BATON ROUGE — Tessa Lynam hit a game-winning homer in the top of the ninth inning of game one and Kristin Schmidt struck out 14 in game two as the fifth-ranked Tigers swept a doubleheader from in-state rival Northwestern State, 4-3 and 2-0, Wednesday night at Tiger Park.
With four wins over Northwestern State this season, the Tigers improve to 35-8 overall and have now won 15 of their last 16 games. The losses ended the Demons eight-game winning streak as they fall to 32-22 on the year.
“We have beaten Northwestern four times this season and they gave us everything we could handle in all four games,” said LSU head coach Yvette Girouard. “They put the ball in play and have one of the best short games of any team we have played. They just dont give up, but when you are the fifth-ranked team in the country, you should find a way to win these games and we did.”
In the first game, Tessa Lynams ninth inning leadoff home run gave LSU the 4-3 victory after Northwestern rallied from a 0-3 deficit to tie the game with two runs in the sixth and one run in the seventh.
“This was just great for Tessa,” said Girouard. “She is a pure hitter and will be a great talent for us. She has struggled at the plate lately and is battling through it. This was just good for her.”
Britni Sneed improved to 19-5 on the seasons, allowing three runs on six hits. She struck out 16 in the complete game victory to move into eighth place in career strikeouts in NCAA history, passing former South Carolina and Cal State-Fullerton pitcher Trinity Johnson.
LSU jumped out with two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. After a leadoff walk to April Janzen, Erin Johnson knocked her second home run of the season over the right field fence.
The Tigers added another run in the bottom of the fifth inning. With one out, Blair Smith drew a walk. Jennie Reeves then doubled down the left field line that advanced Smith to third. Trena Peel then nailed a deep fly ball to centerfield that scored Smith from third.
Northwestern rallied for two runs in the top of the sixth inning with two outs. Nicole Martin got it going with a single and then advanced to second on an error by Janzen on an overthrow to first base.
Lindsey Danzy then singled on a hard shot to Julie Wiese at third base that ricocheted off her hand and Martin advanced to second. Lindsay Leftwich then doubled to left centerfield to score Martin and Danzy and cut the lead to 3-2.
The Demons tied the game in the top of the seventh as Jana Strickland nailed a home run over the left field fence.
The Tigers had a chance to win the game in the bottom of the eighth inning.
With one out, Christy Connor singled to right field. After Sara Fitzgerald came in to pinch run for Connor, Johnson singled down the right field line and advanced to second on the throw as Fitzgerald moved to third.
With runners at second and third, Wiese fouled out to the catcher and Steege grounded out to the third baseman to end the threat.
Lynam led off the top of the ninth inning for the Tigers and nailed the game-winning home run over the left field fence.
In game two, the Tigers wasted no time getting on the board. LSU jumped out to the 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning.
With one out, Janzen singled to centerfield before Connor doubled down the left field line to score Janzen from first. After Johnson struck out, Connor advanced to third on a passed ball. She scored as Wiese doubled to left centerfield.
The Demons threatened in the top of the fifth inning. With one out, Tracye Thompson struck out, but reached first on an error by Connor after a wild pitch by Schmidt. After another Schmidt strikeout, Shay Hunt singled to center field to put runners at first and second.
Martin then tapped an infield single that load the bases, but Schmidt came back to strikeout Danzy swinging to end the inning and the threat.
After the fifth inning, Schmidt dominated the Demon batters, striking out the side in the final two innings. The junior picked up her sixth complete-game shutout, improving to 12-3 on the season. She allowed five hits while striking out a season-high 14 batters.
“Southern Miss is a good team,” said Girouard. “They struggled early, but they have several players that can put the ball over the fence. We looked like we hadnt played in eight days out there today and we will need to be ready to play tomorrow.”