Game 7
Lewis’ One-Hitter Paces Tigers Past Penn State, 2-1
BATON ROUGE — LSU scored two runs in the top of the third inning off Penn State starter Kelly McCann and Ashley Lewis pitched a one-hitter as the Tigers advanced to a showdown with No. 2 seeded Arizona State, 2-1, on Saturday at 4 p.m.
Lewis (20-4) pitched a seven-inning complete game and allowed only one hit and two walks. Her effort was only marred by a throwing error by third baseman Julie Wiese that allowed a run to score in the bottom of the seventh.
Trailing 2-1, the Nittany Lions put a runner on second with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, but Karen Gulini grounded out to Julie Wiese to end the game.
Penn State (34-28) was eliminated from the tournament with a 2-2 record. Starting pitcher Kelly McCann fell to 22-14 on the season.
Third-ranked LSU improved to 55-9 on the season.
LSU, the visiting team based on a coin toss, struck for both of its runs with two out in the top of the third. Stephanie Hastings singled hard into center field and then scored on a double by Christy Connor for a 1-0 lead. After Jill Crawford pinch ran for Connor at second, Trena Peel singled up the middle to score Crawford and give LSU a 2-0 lead.
Outside of its effort in the seventh, the Nittany Lions’ best threat against Lewis was in the bottom of the first when Kelley Galigher singled and Megan Humphrey walked to put runners on first and second with two outs. A ground out to Lewis ended the inning, however.
LSU’s Stephanie Hastings went 2-for-3 including her school-record 53rd career double. Trena Peel was also 2-for-3 from the plate.
Game 5
Southern Miss-cues Give Penn State 1-0 Victory
BATON ROUGE — A pair of critical base-running mistakes by Southern Miss and a catcher’s interference call which led to an unearned run gave Penn State a 1-0 victory over the Eagles in game 5 of the NCAA Regional Tournament in Baton Rouge on Friday afternoon.
Southern Miss was eliminated from the regional after suffering its second consecutive loss in the tournament. The Eagles ended the season at 46-21 overall.
The Nittany Lions advanced to play LSU in the nightcap on Friday after improving to 34-27 on the season. The win was the third postseason victory in Penn State softball history.
Penn State scored the game’s lone run with help from one of the rarest of calls in college softball, when Galigher reached base on catcher’s interference. Galigher advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Allison Medellin and was pinch run for by Jackie Dabrowski.
After Dabrowski was caught stealing for the second out, Megan Humphrey singled up the middle and scored on a double by Erin Norton for what turned out to be an insurmountable 1-0 lead.
Southern Miss’ best chance to score came in the bottom of the fifth when the Eagles put runners on first and third on singles by Sarah Boyd and Kristie Martin.
With one out, Amanda Brown hit a ground ball back to Penn State walk-on freshman starting pitcher Marisa Hanson (12-14) who threw to third to get Boyd out in a run down and then shortstop Adrienne Manzo completed the double play by tagging out Martin trying to advance to third.
In the bottom of the seventh, Boyd was hit by a pitch and advanced to second on a ground ball out. With two outs, Martin singled up the middle which looked to put runners on first and third. However, Boyd ran past the third base bag and was thrown out by Penn State catcher Colleen Kersey to end the game.
Southern Miss starter Melissa Cundiff (17-11) received the loss after throwing seven innings and allowing one run on three hits while walking one and striking out two.
Game 6
Arizona State Outlasts UL-Lafayette, 2-1
BATON ROUGE — Arizona State designated player Erica Beach singled in a run in the top of the fourth and then allowed only one hit in pitching the final two innings as the Sun Devils defeated UL-Lafayette, 2-1, in game 6 of the NCAA Regional at Baton Rouge.
Arizona State (36-20) advanced to play the 4 p.m. Saturday game of the regional versus an opponent to be determined. UL-Lafayette (50-9) will either play at 1 p.m. or 7 p.m. on Saturday depending on the outcome of tonight’s LSU-Penn State game.
The Sun Devils scored first in the top of the second when starting pitcher Kirsten Voak (15-8) reached base on a fielder’s choice and advanced to second on a passed ball. An RBI single by Kristen Swetel gave ASU an unearned run and a 1-0 lead.
The Lady Cajuns matched the run in the bottom of the frame, as Jana Mower and Summar Lapeyrouse singled to open the inning. After a fielder’s choice put runners on first and third with one out, pinch hitter Cyndy Repici hit a sacrifice fly deep to center field to score Mower and tie the game at 1-1.
In the top of the fourth, Kara Brun singled and advanced to second on a sacrifice, leading to Beach’s game-winning hit to center.
Beach earned her third save of the season after striking out three in two innings pitched.