BATON ROUGE — Behind back-to-back two-hitters and an offensive clinic, the 12th-ranked LSU softball team swept a pair of games in the first day of the Purple & Gold Challenge, defeating Columbia, 6-1, and Ohio, 10-2, in five innings at Tiger Park.
With the wins, the Tigers improved to 11-3 on the season and 2-0 in tournament action. The Columbia Lions moved to 1-1 on the year and 1-1 in the tournament, while the Ohio Bobcats fell to 1-6 overall and 0-2 in tournament action.
LSU returns to action in the Purple & Gold Challenge on Saturday. The Tigers open play against the Lions at noon before facing the Bobcats at 2:15 p.m. The day’s action closes out as Columbia takes on Ohio at 4:30 p.m.
Sophomore Emily Turner picked up the complete-game win for LSU in the first game to improve to 5-1 on the season. She allowed one run on just two hits with a walk and a career-best 14 strikeouts. Freshman Megan Jolly picked up the complete-game win for the Tigers in the second game, moving to 4-2 on the year. She allowed two runs on two hits with four walks and five strikeouts.
At the plate, LSU combined for 21 hits in the two games, including 13 in the five-inning win over Ohio. The Tigers recorded three home runs, five doubles and three triples in the doubleheader. Junior Stephanie Hill went 5-for-7 on the day with a home run, two doubles, and four RBIs. Junior Lauren Castle also went 5-for-7, including a 4-for-4 outing against the Bobcats, with a triple, a home run and an RBI.
“This is what I thought should happen today,” said LSU head coach Yvette Girouard. “No offense to either of our opponents, but we should score these types of runs against these teams. I was a little disappointed that it took us so long to get our bats going against Columbia. I thought we had two good outings by our pitches, but we have got to keep the ball in the park.”
In the second inning of the first game, the Tigers broke through with two runs off a three Columbia errors. Lauren Delahoussaye reached on a fielding error by the shortstop to lead off the inning. With Dee Dee Henderson running for Delahoussaye, she stole second.
On a dropped ball in left field by the Lions, Andrea Smith reached and advanced to second before moving to third as the throw from the left fielder sailed into the LSU dugout. Henderson scored from second on the play. After Kristen Hobbs was hit by a pitch to put runners on the corners, a sacrifice fly by Leslie Klein scored Smith to give LSU the 2-0 lead.
The Tigers added sing runs in each of the next four innings. A double to right center by Delahoussaye scored Lauren Uhle, pinch running for Stephanie Hill, in the top of the third. An inning later, Camille Harris tripled to lead off the inning and scored on a single by Klein.
In the top of the fifth, Quinlan Duhon hit a leadoff home run to left field, her sixth of the season. LSU closed out its scoring for the game in the sixth on a third fielding error by the left fielder that scored Harris from second base after reaching on a single and stealing second.
Columbia got on the board in the bottom of the sixth inning. Ciji Rich led off the inning with a controversial home run to left field. The ball hit the top of the fence and bounced back onto the playing field, but was ruled a home run by the umpiring crew because the ball hit the yellow padding at the top of the fence.
Meghan Ivey took the complete-game loss for Columbia to fall to 0-1 on the year. She allowed six runs, three earned, with two walks.
In the nightcap, LSU got on the board in the bottom of the second inning. Hill posted her third home run of the season with a shot to left center to lead off the inning.
The Tigers broke through for four runs in the bottom of the third. Castle led off with a bunt single. Back-to-back-to-back doubles by Vanessa Soto, Duhon and Hill scored three runs and put a runner second. After back-to-back walks to Delahoussaye and Killian Roessner to load the bases, a sacrifice fly by Andrea Smith scored Hill from third to give LSU the 5-0 advantage.
In the bottom of the fourth, LSU added four more runs. Castle led off with her first home run of the season, sending the ball out at dead center field. Soto then singled through the right side before Duhon drew a walk. With runners on first and second, Hill doubled down the left field line, scoring Soto and Duhon. After Hill moved to third on a passed ball, Delahoussaye singled up the middle to score Hill and run the score to 9-0.
Ohio broke through with two runs in the top of the fifth inning. With two outs, Debbie Szalejko drew a walk. Marian Davis then homered to left field to bring the Bobcats within seven.
The Tigers ended the game early in the bottom of the fifth. Castle led off with a triple to center field. With one out, Castle scored on a sacrifice fly to center field to give LSU the eight-run win.
LSU 021 111 0 – 6 9 2
Columbia 000 001 0 – 1 2 5
Turner and Hobbs. Ivey and Borton.
WP — Turner (5-1). LP — Ivey (0-1).
HR — Duhon. T — 1:58.
Ohio 000 02 – 2 2 0
LSU 014 41 – 10 13 0
Sauter, Armstrong (4), Heim (4) and Davis. Jolly and Roessner.
WP — Jolly (4-2). LP — Sauter (0-2).
HR — Davis, Castle, Hill.
T — 1:23. A — 631.
COLUMBIA 1, OHIO 0 — (8 Inn.) — Box Score
BATON ROUGE — An RBI double by Hilary Parsons in the top of the eighth inning proved to be the game winner as Columbia defeated Ohio, 1-0, in eight innings in the first game of the Purple & Gold Challenge at Tiger Park.
The Lions opened their season with a win, while the Bobcats fell to 1-5 on the season.
Jackie Adelfio threw a complete-game one-hitter for Columbia, allowing a lone single to left field in the fourth inning. She improved to 1-0 on the season, striking out eight with one walk in the game.
Twice in the game the Lions left the bases loaded, stranding three in both the top of the first and the third, but could not push a run across. The Bobcats got their best scoring opportunity in the fourth, stranding two after a walk and a base hit, but also could not covert.
In the top of the eighth, Kacy Krisman led off with an infield single. After she stole second, she moved to third on a wild pitch. With one out, Parsons doubled to left field, scoring Krisman to give Columbia the 1-0 lead. Adelfio then retired the Bobcats in order in the bottom half of the inning to preserve the win.
Natalie Armstrong took the loss for Ohio to fall to 0-1 on the season. She allowed one run on three hits with two strikeouts in three innings. Kerri Harley started and threw three shutout innings with four walks and two strikeouts. Candy Warden came on in relief in the fifth and allowed one hit and one walk with a strikeout.
Columbia 000 000 01 – 1 7 1
Ohio 000 000 00 – 0 1 1
Adelfio and Marconi. Harley, Warden (4), Armstrong (6) and Lunsford.
WP — Adelfio (1-0). LP — Armstrong (0-1).
T — 2:09.