BATON ROUGE — The ninth-ranked LSU softball team knocked off South Alabama and Tulsa on Sunday afternoon to claim the Easton Purple & Gold Challenge at Tiger Park.
With the wins, the Tigers improved to 15-4 on the season and completed tournament play at 5-1. South Alabama dropped to 9-9 and completed play at 2-3, while Tulsa dropped to 8-10 on the season and ended the tournament at 2-3.
After struggling in the circle on Saturday, the Tiger pitchers rebounded with an excellent showing on Sunday. Dani Hofer earned the complete-game win in the championship game. The junior allowed one run on three hits with four walks and 10 strikeouts. Cody Trahan shut out South Alabama in the first game on Sunday, giving up only four hits with three walks and also striking out 10.
“I was glad to see Dani come back today because she has struggled a little bit,” said LSU head coach Yvette Girouard. “She threw much better this afternoon. You are going to have those days like yesterday and you just have to work yourself out of it. Cody threw better too. We’re learning ? inch by inch ? but we’re learning. We are going to have to learn quickly now because conference play is upon us fast.
Senior Tayl’r Hollis was named the Easton Purple & Gold Challenge Most Valuable Player after leading the tournament with a .412 batting average, going 7-for-17 at the plate with two doubles, a home run and five RBIs. Killian Roessner and Shannon Stein were also named to the all-tournament team for LSU. Roessner hit .278 on the weekend, hitting a tournament-best three home runs and five RBIs. Stein was second in the tournament with a .33 batting average, going 6-for-18 with a double, four RBIs and three runs scored.
“The strike zone has changed this year and all of the pitchers around the country are finding that out,” said Girouard. “It’s an advantage once again to the hitters. That is the way the game keeps going.”
In the championship game against Tulsa, LSU jumped out early with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning. With the bases loaded after two walks and a single, Rachel Mitchell singled up the middle, scoring Dee Dee Henderson and Jazz Jackson for the 2-0 advantage.
The Golden Hurricane got its only run in the top of the second inning. After a leadoff walk, sacrifice bunt and two infield singles loaded the bases, Hofer walked Stephanie Chomicki to send home Brooke Smart. Hofer then struck out Sara Dyer to end the inning.
The Tigers responded with a run in the bottom half of the inning. Stein led off the inning with a single. A single by Henderson sent Stein to second. The pair moved to second and third on a sacrifice bunt by Jackson. Stein then scored on a wild pitch to put LSU head by two once again.
The Tigers broke the game open with three runs in the bottom of the fourth. Henderson led off with a double up the middle. Jackson then reached on a fielding error by the shortstop. After the pair stole second and third, Henderson scored on a sacrifice fly by Hollis. Roessner then hit her third home run of the tournament, scoring Jackson, to give LSU the 6-1 lead, which is how the game ended.
Katie Lawrence started and took the loss for Tulsa, falling to 1-4 on the season. She allowed six runs, four earned, on eight hits with three walks in four innings. Jackie Lawrence came on in the sixth and gave up three hits and struck out two.
In the earlier bracket game against South Alabama, the Jaguars played their fourth one-run contest in their five tournament games. Trahan faced a bases loaded situation in the top of the first inning, but with one out, a line drive into the outfield was caught by Jackson and the quick throw home prevented the tag and saved a run. Trahan then struck out Kristen Hayes to end the inning.
South Alabama got a runner to third again in the top of the third. With one out, Evelyne Pare reached on a bunt single. She stole second and moved to third on a ground out. Trahan again recorded a strikeout to end the inning.
After a leadoff single by Krista Rodden in the top of the fourth, a sacrifice bunt put her in scoring position. Trahan once again came up with the big pitches when she needed then and retired the final two batters in the inning.
Freshman Casey Faile hit her first collegiate home run in the bottom of the fifth inning, which also proved to be the game winner for LSU. With one out, Faile hit a 1-1 pitch out to left center field for the only run of the game.
Beth Pilgrim took the complete-game loss to fall to 5-3 on the season. She allowed one run on five hits with five strikeouts in the contest.
Next weekend, LSU will open defense of its 2007 Southeastern Conference Western Division title as the Tigers host nationally ranked Georgia in a three-game series at Tiger Park. The series begins on Saturday with a doubleheader at 1 p.m. and concludes with a single game on Sunday at 1 p.m. Saturday’s first game will be televised regionally on Cox Sports Television in Baton Rouge on cable channel 37.
USA 000 000 0 0 4 0
LSU 000 010 x 1 5 0
Beth Pilgrim and Kristen Hayes. Cody Trahan and Killian Roessner. WP ? Trahan (5-1). LP ? Pilgrim (5-3). S ? None. HR ? Casey Faile. T ? 1:45.
Tulsa 010 000 0 1 3 2
LSU 210 300 x 6 11 0
Katie Lee, Jackie Lawrence (5) and Christian Timmons. Dani Hofer and Killian Roessner. WP ? Hofer (8-2). LP ? Lee (1-4). S ? None. HR ? Killian Roessner. T ? 1:51. A ? 661.
Easton Purple & Gold Challenge All-Tournament Team:
Amanda Leggett, South Alabama
Danielle Kinley, Penn State
Jackie Hill, Penn State
Ashley Esparza, Penn State
Lauren Lindsay, Tulsa
Jordan Kinard, Tulsa
Shannon Stein, LSU
Killian Roessner, LSU
MVP: Tayl’r Hollis, LSU