BATON ROUGE — The LSU softball team moved up two places in the NFCA poll to No. 8 as the Tigers topped Centenary, 9-1, in a mid-week game on Wednesday evening at the Centenary Softball Complex.
With the win, LSU moved to 29-4 on the season and 2-0 against the Ladies on the year. The Tigers also increased their winning streak to 52 games over in-state schools dating back to 2001. Centenary dropped to 13-15 overall and 0-13 all-time against LSU.
“It was kind of a workman-like performance for us today,” said LSU head coach Yvette Girouard. ”Centenary kind of opened the door for us and we took advantage of it. Anytime you get to see live pitching, it is an advantage for us. It’s important that we represent LSU accordingly because there are so many great Tiger fans in Shreveport.”
Junior Killian Roessner had a career game at the plate as the Tiger catcher went 4-for-5 with a pair of home runs, three runs scored and four RBIs. The two homers tied the school record for home runs in a game, while the four hits, three runs scored and four RBIs were all career highs for the Manasquan, N.J., native.
“This is a small park compared to Tiger Park and the ball got out of the park rather quick today,” said Girouard. “Killian stayed at practice late yesterday and it paid off. She’s hit well for us all year and done a phenomenal job behind the plate, but she did have an amazing night tonight.”
Cody Trahan earned her third complete-game collegiate win as the freshman remains undefeated at 3-0 on the year. She allowed just three hits and one unearned run with two walks and 12 strikeouts.
LSU got on the board early in the game as the Tigers posted three runs in the top of the first. With one out, Rachel Mitchell hit a home run to center field that just cleared the glove of Lauren Flowers and the outfield wall. After a single by Roessner, a walk to Kristen Hobbs and an infield single by Quinlan Duhon loaded the bases, an error by Flowers off the bat of Vanessa Soto allowed Roessner and Hobbs to score.
In the top of the fifth, LSU added two more. Roessner led off with a solo home run to left center field. Hobbs then reached on an infield single. She moved to second on an infield ground out by Duhon. After a walk to Soto, Hollis reached on an error by the shortstop that allowed Hobbs to come around and score.
The Tigers added three more in the top of the sixth. Mitchell led off with a walk. A single through the left side by Klein sent Mitchell to second. Roessner then came up with her second consecutive home run as LSU took the 8-0 lead.
Centenary got its only run of the game in the bottom half of the inning. Emerald Doria led off with a walk. She moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. On a steal attempt, she took third and scored as the throw from Roessner got away from Andrea Smith and into left field.
In the top of the seventh, the Tigers got the run back. With two outs, Klein drew a walk. Roessner then singled up the middle to send Klein to second. A single to center field by Hobbs scored Hobbs from second to give LSU the 9-1 win.
Unfortunately, the game marked the end of the 15-game hitting streak for Dee Dee Henderson, who went 0-for-5 in the contest. Henderson’s streak began against Louisiana Tech on Feb. 23 and covered 19 games before coming to an end against the Ladies.
Stacy Whitmer started and took the loss for Centenary to fall to 6-6 on the year. She allowed five runs, two earned, on seven hits with two walks and two strikeouts in four and a third innings. Ryan Thacker came on in relief in the fifth and allowed three runs on three hits with two walks in two-thirds innings. Kelsey Greeson closed out the game, allowing one run on two hits with a walk and a strikeout in the final two innings.
The Tigers returns to SEC play this weekend against No. 2-ranked Alabama at Tiger Park. LSU will host the nationally ranked Crimson Tide in a three-game series beginning with a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 p.m. and concluding with a single game on Sunday at 1 p.m.
It will mark the annual “Bark in the Park” weekend as dog owners are encouraged to bring their family friendly canines to Tiger Park on a leash on both days. The first 100 dogs will receive free LSU “Geaux Dog Geaux” collars and an extreme canine stunt dog act will perform on Saturday between the doubleheader.
The first game of Saturday’s doubleheader will be televised live on Cox Sports Television in Baton Rouge on cable channel 37. The series finale on Sunday will be televised by SEC-TV on regional television in Baton Rouge on Fox Sports Southwest on cable channel 38.