HATTIESBURG, Miss. — Lauren Delahoussaye nailed a three-run home run as part of a four-run fifth inning that led the fourth-ranked LSU softball team to an 8-0 win over Southern Miss in five inning on Wednesday night at the Southern Miss Softball Complex.
With the win, the Tigers improve to 23-4 on the season and 3-0 against the Lady Eagles (11-13) on the year. LSU has now won 18 of its last 19 games, with a lone loss to No. 13 Tennessee.
Sophomore Lauren Castle went 3-for-3 from the plate for the Tigers with a trio of singles. LaDonia Hughes and Leslie Klein each went 2-for-3 from the plate and combined to score three runs.
“Castle and LaDonia looked awesome,” said LSU head coach Yvette Girouard. “We just have so many weapons. Some of them are going to sleep a little bit and some of them are resurrecting. That’s the great thing about our lineup.”
Senior All-American Kristin Schmidt earned the compete-game shutout to improve to 13-2 on the season, increasing her win streak to 11 consecutive games. She scattered three hits without a walk, while recording seven strikeouts.
“I thought this was as good as Kristin has looked in a long time,” said Girouard. “She was throwing the ball with authority, so I hated to pull her. It looked like she had some dip on the ball tonight, something she hasn’t had. I had planned to throw Turner, but she was in such total domination so I was ready to get out of here in five.”
The Tigers got on the board in the top of the first inning. Hughes led off with a single up the middle. Castle followed with a single off the third baseman that moved Hughes to third. Castle and Hughes moved to second and third on an infield groundout by Leslie Klein. An RBI single to center field by Stephanie Hill scored Hughes from third for the 1-0 LSU lead.
In the top of the second, the Tigers added a second run. With two outs, Camille Harris drew a walk. After stealing second, she scored as Hughes reached on an error by the second baseman.
Castle led off with a single down the left field line in the top of the third. A single through the right side by Leslie Klein put runners on first and second. On a fielder’s choice by Hill, Castle was out at third. Delahoussaye then flied out to right field and moved Klein to third.
With runners on the corners, a delayed double steal sent Hill to second and scored Klein from third. Julie Wiese then singled to right field to score Hill from second for the 4-0 Tiger lead.
Kristin Schmidt’s bid for the no-hitter was broken up with an infield single by Charity Butler in the bottom of the third inning. She moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Heather Bell, but was stranded there as Schmidt struck out the last two batters to end the inning.
In the top of the fifth inning, LSU broke the game open. Castle led off with her third hit of the game. A single through the left side by Klein moved Castle to second. A fielder’s choice by Hill got Castle going to third. With runners at first and second, Delahoussaye slammed her fifth home run of the season to left field to put the Tigers ahead 7-0.
“t is usually a matter of getting to Jessica (Holaway) at some point in the game,” said Girouard. “We made a statement in the first inning when we scored a run and of course that shot by Del (Lauren Delahoussaye) really put it out of reach.”
Julie Wiese then drew a walk. She advanced to third on a single by Leigh Ann Danos. On a single to left field by Sara Fitzgerald, Wiese scored from third to extend the LSU lead to 8-0.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Tigers ended the game in dramatic fashion as Klein made a magnificent catch on a ball in foul territory at the wall that sealed the run-rule victory.
Holaway took the loss for the Lady Eagles to fall to 4-4 on the season. She allowed eight runs, seven earned, on 12 hits with two walks and two strikeouts.
The Tigers return to SEC action this weekend against No. 15 South Carolina at home with a three-game series beginning with a doubleheader on Saturday at noon and concluding with a single game on Sunday at noon.