OXFORD, Miss. — The 13th-ranked LSU softball team exploded for six runs in the fifth inning to complete the Southeastern Conference series sweep of Ole Miss, 10-0 in five innings, on Sunday afternoon at the UM Softball Complex.
With the win the Tigers improved to 24-3 on the season and 3-0 in conference play, extending their winning streak to eight games with their 10th run-rule win of the year. The Lady Rebels fell to 7-17 on the season and 0-3 in league play and have now lost to LSU in the last 25 consecutive meetings.
The Tigers will now travel to McNeese State for a mid-week game in Lake Charles on Wednesday at 6 p.m. LSU will return home to host nationally ranked Georgia next weekend. The Tigers will face the 11th-ranked Bulldogs on Saturday in a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. before hosting the series final on Sunday at 1 p.m.
“It was a great start to the SEC season,” said LSU head coach Yvette Girouard. “We have a mid-week game against McNeese and then a tough opponent in Georgia coming into Tiger Park next weekend. Hopefully we will have a great crowd for our SEC home opening weekend.”
After recording only two runs and four hits off of Mary Jane Callahan on Saturday, the Tigers erupted for 10 runs on 11 hits in the series finale. LSU got four two-hit performances, including a 2-for-4 mark from Leslie Klein with three RBIs. Despite an 0-for-2 mark, Vanessa Soto posted two RBIs for the Tigers.
Dani Hofer earned the complete-game shutout, her third of the season. The freshman allowed only five hits and a walk with three strikeouts as she improved to 8-2 on the year.
“It was an impressive day for the Tigers with the bats against a pretty effective pitcher in Callahan,” said Girouard. “We were opportunistic and played some good defense when we needed to. I didn’t think that Dani was particularly sharp but she was still talented enough to win.”
After leaving runners on base in the first two innings, LSU broke through with runs in the top of the third. With two outs, Lauren Castle reached on an infield single deep in the hole at shortstop. A walk to Vanessa Soto put runners at first and second.
Leslie Klein then nailed her seventh double of the season past the second baseman into right center, scoring Castle and Soto. Stephanie Hill then singled to right center, scoring Klein from second to give the Tigers the 3-0 advantage.
In the top of the fourth, LSU tacked on another run. Killian Roessner led off with an infield single over second base. With one out, Roessner advanced to second on a wild pitch. A single up the middle by Andrea Smith sent Roessner to third. Dee Dee Henderson came in to run for Smith at first and stole second.
With runners on second and third, Camille Harris drew a walk to load the bases. With two outs, Soto walked, which allowed Henderson to score from third for the 4-0 advantage.
The Tigers broke the game open in the top of the fifth inning. Stephanie Hill led off with a single to right field. After a fielder’s choice by Duhon got Hill going to second, Duhon stole second. Roessner was hit by a pitch to put runner on first and second before Duhon stole third.
Erika Sluss came in to pinch hit for Delahoussaye and recorded an infield single that scored Duhon from third. A single to left center by Andrea Smith loaded the bases. Harris was hit by a pitch to score Roessner. Castle then reached on a fielding error by the second baseman, allowing Smith and Sluss to score. After Castle stole second, an infield ground out by Soto scored Harris to score. LSU concluded the scoring on an RBI single by Klein.
Despite having two runners on base in each of the first three innings, the Tigers kept Ole Miss from scoring. After the Lady Rebels went up and down in order in the fourth, Ole Miss got a leadoff single in the fifth, but LSU once again kept the Lady Rebels off the board as Hofer retired the final batter by strikeout.
Callahan took the complete-game loss for Ole Miss to fall to 3-10 on the season. She allowed 10 runs, seven earned, on 11 hits with three walks and no strikeouts.