savannah Stewart would strike out. Then Taylor Pleasants would step up to the plate and launch a walk off home run for a 3-2 LSU victory.... With the win the Tigers are now 4-0. Meribeth Gorsuch is the winning pitch as she would go the distance and pitch an incredible game. Once this team improves at the plate and begins to hit the ball better, they will be a fun team to watch and a tough opponent to beat. Next up the Tigers will play Florida A&M Sunday at 1pm in the final game of the 2020 Tiger Classic. 2-8-2020 By: Terrill J. Weil Da Boot Sports! 2-7-2020
By: Terrill J. Weil Da Boot Sports! The Tigers improved to 2-0 as they squeaked pass the #13 Cowgirls from Oklahoma State, 1-0, in the first game of the 2020 Tiger Classic. Shelby Wickersham (1-0) got her first win of the young season, while Ali Kilponen recorded her 2nd straight save. Cowgirls' starting pitcher, Carrie Eberle took the loss as OSU falls to 0-1. The top of the first went quickly as the Cowgirls went three up-three down. Aliyah Andrews lead off the bottom of the inning for the Tigers and drew a walk. A couple of pitches later, OSU catcher, Raquel Dominguez threw Andrews out attempting to steal second base. Savannah Stewart would strike out, followed by Shelbi Sunseri drawing a walk. The inning would end with Georgia Clark grounding out. The second inning would test the LSU defensive toughness. After Michaela Richbourg would fly out to center field for the first out. Wickersham would suddenly begin to struggle as she would give up back to back singles, then issue a walk to ex-Tiger, Sydney Springfield. With the bases loaded with only one out. Wickersham would begin to pitch to OSU catcher Raquel Dominguez, who would blast a hard line drive right at first base. Georgia Clark would make the catch, then dive and tag out the runner at first for the double play, ending the Cowgirls scoring threat. In the bottom of the inning, Taylor Pleasants would hit a one out double, (her second double of the season). But the Tigers couldn't take advantage. Both teams would blow through third inning, as Shelby Wickersham would record three outs on only four pitches. In the bottom of the frame, OSU pitcher, Carrie Eberle would get LSU out in order, three up-three down. Wickersham would now settled into a groove, continued to pitch at a high level, taking out the Cowgirls, three-up-three-down in the top of the fourth inning. The Tigers would threaten to score, with runners on second and third with only one out. But couldn't produce the timely hit to get them across the plate. We would start the 5th inning still scoreless. Wickersham would now retire ten staright Oklahoma State batters, going three up-three down again for the second consecutive inning. LSU could not manage a scoring threat in the inning as we would head to the sixth inning still tied 0-0. After OSU would fail to score in the top of the inning, the Tigers would finally get on the board. After Savannah Stewart would single to right field, then advance to second on a wild pitch, Georgia Clark would single, bringing Stewart home for a 1-0 lead. LSU would head into the top of the seventh inning needing only three outs to secure a hard fought victory. However, those outs wouldn't come easy. The Cowgirls would hit back to back singles. With runners on first and second with no outs, Coach Torina would go to the bullpen, replacing Wickersham with Ali Kilponen. Karli Perry would lay down a sacrifice punt, moving the OSU runners to second and third with only one out. But Kilponen would strike out Spingfield, then get Dominguez to fly out to first base for the final out. The Tiger Classic will continue this weekend, as LSU will play Florida A&M at 1:30pm then rematch Oklahoma State at 4pm on Saturday. The Tigers will then end the 2020 Tiger Classic as they play Florida A&M at 1pm on Sunday. 2-7-2020 By: Terrill J. Weil Da Boot Sports! 2-6-2020
By: Terrill J. Weil Da Boot Sports! The LSU Softball team, ranked #11 in the Nation, won their season opener Thursday night 3-2 against a very good Central Arkansas team at Tiger Park. The Tigers fell behind 1-0 in the first inning, as the Bears would push a unearned run across the plate. LSU would go three up-three down in their half of the inning. Game winning pitcher, Shelbi Sunseri, would respond strongly in the top of the second, taking down the Bears in order quickly. The Tigers would begin their rally when lead off batter, Georgia Clark would draw a walk. Akiya Thymes would be inserted to pinch run for Clark. Amanda Doyle would then rip a double down the right field line, scoring Thymes from first base, tying the game at 1-1. After Taylor Tidwell was hit by a pitch, putting runners on first and second, Junior outfielder, Taryn Antoine hit a hard grounder to short stop. The Bears would commit a throwing error, allowing Doyle to score, giving LSU the lead, 2-1. After no scoring in the top of the third inning, The Tigers headed into the bottom of the inning looking to add to their lead. After Savannah Stewart and Shelbi Sunseri would both fly out, Georgia Clark would smash her first career home run as a Tiger, increasing the LSU lead to 3-1 after three.... The game would remain scoreless until the top of the sixth inning as Central Arkansas would push another unearned run, (helped by a couple of LSU errors), across the plate to pull to within 3-2. We would go to the final inning as the Tigers were unable to score in the sixth. Ali Kilponen would come into the game to relieve Sunseri. Kilponen would earn her first career save, as she would get the final three outs, (a pop out, then back-to-back strike outs). Starting pitcher, Shelbi Sunseri pitched six strong innings, allowing six hits, and two unearned runs. The Tigers are now 1-0, while with the loss, the Bears fall to 0-1. Up next the Tigers will host the "Tiger Classic" this weekend. LSU will play #13 Oklahoma State on Friday at 6pm. Get your tickets and come out to Tiger Park to cheer on this exciting Tigers Softball Team. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Coach Torina's Press Conference:::: On getting the first win of the season … "I think it's really important. We did some things to make sure we could do that. We ran Akiya Thymes there in the second inning, which we don't normally do. Let's get that first run across, knock that thing out." On getting the nerves out with a young infield … "I think we're going to get better as the season goes. You're going to see a lot of growth as the season goes on. I think it's a good start. We saw a lot of good things. Obviously we have a bunch of ways we can get better and to me that's hopeful. We got things to do, we got ways to get better and we're going to keep doing that." On swinging the bat well and only getting three hits … "Yeah I thought we swung the bat well. I think there were some opportunities that we missed, but again, we've got plenty of things that we can do better. I think it was better than that number shows." On Georgia's performance tonight … "That was awesome. Georgia's (Clark) ball was as hard a hit ball as I feel like I've ever seen. I had no idea that was going to get out. It was fun to see her do that. It was good to get, not a monkey off her back, but she knows that's her job, to hit for power for us. Good for her to produce for us in the first game." On Shelby and Ali's performance … "I think they both did their job and they did it perfectly. You know I think that Shelbi's (Sunseri) job is to go out and be our leader and to carry us. She's going to be our one that's wracking up wins. I think that's why we have an Ali (Kilponen) to come in and shut the door like that. That's the way you shut the door. That was really impressive the way she came in the game. " 2-6-2020 By: Terrill J. Weil Da Boot Sports! |
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