 Photo By: LSUsports.net 3/31/2021
LSU Sports Information By: Judy Willson BATON ROUGE – The No. 15 LSU softball team defeated Louisiana-Monroe, 7-5 Tuesday night at home in Tiger Park, making this Head Coach Beth Torina’s 400th win at LSU. The Tigers improve to 19-11 on the season while ULM falls to 10-14 on the year. The Tigers will turn back to conference play starting Thursday for a three-game series against Ole Miss in Tiger Park. Thursday and Friday’s games will begin at 6 p.m. and Saturday’s game at 1 p.m. Quick defense by both teams resulted in a scoreless first. LSU’s Georgia Clark got things started in the second with a homer to left field. With bases loaded in the bottom of the second, walks from Aaliyah Andrews and Taylor Pleasants scored Raeleen Gutierrez and Morgan Smith. A single up the middle from Amanda Doyle made time for her to advance to second on the throw and send Andrews and Taylor Tidwell home to close out the inning 5-0. In the third, the Warhawks get a couple of runners on base but were held down in a double play from the Tigers, and both teams come out of the inning scoreless. The Warhawks got three runs on the board in the fourth, before the Tigers opt for a pitching change from Morgan Smith to Ali Kilponen. Kilponen posted a three up, three down to top off the fifth. LSU loaded the bases in the bottom of the fifth and added two runs on a single from Andrews to score Hayden Brown and Tidwell, 7-3. The Warhawks were able to push two more runs across in the top of the seventh for the final, 7-5. Kilponen earned the win in the circle for the Tigers with three strikeouts on the night and improved to 6-4 on the year. Andrews had a solid night at the plate with one run scored and three RBI, while Doyle contributed to two-run homer. Torina’s Thoughts On her 400th win at LSU… “It's awesome, and it's cool for a lot of reasons to know that the same staff, Lindsey (Leftwich), Howard (Dobson), Quinlan (Duhon) were working for every single one of them is amazing, and then, think about all the women that contributed to this program that just really lived and died for purple and gold. I didn't play in any of the games, all I did was sit back and watch and play. We've had some phenomenal women that have done some amazing things for this program and truly given their heart and soul, so it's been awesome to be a part of. Hope we can get 400 more here at LSU. I'd love to watch them play for 400 more.” On building after Tuesday’s win… “I would think that it's something to build on. I think we had some good at-bats. I think we had some good moments, I think, a game like this is always tough coming off the road. A short turnaround. And you know SEC series, I think, it's always tough so I think a win’s a win. I think we saw a lot of really good things that our kids can feel good about that they can build on. I thought the defense was sloppy at times and we just need to slow down and think that we need to get some reps tomorrow, have a good practice for the weekend. But overall I think, you know it's a win to put in our pocket and move on to Ole Miss.” On Morgan Smith… “I think she's super talented. I think she hasn't been out there as much as we would like. We wish that we had more opportunities for her, she's really talented. The last time she's been in a live game is what, I mean how long has it been since she's been in a game against live hitters? We've tried to simulate it in practice but it's not the same, I would imagine it's one of the longest times in her life, you know that she hasn’t been in a live game and we just need to get her out there more and she's gonna be just fine. She's a super, super talented athlete, unbelievable what she's capable of, so you know when you look at her, hopefully, you see the future of the program and it looks really bright. She had two really good at-bats too, you know, was able to draw two walks. I like what we saw from her. Yeah, she needs to be better, of course, we all do, but she's a freshman and we got to get her out there more.” On future milestones... “We want to win the World Series. I never know any of these milestones until they happen. It’s the last thing I’m ever thinking about. I’m watching film, trying to get hitters out, and trying to figure out how to best prepare a team. But the biggest milestone we want to win is a National Championship.”
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 Photo By: Brittney Achord 3/28/2021 LSU Sports Information By: Judy Willson GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No. 11 LSU softball team fell in the final game of the series Sunday afternoon 9-3 to No. 5 Florida. The Tigers fall to 18-11 on the season and 4-5 in the SEC while Florida moves to 24-3 on the season and 8-1 in the SEC. The Tigers are back home in Tiger Park for a midweek matchup against the ULM Warhawks Tuesday at 6 p.m. The game will be available on SEC Network+ and via live stats. LSU will continue SEC action at home on Thursday for a three-game series against Ole Miss. In the bottom of the first the Gators struck first and put up three runs on four hits to take the early 3-0 lead. LSU made the switch in the circle from starter Maribeth Gorsuch to Shelbi Sunseri to get out of the inning. Florida increased its lead to 7-0 with four runs in the bottom of the third before LSU got on the board. In the top of the fourth Aliyah Andrews recorded the first hit of the day for the Tigers followed by a single to left field from Taylor Pleasants. Runners advanced to second and third on a groundout before Georgia Clark drove in both runs on a huge double to cut into the Gator lead, 7-2. Ciara Briggs got it started for the Tigers in the top of the fifth inning with a leadoff triple and was plated on an RBI from Sunseri, 7-3. Florida plated two more runs in the bottom of the fifth to increase their lead 9-3 over LSU. Despite fighting back, the Tigers couldn’t overcome the deficit and fell in the final game of the series. Maribeth Gorsuch took the loss in the circle for the Tigers and moves to 2-1 on the season, Sunseri came in for relief and tallied five strikeouts in 5.1 innings of work. Offensive leaders for the Tigers included Pleasants who was 2-for-3 with a double. Clark also recorded a double and two RBI, and Briggs added a triple to the mix. Torina’s Thoughts “It was good to see some fight in our team. We just need to adjust earlier in the game and quit digging ourselves into a hole. We will be glad to get back into Tiger Park this week and learn from this weekend.”  Photo By: Jonathan Mailhes 3/28/2021 LSU Sports Information By: Judy Willson GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No. 11 LSU softball team fell in game two of the series against No. 5 Florida 7-4 Saturday night in Gainesville. The Tigers fall to 18-10 on the season and 4-4 in the SEC while Florida moves to 23-3 on the season and 7-1 in the SEC. The Tigers face off with Florida in their final game of the series tomorrow at 10 a.m. CT, the game will be available on SEC Network+ and via live stats. The Gators got on the board first in the bottom of the first inning, scoring four runs before the Tigers made a change in the circle from Ali Kilponen to Shelby Wickersham. Wickersham was able to get the Tigers out of the inning without any more damage. Florida picked up one run in the second inning and one in the third to take a 6-0 lead before LSU was able to manufacture some runs. LSU got the bats going in the top of the fourth inning as Taylor Pleasants and Amanda Doyle with back-to-back singles. With runners on first and third with no outs, Georgia Clark hit into a fielder’s choice to get Pleasants across the plate and the Tigers on the scoreboard. The Tigers continued to load up the bases with a walk to Raeleen Gutierrez and a single by Ciara Briggs. Shelbi Sunseri came up with a huge double off the centerfield wall to score Doyle and Gutierrez, cutting the Gators lead to 6-3. Florida made a pitching change but LSU was able to get more run across the plate as Danieca Coffey got her second hit of the game with two outs to score Briggs, 6-4. Florida was able to plate one more run in the fifth inning and a huge relay from left fielder Karrington Houshmandzadeh thru the shortstop Pleasants to catcher Cait Calland to tag the runner stopped the Gators’ momentum and the inning, 7-4. Kilponen took the loss in the circle for the Tigers moving to 5-4 on the year. Wickersham added four strikeouts in 3.2 innings of relief for the Tigers. Maribeth Gorsuch closed out the game for the second day in a row. At the plate Coffey went 2-for-3 and tallied an RBI, Pleasants went 2-for-4 and scored a run, while Sunseri recorded two RBI off a double that helped shift the momentum in the fourth for the Tigers. Torina’s Thoughts “I thought our team battled in the fourth inning and was able to come through and score some runs to get us back within striking distance. But we just couldn’t seem to finish the job tonight.”  Photo By: Brittney Achord 3/26/2021 LSU Sports Information By: Judy Willson GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The No. 11 LSU softball team fell in game one of the SEC weekend series to No. 5 Florida, 5-0, Friday night in Gainesville. The Tigers move to 18-9 on the season and 4-3 in the SEC while Florida moves to 22-3 on the season and 6-1 in the SEC. The Tigers face off with Florida on Saturday at 4 p.m. CT. The game will be available on ESPN and via live stats. The Tigers close the weekend series on Sunday squaring up with the Gators at 10 a.m. CT on SEC Network+ and via live stats. The Tigers were able to place two runners on base in the top of the first inning but a play at the plate ended the threat without scoring a run. The two teams entered a pitcher’s duel through the first few innings but Florida was able to score first. The Gators plated two runs on a single up the middle in the bottom of the third inning to take an early lead. In the bottom of the fifth the Gators put two runners on base but a huge strikeout from starter Shelbi Sunseri in the circle ended the threat. Florida added three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning on a three-run home run to increase its lead to 5-0. LSU made a switch in the circle to Maribeth Gorsuch who got three consecutive outs to end the inning. In the top of the seventh Raeleen Gutierrez launched a double off the center field wall with one out, but the Tigers weren’t able to capitalize on the momentum and fell in game one 5-0. Sunseri took the loss in the circle for the Tigers and moved to 5-3 on the season. Georgia Clark, Danieca Coffey, and Gutierrez were the only three Tigers to record hits in the game. Torina’s Thoughts “I think Florida is a really solid team. They are always well-prepared. I think we need to show up with our best game and we didn’t have it tonight. I think if you try to attack a team like that without your best stuff then you are going to come up on the wrong end of that. So we show up with a different outlook tomorrow and hopefully we’ll play better.”  Photo By: Brittney Achord 3/23/2021 LSU Sports Information By: Chelsey Chamberlain BATON ROUGE – The No. 12 LSU softball team secured the series win against Texas A&M with a 4-1 score on Monday night in Tiger Park. The Tigers move to 18-8 on the season and 4-2 in the SEC while Texas A&M falls to 20-5 on the year and 1-2 in the SEC. The Tigers head to South Alabama for a midweek matchup on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. This game will be available on ESPN+ and via live stats. The Tigers are on the road this weekend where they'll face off in a three-game series against No. 5 Florida. In the top of second the Aggies put a runner on second and plated a run on a hit to center field, but quick defense from the Tigers limited the damage to one. It was a pitcher's duel throughout much of the rest of the game, but in the bottom of the fifth, Ali Newland earned a leadoff walk and Taryn Antoine entered to pinch run. Aliyah Andrews slapped a hard hit through to the left side that plated Antoine from second to even the score. The Tigers capitalized on an Aggie miscue to plate their second run of the inning and loaded the bases with two outs. Texas A&M recorded a wild pitch followed by an error that resulted in Andrews and Taylor Pleasants scoring on the play. The Tigers ended the inning scoring four and taking a 4-1 lead. Ali Kilponen earned the win in the circle for the Tigers with nine strikeouts on the night, she moves to 5-3 on the year. Andrews went 1-for-2 on the night and was responsible for the hit that changed the momentum in favor of the Tigers in the fifth. Taylor Pleasants had the other hit for the Tigers. Torina's Thoughts On grinding this weekend & the team's resilience… "I thought that the big key was just finding a way to win. That is really what day three is all about in the SEC. It does not have to pretty, it does not have to be flashy, it is just finding ways to win, and our team was able to do that. I thought they did a good job." On pitcher Ali Kilponen's performance in game three… "She is just so talented. She is a really special player and pitcher. Our team plays well behind her. She brings such good energy to the field. They like having her out there and she fires them up. She has a lot of different weapons she can use, and she is able to move it around the zone with good velocity. There is just so many good things from her." On what she is saying to freshman to stay confident through a tough strike zone and staying confident in the box… "We have to make sure that we are using what the game gives us and that we are taking in all the information and being intelligent about it. We have to use it in the right way to help us. I think that they are talking in the dugout, and they are talking in the game, and that is a big key. Another big key is just the veterans continuing to lead them and have good communication."  Photo By: Brittney Achord 3/21/2021 LSU Sports Information By: Chelsey Chamberlain BATON ROUGE – The No. 12 LSU softball team defeated Texas A&M 6-1 in game two to even the series Sunday afternoon in Tiger Park. The Tigers move to 17-8 on the season while A&M falls to 20-4 on the year. The Tigers are now 3-2 in the SEC and the Aggies move to 1-1. The Tigers are set to close out the series against the Aggies Monday at 6 pm. The game will air on SEC Network and will be available via live stats. In the bottom half of the first inning, Amanda Doyle singled to right field with two outs and was plated on a blast from Shelbi Sunseri over the left field wall that allowed the Tigers get on the board first. Raeleen Gutierrez doubled down the right field line and was plated on a single to right field from Ciara Briggs. The Tigers took the early lead 3-0 over the Aggies. In the top of the third, the Aggies put two runners on and were able to plate one run off a single through the right side but a huge strikeout from Sunseri limited the damage to one. In the home half of the fourth, Danieca Coffey had a lead-off single to center and advanced to third. Doyle and Sunseri both drew walks to load the bases with two outs. Gutierrez put the ball in play in the infield and forced an Texas A&M error to plate Coffey from third, this allowed the Tigers to take a 4-0 lead over the Aggies. Ali Newland smoked an infield single in the bottom of the fifth, and Taryn Antoine entered to pinch run. Coffey sent a shot up the middle that forced an Texas A&M miscue to advance to second and move Antoine to third. The Tigers loaded the bases with two outs and Doyle laced a double into right field to plate two Tigers, taking a 6-0 lead late in the game. The Tigers kept the Texas A&M offense at bay and secured the 6-1 win in the second game of the series. Sunseri tallied eight strikeouts on the night and earned the win in the circle for the Tigers moving to 5-2 on the season. Leading the Tigers offense was Doyle, Gutierrez, and Sunseri with two RBI a piece. Doyle and Gutierrez both recorded doubles while Sunseri added a homerun for the Tigers. Clark and Coffey also contributed to the offense tonight both going 2-for-3 at the plate. Torina's Thoughts The way the team responded tonight… "What a difference scoring first makes in a game. It gives us room to breathe and room to work. Scoring first but then continuing to score throughout the game makes a huge difference for our team." On Sunseri's performance… "She did a great job of mixing speeds and the way she keeps the offense off balance is key for us. I was really happy with her performance today, not just today but overall her last few appearances in the circle; I think she's looking really good right now." Thoughts on the offense tonight… "So many good things happened tonight, we put Raeleen Gutierrez in there and I was really pleased with how she came out tonight for us. It was good to see Georgia Clark out there today and also Shelbi Sunseri setting the tone for us first was really good to see."  Photo By: LSU 3/20/2021 LSU Sports Information By: Chelsey Chamberlain BATON ROUGE – The No. 12 LSU softball team fell 2-1 to Texas A&M in the series opener Saturday night in Tiger Park. The Tigers fall to 16-8 on the season while the Aggies move to 20-3 on the year. The Tigers square off against the Aggies again tomorrow at 5 p.m. and will close out the series Monday at 6 p.m. Both games with air on SEC Network and will be available via live stats. Texas A&M got on the board first in the top of the second with a solo shot to right field, but the Tigers were able to end the threat. In the top of the fifth, Texas A&M put two runners on with no outs, the Tigers made a change in the circle, going to Ali Kilponen. Kilponen recorded a huge strikeout for the first out followed by a Danieca Coffey-Taylor Pleasants double play up the middle to end the inning and gain some momentum. The Aggies were able to add one run to the board in the top of the sixth, but the Tigers limited the damage to one run as they trailed 2-0 going into the home-half of the inning. In the bottom of the sixth, Aliyah Andrews walked and added a stolen base to put a runner in scoring position. Amanda Doyle lined a ball down the right field line to plate Andrews from second and put the Tigers on the board. The Tigers squeezed out one run to cut the Aggies lead in half. In the bottom of the seventh, Ciara Briggs laid down a perfect bunt for a single, and Raeleen Gutierrez entered to pinch hit and drew a walk to put runners on first and second with one out. Both Tigers advanced to scoring position on a deep fly ball from Ali Newland. Despite the late, rally the Tigers couldn't plate another run and fell 2-1 in the first game of the series. Wickersham recorded four strikeouts on the night but took the loss in the circle for the Tigers moving to 4-3 on the season. Doyle and Briggs tallied the only two hits of the night for the Tigers. Torina's Thoughts On adjusting at the plate… "She (Herzog) did exactly what we thought she would do. We knew what she would do, and we worked on this plan the past couple of days, but we didn't go out and execute our plan." On the fight of the team… "We were able to put the pressure on the A&M defense, especially late in the game. We were able to see what that did to them so I'm proud of the way we showed up, but it just needed to be earlier in the game."  Photo By: LSUsports.net 3/17/2021 LSU Sports Information By: Chelsey Chamberlain HAMMOND, La. – The No. 12 LSU Softball team defeated Southeastern Louisiana, 12-1 Tuesday night at North Oak Park in Hammond, La. The Tigers improve to 16-7 on the year while the Lions drop to 12-11. LSU will return to SEC action at Tiger Park Saturday through Monday for a three-game series with Texas A&M. Saturday's game will start at 6 p.m. with Sunday's game at 5 p.m. and Monday's game at 6 p.m. The Tigers got out to an early lead in the first inning. Taylor Pleasants drew a walk and Amanda Doyle was hit by a pitch. Shelbi Sunseri draw another walk with one out to load the bases for Georgia Clark. Clark hit a double off the left center wall to score Pleasants and Doyle, taking a 2-0 lead. Another run came across in the second as Ali Newland drew a walk. Two outs later, Pleasants single through the right side to score Newland, extending the Tigers' lead to 3-0. After a scoreless third, the Tigers put two more up on the board with two outs in the fourth. With the bases loaded, Doyle hit a ball up the middle that tipped off the second baseman's glove to score two, pushing the Tigers' lead to 5-0. Clark was hit by a pitch with bases loaded, bringing in Pleasants for the sixth run of the game. Southeastern got on the board in the fourth as the Lions scored an unearned run off a fielder's choice to the shortstop. The Tigers answered that run in the top of the fifth as Morgan Cummins hit a solo shot over the centerfield wall. Newland followed with a double to centerfield and advance to third and scored on Aliyah Andrew's fly ball to right field, giving the Tigers a 8-1 lead into the bottom of the fifth. LSU continued their offense as they scored four in the seventh on an inside-the-park grand slam from Raeleen Gutierrez. Ali Kilponen earned the win in circle, improving to 4-3 on the year. She finished the game with five strikeouts, all looking. Morgan Smith made an appearance in the seventh to close out the game. Torina's Thoughts Thoughts against Southeastern… "Well, I think they are a really good team. Southeastern has played some people that are really tough this year and we knew that coming in. I think it's also important for our girls to represent the state of Louisiana, they know a lot of these girls, they've played travel ball with a lot of them, so I think it's important to them too. They were ready for today. I don't think they took it lightly, I don't think they looked past it, they wanted this game and were excited about it." On Kilponen's performance... "I think she did a good job. I thought she had some challenges; I think playing on the turf is different than the stuff we've done before. You know she's one of those kids that puts her hand in the dirt, so I think it was a little tough for her to get going, but I thought she battled through it and did a good job of keeping us in it." On preparing to play on turf fields… "We do have to prepared for it, it's something we don't see very often. Luckily, we have our indoor facility, so we were able to take some ground balls on that trying to feel it. I said the young players looked better on turf because they probably played on it growing up where the older players didn't get the opportunity." On Cummins homerun… "I thought it was good. She's been putting in a lot of time so it's good to see her have a moment like that. I know she means a lot to this team in so many different ways so it's really important for her to get to swinging again and swinging well so I was happy to see it." Getting ready for this weekend… "It's nice that we have the series Saturday, Sunday, and Monday this week, so we get three really good days of practice. We get to do a lot of things to prepare. Texas A&M is going to bring a really solid softball team with a great pitching staff. I think they bring a solid offense but luckily we have three days to go back to Tiger Park to get ourselves in order and to play the best version of LSU softball that we can."  3/16/2021 LSU Sports Information By: Chelsey Chamberlain BATON ROUGE – The LSU softball team remains at No. 12 in both the USA Today/NFCA DI Coaches Poll the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll announced Tuesday. LSU, who has been ranked every week since the end of the 2014 season, claimed a series victory over No. 19 Tennessee on the road last weekend. The Tigers won game one, 2-1 in eight innings. They fell in game two, 4-3 in eight innings, and claimed the series with a 11-3 five-inning rubber match win. The Tigers earned a total of 438 points in the NFCA poll and 278 points in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll. The Tigers make a short trip to Southeastern Tuesday night for midweek action. The game will start at 6 p.m. and will stream live on ESPN+. For all of the latest news and information on Tiger softball, visit www.lsusports.net/softball. Fans can also follow the program on its social media outlets at www.Facebook.com/lsusoftball along with @lsusoftball and @BethTorina on Twitter and @lsusoftball on Instagram. 2021 USA Today / NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll – March 16 (Week 5) Rank, School (First-Place Votes), Points, 2021 Record, Previous Ranking 1. Oklahoma (32), 800, 22-0, 1 2. UCLA, 761, 15-1, 3 3. Alabama, 734, 22-1, 4 4. Oregon, 691, 16-1, 5 5. Florida, 650, 17-2, 6 6. Washington, 610, 20-2, 8 7. Arizona, 602, 14-3, 2 8. Oklahoma State, 587, 20-2, 7 9. Kentucky, 525, 20-2, 9 10. Texas, 496, 15-2, 10 11. Arizona State, 454, 17-2, 11 12. LSU, 438, 15-7, 12 13. Florida State, 437, 13-5, 15 14. Duke, 431, 19-1, 13 15. Louisiana, 341, 13-4, 14 16. Missouri, 287, 19-4, 17 17. Arkansas, 281, 20-2, 19 18. Virginia Tech, 261, 10-3, 16 19. Georgia, 248, 19-2, 18 20. UCF, 135, 17-3, 24 21. Tennessee, 117, 18-3, 22 22. Auburn, 109, 16-4, 21 23. Clemson, 95, 16-2, 25 24. South Carolina, 87, 13-6, 20 25. Michigan, 76, 9-3, 23 Receiving Votes: Baylor (62), Northwestern (37), Southern Illinois (13), Iowa State (12), Illinois (11), Liberty (3), South Alabama (3), Texas State (3), Fresno State (1), James Madison (1), Ole Miss (1).  Photo By: Tennessee 3/14/2021 LSU Sports Information By: Chelsey Chamberlain KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 12 LSU Softball team used explosive offense Wickersham to claim a 11-3 run-rule win and take the series against No. 22 Tennessee Sunday afternoon in Sherri Parker Lee Stadium. The Tigers improve to 15-7 on the year and 2-1 in the SEC. The Lady Vols drop to 18-3 overall and 1-2 in the league. LSU will tap into midweek action Tuesday as it travels to Southeastern Louisiana. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. and the game will stream live on ESPN+. The Tigers came out swinging in the first with some explosive offense. Aliyah Andrews led off with an infield single. With two outs, she stole second and advanced to third on the overthrow by Tennessee's catcher. Andrews scored on Shelbi Sunseri's single that was off the wall in centerfield. On the next pitch, Georgia Clark smashed her third home run of the season over the left field wall, giving the Tigers an early 3-0 lead. After a scoreless second, the LSU offense picked up again. Taylor Pleasants singled through the right side and stole second. Amanda Doyle came to plate and hit her seventh dinger on the year, a ball over the centerfield wall, extending the Tigers' lead to 5-0. Another run came across in the inning as Clark was plated by a Morgan Cummins' single to left. In the next inning, the Tigers put up five more run to take an 11-0 lead on the Lady Vols. The Tigers pushed one across off a RBI single down the left field line from Doyle, scoring Andrews, who drew a walk. Sunseri hit a ball over the left field wall, the Tigers' third home run on the game, scoring Pleasants. It was Sunseri's fifth dinger on the year. Briggs brought in another run as she slapped a single to the pitcher and advanced to second on a throwing error, which allowed Raeleen Gutierrez to score. Tennessee scored three runs in the fifth on starter Shelby Wickersham. The Tigers went to Shelbi Sunseri to close the game out. She came in and struck out her first batter and Taylor Tidwell made a diving catch at second for the final out. Shelbi Wickersham earned the win in the circle, improving to 4-2. She allowed three runs and struck out two in her 4.1 innings of work. After recording just eight hits in the two games Saturday, the Tigers pounded out 10 hits. Clark, Doyle and Sunseri each had two hits. Sunseri finished with a team-high four RBI, while Doyle had three. Andrews, Pleasants, Doyle, Sunseri and Clark all scored two runs apiece. Torina's Thoughts On winning the series... "A series, especially on the road, in the SEC is a big deal. The fact that we were able to get it done in any way shape or form is huge for our team." Getting to Tennessee's Ashley Rogers early... "Rogers is one of the best pitchers in the league without question. So for our offense to do that was a really big moment. Our staff worked really hard preparing our team. Our team did that with what they did yesterday. I told them after the game that they won the series yesterday by forcing Rogers back in that second game by forcing her into extra innings in game one. They put a lot of pressure and wear on her yesterday which created a good situation for us today."  Photo By: LSUsports.net 3/13/2021 LSU Sports Information By: Chelsey Chamberlain KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 12 LSU Softball split its SEC opening games at No. 22 Tennessee Saturday, claiming a 2-1 win in game one in eight innings, and fell 4-3 in game two in eight innings. The Tigers are now 14-7 on the year and 1-1 in the SEC. The Lady Vols move to 18-2 overall and 1-1 in league play. The Tigers will go for the series Sunday as the two teams meet at noon CT/1 p.m. ET. The game will stream live on SEC Network+. Game One The Tigers had runners on in the first two innings as Amanda Doyle doubled with two outs in the first. Georgia Clark doubled in the second and Morgan Cummins reached on a hit-by-pitch but the two were left on as a strikeout ended the inning. LSU's starter Shelbi Sunseri kept Tennessee off balance in the first inning. Tennessee came out swinging in the second as the first two batters of the frame singled. Sunseri and the Tigers put down the next three in order to get out of the jam. After two more scoreless innings on both sides, the Tigers got on the board in the fifth. Cummins was hit-by-a-pitch again. Akiya Thymes came in to pinch run. She moved to second on a Taylor Tidwell sacrifice bunt. Aliyah Andrews singled to the pitcher and Thymes scored on the throw that was dropped at first, giving the Tigers a 1-0 lead. Tennessee answered in the sixth with a solo home run over the left center wall, tying the game up at 1-1. The Tigers made a change in the circle as Ali Kilponen came in and got the Tigers out of the inning. After a scoreless seventh, the Tigers took a 2-1 lead after Taylor Pleasants smashed a ball in the right field bleachers, her fifth on the year. Kilponen earns the win in the circle, improving to 3-2 on the year. She finished with three strikeouts. Sunseri allowed one run on six in her five innings of work to go along with four strikeouts. The top three in the lineup, Andrews, Pleasants and Doyle, each had a hit for the Tigers. Clark was the only other Tiger with a hit. Game Two Tennessee got out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning as LSU's starter Maribeth Gorsuch gave up two-run home run. After a scoreless second, the Tigers got on the board in the third after Tidwell doubled to center and advanced to third on a groundout. Andrews came up and put a bunt down but Tennessee overthrew first base allowing Tidwell to score and Andrews to get all the way to third. The run closed in on Tennessee, 2-1. The Tigers tied up the game and took the lead in the fifth. Ali Newland reached on a fielder's choice and Taryn Antoine came in to pinch run. Andrews hit a ball down the left field line to score Antoine to tie the game up 2-2. The Tigers took the lead on the next play as Pleasants hit a ground ball to first to score Andrews, taking a 3-2 lead. Tennessee led off the bottom of the sixth with a single and the Tigers went to Kilponen again in the circle. She forced a groundout and a strikeout to get the Tigers out of the inning. The Lady Vols started off the bottom of the seventh with back-to-back hits to give the Vols runners at second and third with no outs. With one out, Tennessee scored one on a groundout to first base, tying the game up 3-3. The Tigers got out of the inning on a pop up to short. After the Tigers grounded into a double play and flew out to end the frame, Tennessee homered in the eighth to take the win. Kilponen took the loss and is now 3-3 on the year. She struck out one and allowed two runs on three hits. Gorsuch also allowed two runs on three hits and struck out two in 5.1 innings of work. Andrews, Pleasants, Doyle and Tidwell each had a hit for the Tigers. Andrews, Pleasants and Tidwell each had an RBI. Torina's Thoughts On playing in an SEC game... "It feels good to be playing back in the SEC. It's been a long time since we've got to compete in league play, and it's really fun to take the field again. We're really happy to be here in Knoxville." The fight in game one... "I think the whole day was a battle. We had some kids that fought really hard. Taylor Pleasants put a great swing on her home run ball and we got some really good pitching out of both Sunseri and Kilponen." 3/12/2021 LSU Sports Information By: Chelsey Chamberlain KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The No. 12 LSU Softball team's Friday game with No. 22/17 Tennessee has been postponed due to rainy weather conditions in the area. The game was originally scheduled for a 5 p.m. CT/6 p.m. ET start time. The Tigers will play Saturday at noon CT/1 p.m. ET. That game will air live on SEC Network. The Tigers will look to play two Saturday if weather allows. The Tigers are scheduled to play the final game of the series on Sunday at noon CT/1 p.m. ET.  Photo By: LSUsports.net 3/12/2021 LSU Sports Information By: Chelsey Chamberlain BATON ROUGE – After claiming the series against previously-No. 7 Texas, the No. 12 LSU Softball team opens SEC action this weekend, March 12-14, at No. 22 Tennessee in Sherri Parker Lee Stadium. Friday's game will start at 5 p.m. CT and will stream live on SEC Network+. Saturday's game will air live on SEC Network with a noon CT start time. Sunday's game will also be play at noon CT and will stream on SEC Network+. Andy Brock and Madison Shipman will be on the call for game one, while Eric Frede and Michele Smith will call game two. Will Boling and Falon Catalano will call came three. About the Tigers The Tigers go into the weekend with an overall record of 13-6 after taking down previously-No. 7 Texas last weekend in a three-game series. The Tigers fell in game one, 8-5, but rallied back for a 2-1 eight-inning victory and dominant 7-2 win in game three to claim the series. On the season, LSU is hitting .282 and averaging 5.26 runs per game. Aliyah Andrews leads the way at the plate, hitting .426. She hit her first home runs over her career last week, an inside-the-park home run against Southern Miss last Tuesday and an outside-the-park in the final game versus Texas. Ciara Briggs is hitting .360 and has five doubles, two triples and two home runs on the year. In the circle, Shelbi Sunseri leads the team with a 0.98 ERA. She is 4-2 on the year after claiming the eight-inning victory over Texas on Saturday. She has struck out 28 batters in 35.2 innings of work. Ali Kilponen also got the win on Saturday. She leads the staff in strikeouts at 33 in 27 innings. The Tigers goe into the weekend with a 2.38 ERA and have four shutouts on the year with nine complete games. About Tennessee The Lady Vols go into the weekend with a 17-1 overall record. They are coming off a 5-0 weekend at the Reveille Classic, claiming wins over Campell, Lamar and SEC foe Texas A&M. Tennessee is hitting .358 as a team and averaging 7.17 runs per game. Amanda Ayala leads the team with a .448 batting average. She has 26 hits on the year with 19 runs scored. She has six doubles, two triples and six home runs for 18 RBI. Kiki Milloy is hitting .417 with a 1.042 slugging percentage and is 12-for-12 in stolen bases. In the circle, Ashley Rogers has seen the most action at 50 innings and is 8-1. She has struck out 94 batters in 50 innings. In 10 appearances, she has three shutouts and six complete games. The Lady Vols' staff has a 0.91 ERA and is holding their opponents to a .135 average. Series Record Tennessee leads the series 34-27-1. What's On Deck The Tigers will face Southeastern Louisiana on the road next Tuesday at 6 p.m. The game will stream live on ESPN+. LSU returns home next weekend for its first Saturday, Sunday, Monday series against Texas A&M. For full schedule, click here.  3/7/2021 By: Michael Lanclos Da Boot Sports BATON ROUGE, LA: In the second game of Saturday's doubleheader LSU would defeat Texas by a score of 7-2 at Tiger Park. With the win LSU improves to 13-6 while Texas drops to 10-2 on the season. Ali Kilponen improves to 2-2 on the season with the win. LSU seemed to be in command for most of the game while Texas was trying to find a way to play catch up. LSU pitcher Ali Kilponen would surrender a couple of singles in the first inning, but Texas would leave them stranded as we would head to the bottom of the frame. Taylor Pleasants would get things going lacing a one out single through the right side of the field. Shelbi Sunseri would then slam a home run to deep left field to put LSU ahead 2-0. Texas pitcher Ryleigh White would strikeout Ciara Briggs looking. Texas would manage to get their first two hitters of the inning on base, but once again they would leave the runners on base as Sunseri would settle down and get the next three Longhorns out to send us to the bottom of the second. Taylor Tidwell would get things started heading to first base after being hit by a pitch, before advancing to second on a wild pitch.. White would then walk Cait Calland, putting runners on first and second with only one out. Aliyah would then lace a single up the middle, scoring Tidwell and moving Colland to third. Aliyah would move up to second on the throw. Texas would then pull Ryleigh White from the game, replacing her with Courtney Day. Taylor Pleasants would then personally welcome Day to Tiger Park as she would hit a deep double off the center field wall, Andrews and Calland would both score. The score would then by 5-0 LSU. Both teams would then go three up and three down in the third inning. In the top of the fourth, Texas would go down in order again as LSU's Ali Kilponen would stay in control of the Texas offense. The Tigers would plate another run in the bottom of the 4th and it would come on a one out, solo homerun by Aliyah Andrews. The score would put LSU up 6-0. Neither team would be able to score in the 5th as we would move on in the contest. Texas would finally plate a run in the top of the 6th, but that's all Kilponen would allow. The Tigers would answer the Longhorns run in the bottom of the inning as Cait Calland would hit a solo homerun over the left field wall. Putting the Tigers ahead 7-1. Texas would try to rally in the top of the 7th as they would hit back to back singles with only one out. They would advance their runners to second and third on a fielders choice. A third single of the inning would score a run, but Ali Kilponen would shine against the final Longhorn batter, striking her out to end the ball game, Final score, LSU 7, Texas 2.... Ali Kilponen would pitch a gem as she would throw 120 pitches in 7 innings of work. Walking two while striking out 6 Texas batters. LSU now travel to play their first SEC series of the season against Tennessee on March 12-14....  Photo By: LSUsports.net 3/7/2021 By: Michael Lanclos Da Boot Sports BATON ROUGE, LA: It was an interesting game one for LSU where luck did not go their way as theywould fall to Texas 7-5. In game two, the Tigers would find a way to pull out the win in the bottom of the 8th inning at Tiger Park to improved to 12-6 on the season. LSU starting pitcher Shelbi Sunseri would improved her record to 4-2 on the season In the first inning there would go quietly as both teams would go three up-three down as we would go to the second inning with no score. Sunseri would start the second inning striking out the lead off batter, before Colleen Sullivan would reach first base on a error by Taylor Tidwell who would drop an easy fly ball. Next up, Taylor Ellsworth would smoke a single past shortstop. Kaitlyn Washington would then lace a single through the left side of the field, The Tigers would do a great job of getting the ball back into the infield to throw out Colleen Sulllivan at home trying to stretch out the play. LSU would again go quietly in the bottom of the second inning as Texas pitcher Molly Jacobsen would face only four Tiger batters, allowing no scoring threat. The Third inning would go three up-three down for both ball clubs as the pitchers would start to take control. Sunseri would get the first two Texas hitters out to start the fourth inning, however, Colleen Sullivan would step to the plate and slam the ball to left center for a home run. The Tigers would quickly get the final out to head to the bottom of the inning with Texas on top, 1-0. LSU in the bottom of the frame would seem ready to respond as Texas pitcher Molly Jacobsen would strike out Aliyah Andrews looking. Then Taylor Pleasants would send a long fly ball to deep center field, but Texas center fielder Colleen Sullivan would jump and snatch the ball for the out. Doyle would then ground out to end the fourth inning with Texas leading 1-0. The 5th inning would go by quickly as both teams would struggle at the plate going three up-three down, sending us to the top of the 6th inning. Texas would manage to get a runner in scoring position in the top frame, but Sunseri and the LSU defense would get out of the inning with no damage done. Cummins and Tidwell would both ground out to start the Tiger 6th inning, bringing Danieca Coffey to the plate. She would nail the ball to right center field for a double. Aliyah Andrews would then single to center field, advancing to second base, Coffey would head home to score to even the game up at 1-1. Pleasants would pop out to end the inning. Neither team would be able to score in the seventh, setting up an extra innings ball game to determine the winner., Sunseri would remain in the contest as she would continue to pitch a fantastic ball game, as she would take the Lornhorns down in order, three up-three down. Tidwell would lead off the inning being sent to first base after being hit by a Jacobsen. Thymes would enter the game to pinch run for Tidwell. Coffey would strike out before Andrews would step up and hit a single to left field. Thymes would head to third and then be send home on a huge fielding error by Texas. The series is now tied at one game a piece. LSU's Shelbi Sunseri would toss 97 pitches, striking out 7 batters in 8 innings pitched. Texas pitcher Molly Jacobsen would also pitch a good game as she pitched the 8 innings also while tossing 102 pitches and striking out four batters. #13 LSU now prepares to try and clinch the series against a tough #7 ranked Texas team at Tiger park in game two of the doubleheader. |
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