LAS VEGAS — The fifth-ranked LSU softball team split a pair of games, falling to Illinois, 5-3, before coming back to defeat Louisville, 7-1, on Saturday at Eller Media Stadium as part of the UNLV Desert Classic.
With the split the Tigers are now 1-1 on the season. The Illini moved to 4-4, while Louisville, which defeated nationally ranked Oklahoma last weekend, fell to 3-3 on the season.
“I am really proud of the way the team responded after a lackluster performance in the first game,” said LSU head coach Yvette Girouard. “The team never quit in the first game. It wasn’t pretty, but we didn’t take advantage of the opportunities we were given.
“It was a tale of two games in the second as we went out and attacked their pitching. We challenged this team after the loss that it’s how you respond when you fail that makes the difference. I thought our defense was unbelievable today. I am very proud of the way we played. We saw some things that we need to work on and we will get better.”
Freshman Quinlan Duhon led LSU with a 3-for-6 performance, including a double and an RBI, on the day. Freshman Killian Roessner also posted three hits, going 3-for-7, while freshman Vanessa Soto went 3-for-8 with two doubles, a home run and two RBIs.
Junior Lauren Delahoussaye posted her first home run of the season, going 2-for-5 with a team-best three RBIs on the day. As a team, the Tigers hit .328 over the two games with five doubles and two home runs.
“I thought we had some really outstanding individual performances today,” said Girouard. “Several of our freshmen really went out and attacked at the plate and it showed in their performances. We hit the ball solidly the entire day.”
In the first game, Illinois took the lead in the top of the first inning. LeeAnn Butcher led off wit ha single through the right side and then stole second. With two outs, Jenna Hall drew a walk. Shanna Diller then doubled to right field, scoring Butcher from second and sending Hall to third. A ground out by Jackelyn Diekemper ended the inning with the Illini leading 1-0.
The Tigers came back to tie the game in the bottom of the third inning. Roessner recorded her first collegiate hit with a line shot up the middle. Dee Dee Henderson then came in to run for Roessner and stole second. She moved to third on an infield ground out by Andrea Smith. An RBI single through the left side by Kristen Hobbs scored Henderson to even the game.
Illinois came back to take the lead in the top of the fourth with a pair of runs. Diekemper reached on a fielding error by Lauren Castle in right field. Laura Zobrist came in to pinch run for Diekemper and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Kisten Martin.
A double to left field by Julie Balicki scored Zobrist as Elena Planinsek came in to run for Balicki. A single to left field by Angelena Mexicano scored Planinsek to give the Illini the 3-1 lead.
In the top of the fifth inning, Illinois added two more. With one out, Hall singled up the middle. Emily Turner them came in to replace Megan Jolly in the circle. Shanna Diller then homered to center field to run the score to 5-1 in favor of the Illini.
The Tigers put up two in the bottom of the sixth to cut the lead to two, 5-3. With two outs, Stephanie Hill recorded a long single off the center field fence. Delahoussaye then homered to left center, LSU’s first home run of the season.
Jolly started and took the loss the Tigers to drop to 0-1 on the season. In four and a third innings of work, she allowed four runs, three earned, on seven hits with a walk and three strikeouts. Turner came on in relief in the fifth inning, allowing one run on four hits with a walk and three strikeouts in two and a two-thirds innings.
Mary Miller started and earned the win for the Illini. She allowed three runs on six hits with a walk and two strikeouts in five two-thirds innings. Claire DeVreese came on in the sixth to throw earn the save. She allowed two hits with a strikeout in an inning and a third.
In the second game, the Tigers came out swinging. Castle led off with a single up the middle. She moved to second on a passed ball. Camille Harris then doubled to right center to score Castle.
Soto then posted her first collegiate hit with a double to left center to score Harris. After a sacrifice bunt by Hill sent Soto to third, Delahoussaye doubled to left field to score Soto and extend the lead to 3-0.
In the bottom of the second inning, Louisville got on the board. With one out, Courtney Moore tripled to right field. Michelle Vasquez then tripled to center field to score Moore from third.
After loading the bases and failing to score in the top of the third inning, the Tigers came back to score three in the top of the fifth. Soto led off with her first collegiate home run to straight away center field. Hill then singled up the middle. With Lauren Uhle pinch running for Hill, she moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Delahoussaye.
A single by Roessner put runners on the corners before a double by Duhon scored Uhle and send Roessner to third. A walk by Hobbs once again loaded the bases for the Tigers with two outs. Castle then beat out an infield single to score Roessner before Harris flew out to deep left field to end the inning with LSU leading 6-1.
The Tigers tacked on another in the top of the sixth to close out the scoring as Soto led off with a double to right field. With one out, she moved to third on a wild pitch. Soto scored as Delahoussaye reached on a throwing error by the third baseman, allowing Delahoussaye to move to second. She advanced to third, but was stranded as Duhon struck out swinging to end the inning.
Jolly started once again and earned her first collegiate win for the Tigers to move to 1-1 on the season. She allowed one run on four hits with a walk and two strikeouts in five innings. Turner came on in relief in the sixth and allowed only two hits with two strikeouts in two innings of work.
Aja Sherman started and took the loss for the Cardinals to fall to 1-3 on the season. She allowed six runs, five earned, on 10 hits with four walks and four strikeouts in five innings of work. Catherine Bishop came on in relief in the sixth and allowed one unearned run on one hit with two walks and two strikeouts in two innings.
LSU returns home to host the Tiger Classic next weekend. The Tigers will face Indiana, Southern and Grambling in the three-day tournament at Tiger Park. Action begins on Friday and concludes with the tournament championship game on Sunday.
Illinois 100 220 0 – 5 10 0
LSU 001 002 0 – 3 7 1
Miller, DeVreese (6) and Balicki. Jolly, Turner (5) and Hobbs. WP — Miller. LP — Jolly. S — DeVreese. HR — Diller, Delahoussaye. T — 2:05. A — 225.
LSU 300 031 0 – 7 11 0
Louisville 010 00 0 – 1 6 2
Jolly, Turner (6) and Roessner. Sherman, Bishop (6) and Wood. WP — Jolly. LP — Sherman. HR — Soto. T — 2:36. A — 126.