BATON ROUGE — Allowing only one hit in two games, the sixth-ranked LSU softball team recorded a pair of run-rule wins, 9-1 over Troy in six innings and 9-0 over Southern Mississippi in five innings, on the second day of action in the Easton Purple & Gold Challenge at Tiger Park.
The Tigers improved to 15-1 on the season and 4-0 in tournament play. Troy dropped its first game of the year with the loss, falling to 8-1 overall. The Golden Eagles fell to 4-7 and 1-3 in tournament play, including a pair of shutout losses to LSU.
The Tigers will close out play on Sunday with Troy at 11:15 a.m. and Louisiana Tech at 1:30 p.m. Fans are reminded that they can get into the tournament for FREE with a ticket stub from either the men’s basketball game against Florida or the women’s basketball game against Alabama.
Emily Turner came out against Troy and threw a one-hitter, allowing just a sixth inning home run to spoil her bid for the no-hitter. With the win, the senior All-American improved to 5-1 on the season. Facing 22 batters in the game, Turner struck out 14 of those, tying her career high for K’s, with a walk.
In the nightcap against Southern Miss, Dani Hofer posted her second no-hitter of the season and the third of her career. The sophomore was two walks away from the perfect game as she struck out 13 of the 17 batters she faced. Hofer remained undefeated at 6-0 on the year.
Through two days of tournament play, the Tigers pitchers have been outstanding, allowing only three total hits in four games, with a lone run off the solo home run against Troy. LSU has also posted 46 strikeouts in 23 innings, striking out an average of 14 batters per seven innings.
“The pitchers have just been outstanding all weekend and today they were phenomenal and in complete control,” said LSU head coach Yvette Girouard. “It’s scary on day like today because if the ball gets up, it’s going out. You want to be working ahead and make sure that everything is moving and cutting, and it was today.”
Freshman Jazz Jackson went a perfect 5-for-5 on the day, including a double, a triple and RBI and three runs scored. Junior Shannon Stein recorded four hits as part of a 4-for-6 effort, including a double, RBI and four runs scored. Senior All-American Leslie Klein led the team with five RBIs on the day, which moved her into third in career RBIs in school history, while freshman Rachel Mitchell was just behind Klein with four RBIs.
“In the beginning of both games, we were hitting the ball hard, but they were playing us at the fence and we kept hitting the ball right at them,” said Girouard. ”Then it started to open up for us. Anytime you hit the ball that hard in the first two innings, you have to figure something good is going to happen sooner or later.”
Against Troy, the Tigers broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the third inning. Stein led off with a double down the left field line. A double by Jackson scored Stein from second to give LSU the 1-0 advantage.
Four runs in the bottom of the fourth put the game away for the Tigers. With one out, Erika Sluss homered to center field. After an Andrea Smith walk and base hits by Stein and Jackson, Mitchell singled up the middle to score Dee Dee Henderson, who was pinch running for Sluss. A sacrifice fly by Klein scored Jackson from third. A double down the left field line by Sluss in the bottom of the fifth scored Vanessa Soto, who was hit by a pitch to reach base.
Jackson led off with a triple to start the sixth. After a walk by Mitchell, Klein hit her second sacrifice fly of the game, scoring Jackson from third. Quinlan Duhon then ended the game with a walk-off home run to left field. It marked the fourth home run of the season for Duhon as the Tigers earned the eight-run rule win, 9-1.
Angela Lopez started and took the loss for Troy to fall to 3-1 on the season. She allowed four runs on five hits with three walks and five strikeouts in three and a third innings. Michelle Grinage came on and closed it out, giving up five runs on five hits with a walk in two innings.
Against Southern Miss, LSU was also slow to get started offensively, but then broke through in a big way with four runs in the top of the third. With one out, Stein singled up the middle. A sacrifice bunt by Jackson sent Stein to second. Mitchell then hit her third home run of the season, scoring Stein for two RBIs. After a triple to left field by Klein, Duhon doubled to left center to score Klein. The second triple of the inning, this one by Soto, scored Duhon as the Tigers ended the inning ahead 4-0.
LSU closed it out with five runs in the top of the fourth. Sluss led off the inning with a single through the left side and then stole second. On a ground out by Andrea Smith, Sluss moved to third. Stein then singled up the middle to score Sluss. An infield single by Jackson sent Stein to second.
An RBI single by Mitchell scored Stein as Jackson moved to third. Klein then posted her third home run of the season and the 26th of her career, closing out the scoring with the three-run shot as the Tigers rolled, 9-0.
Shea Naramore started and took the loss for Southern Miss to fall to 3-7 on the season. She allowed four runs on five hits with two walks and a strikeout in two and two-thirds innings. Logan James came on in relief and allowed five runs on five hits with a walk in two and a third.
Other action on the final day of the Easton Purple & Gold Challenge includes Southern Miss against Troy at 9 a.m. and the Lady Techsters against Southern Miss at 3:45 p.m. LSU returns to action again on Saturday with a doubleheader against Alcorn State, which upset nationally ranked UL-Lafayette on Friday, on Tuesday. The first game will begin at 4 p.m., with the second game following 20 minutes after the conclusion of game one.
SOUTHERN MISS STAGES INCREDIBLE COMEBACK TO TOP LOUISIANA TECH, 24-11
BATON ROUGE — After scoring just four runs in their first two games at the Easton Purple & Gold Challenge, and seven through their first two innings of game three, Southern Miss erupted for 17 runs in the top of the seventh to rally and defeat Louisiana Tech, 24-11, in the opening game on day two at Tiger Park.
The Golden Eagles (4-6) trailed 8-7 heading into the final inning, but found a spark at the plate at the last minute to put 17 runs on the board courtesy of a 12-hit frame. Three of these hits were round trippers that went over the left field fence, including a grand slam by Allison Bullard. Megan Hill came to the plate three times in top of the seventh and picked up a triple, a double and a three-run home run.
Hill finished the game with five hits, five RBIs and four runs scored in six trips to the plate, and managed to hit for the cycle after picking up a single in the third inning. Brandi Alonzo was a perfect 5-for-5 with three RBIs and four runs scored, Brittany Wright went 3-for-5 with three RBIs and two runs scored, while Logan James, Jennifer Fox, Kristin Pilgrim, and Bullard all recorded two hits apiece. As a team, the Golden Eagles combined for 23 hits in the onslaught.
In addition to picking up three RBIs at the plate, James (1-0) also threw five innings in relief of starting pitcher Shea Naramore to earn her first win of the season. After starting the game at first base, James moved into the circle to begin the third inning and gave up six runs on six hits with four strikeouts and three walks.
Louisiana Tech (9-7) went through a total of four pitchers in the game, with all four making appearances in the seventh inning. Krissi Oliver (5-5) gave up five runs in just two-thirds innings to pick up the loss, but the meltdown in the circle was a team effort, as neither Mandi Bertsch (eight runs in five and two-thirds innings), Courtney Avery (five runs in no official innings), or Kylie Bassett (six runs in two-thirds innings) proved to be effective with the ball.
LOUISIANA TECH DOWNS TROY, 8-6, TO CLOSE DAY TWO OF PURPLE & GOLD CHALLENGE
BATON ROUGE — Louisiana Tech scored six runs in the first two innings and held on to defeat a scrappy Troy team, 8-6, in the final game of day two of the Easton Purple & Gold Challenge at Tiger Park.
Krissi Oliver (6-5) replaced Louisiana Tech (10-7) starter Mandi Bertsch in the second inning and pitched six solid innings in relief, giving up three runs and striking out two, while walking just one Trojan batter. Troy (8-2) hurler Rocky Paige (5-1) gave up six runs in one and two-thirds innings and suffered her first loss of the season.
The Lady Techsters were led at the plate by Rochelle Sandberg, who went 3-for-4 with four RBIs, two of which came when she clubbed a two-run home run over the left field fence in the top of the first inning to open the scoring. The top of the order did the bulk of the order for Louisiana Tech as the first three batters accounted for six of the eight runs the team scored.
Five Trojans had multiple-hit outings, led by Courtney Davis’ 3-for-4 performance that included a solo home run, but despite outhitting the Lady Techsters, 12-11, Troy wasn’t able to knock home enough runs and came out on the wrong end of the 8-6 score.