BATON ROUGE — Rebounding from a 9-4 loss to Louisiana-Lafayette in the first game of the day, the No. 9 national seed LSU softball team run-ruled East Carolina, 9-1, in five innings, on Saturday at Tiger Park to advance to NCAA Baton Rouge Regional championship day.
With the split, the Tigers moved to 44-17 on the season and 2-1 in NCAA Regional play. The Ragin’ Cajuns improved to 48-12 on the season and 2-0 in the postseason tournament. The Pirates were eliminated from play and ended their season at 37-30.
LSU now faces a rematch with Louisiana-Lafayette on Sunday at 1 p.m. The Tigers will have to defeat the Ragin’ Cajuns twice to advance to the NCAA Super Regionals for the third-straight year. The winner of the Baton Rouge Regional will take on the winner of the Houston Regional, whose championship game features Houston and Washington with the Cougars needing only one win on Sunday to advance.
Jessica Mouse had the best day of her short career at the plate. The freshman third baseman was 3-for-5 with two home runs, three RBIs and three runs scored. She was also robbed of a home run by Ragin’ Cajun left fielder Katie Smith in the seventh inning of game one.
“Jessica Mouse is having quite the tournament,” said LSU head coach Yvette Girouard. “I am so excited for her because I think she may be one of the best defensive third bases in the country.”
Quinlan Duhon went 2-for-4 on the day with a home run, four RBIs and two runs scored despite still battling the ill effects of a stomach virus that limited her action on Friday night.
Dani Hofer earned her first win since April 12 against Ole Miss with a victory over East Carolina. The victory moved her to 19-7 on the season. She threw three innings and allowed one run on three hits without a walk and three strikeouts. Casey Faile came on in relief in the fourth and did not give up a hit with two walks and a strikeout in the final two innings.
“It is all about hitting the spots right now,” said Girouard about Hofer’s return. “She did that in the first two innings and I was pleased with what I saw. The bottom line is Cody [Trahan] and Dani [Hofer] are going to have to throw a lot of innings tomorrow. We are going to take it one pitch at a time and see what happens.”
LSU got on the board early and often against the Pirates. The Tigers scored three runs in the first on an RBI single by Shannon Stein, a sacrifice fly by Duhon and an RBI single by Erika Sluss.
In the bottom of the second, LSU added three more. The Tigers got an RBI single from Duhon, and a two-RBI double by Killian Roessner. The double was the 16th of the season for the senior, who leads the team in two-base hits.
East Carolina got its only run in the top of the third. Erin St. Ledger led off with a double to right center. She moved to third on a sacrifice bunt and scored on an infield single off the glove of Hofer in the circle.
LSU plated two more runs in the bottom of the third as Ashley Applegate came through with an RBI single and Mouse scored on a fielding error by the East Carolina third baseman. The Tiger reached the magical eight-run lead with a run in the bottom of the fourth. With two outs, Mouse sent the ball over the fence in center field to push the game to 9-1.
Suzanne Riggs started and took the loss for the Pirates to fall to 3-6 on the season. She allowed six runs on five hits with three walks in an inning and two-thirds. Brooke Swann came on in relief and gave up three runs, two earned, on four hits with two walks and two strikeouts in the final two and a third.
In the first game, Louisiana-Lafayette used two big innings, including a grand slam by Melissa Verde, to earn the win. The Ragin’ Cajuns scored five runs in the bottom of the third to break open a scoreless game. Their first runs came courtesy of that grand slam by Verde with one out. Brooke Brodhead then singled in the final run of the inning.
Louisiana-Lafayette scored four more in the bottom of the fourth inning to stretch its lead to nine. The Cajuns got an RBI triple from Vanessa Soto, and a three-RBI triple by Lana Bowers to threaten to run-rule the Tigers.
LSU would not go down without a fight and finally found a way to hit ULL pitcher Ashley Brignac. With one out in the top of the fifth, Sluss drew a walk. Mouse then sent one out of the park and off the scoreboard in left center to keep the game alive for the Tigers. In the top of the sixth, LSU added two more courtesy of a two-run home run by Quinlan Duhon that cut the lead to five.
In the top of the seventh, Mouse threatened her second home run of the game on a long fly ball to left field, but Katie Smith went up and pulled the ball back into the field for the first out. After back-to-back singles by Applegate and Henderson, Brignac retired the final two batters to end the game.
Cody Trahan took the loss to fall to 18-6 on the season. She allowed six runs, five earned, on six hits with three walks and a strikeout in three innings. Tiffany Garcia came on in relief in the fourth and allowed three runs on six hits with five walks and two strikeouts in the final six innings.
Brignac earned the win to improve to 28-6 on the year. She allowed four runs on six hits with five walks and eight strikeouts. It marked the most runs allowed by Brignac since giving up six at Florida International on April 5, and only the fourth time she allowed four or more runs this season.
LSU 000 022 0 – 4 6 1
ULL 005 400 x – 9 12 0
Cody Trahan, Tiffany Garcia (4) and Killian Roessner. Ashley Brignac and Lana Bowers. WP ? Brignac (28-6). LP ? Trahan (18-6). S ? None. HR ? Quinlan Duhon, Jessica Mouse, Melissa Verde. T ? 2:39. A ? 1316.
ECU 001 00 – 1 3 1
LSU 332 1x – 9 9 0
Suzanne Riggs, Brooke Swann (2) and Tiffany Shaw. Dani Hofer, Casey Faile (4) and Killian Roessner. WP ? Hofer (19-7). LP ? Riggs (3-6). S ? None. HR ? Jessica Mouse. T ? 1:30. A ? 846.
2008 NCAA BATON ROUGE REGIONAL
Game 3 Quotes
Louisiana-Lafayette def. LSU, 9-4
LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE CO-HEAD COACH STEFNI LOTIEF
Opening Statement…
“We came out here today really focused and attacking at the plate. I’m really proud how the girls came out and performed today. They played every pitch and fought every pitch and I think they did a wonderful job. The team exploded at the plate today.”
On the lead…
“I didn’t think we have it wrapped up in the fourth inning. I was very pleased to see our performance on the plate today. With the bat technology these days and the way things happen you have to play every pitch. I was very pleased to see the runs on the board.”
On tomorrow’s game…
“We will continue to fight every pitch, that’s the way we have played Cajun ball all season. Tomorrow is a big game but we have prepared and ready to play.”
LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE THIRD BASEMAN MELISSA VERDI
On her grand slam…
“I was very confident and had a 3 and 2 count. I was just pitched a good hit. I was looking for a good pitch and I got it.”
LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE SECOND BASEMAN VANESSA SOTO
On her teammate Melissa Verdi
“(Melissa) Verdi is one of the best teammates a player could ask for. She will do whatever she needs to do to help her team get a win. A lot of players during that adversity will take the season off. So they can come back and be strong the next year. But, Verdi knew that we needed her in the line-up whether it is 75 or 50 percent because of the knee injury. For her to step on the field and play through her injury shows her dedication and her desire to help the team win. Because of that we have so much respect for her.”
On coming back and playing at LSU against LSU…
“Today was another game that we have prepared and work for all season. I just focused on what I had to do. I owe everything to my teammates they worked hard, every pitch and it paid off in the end.”
LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE PITCHER ASHLEY BRIGNAC
On her pitching…
“We all go out there and try to win every pitch. To know that my team is behind me on defense and offense really helps me out. Going out there and being confident in everything we have. No matter what the score of the game is we have to feel comfortable and confident.”
LSU HEAD COACH YVETTE GIROUARD
Opening Statement…
“Obviously, we made it a little bit tougher for ourselves. Early on, there was too much of the red team touching home plate. It kind of fell apart in one inning, and that really hurt us. I’m proud of the kids. They battled back. They made some adjustments on (Ashley) Brignac, but we have to make a few more plays. They took advantage of every mistake we made, and we’re just going to have to win three now.”
On Louisiana-Lafayette pitcher Ashley Brignac…
“She had both sides of the plate early on. She got those calls, and we were trying to make adjustments. I don’t know if we adjusted or she started to tire a bit, but we did get to her later. She was a problem for us. She’s a very good talent.”
On the difficult task of trying to win three straight games…
“It’s always hard when you get yourself in this position, and we’re hurting a little bit in the circle right now, so that makes it a little harder for us. Stranger things have happened for us, and I’ve been on the other end of it, where a team came in and beat me twice, so it can happen. It’s tougher, but it can happen.”
2008 NCAA BATON ROUGE REGIONAL
Game 4 Quotes (only MVSU, as East Carolina played immediately following)
East Carolina def. Mississippi Valley State, 4-2
MISSISSIPPI VALLE STATE HEAD COACH LEE SMITH
On the game against ECU…
“I feel like we could beat East Carolina, but they hit the ball better than we did. They made fewer mistakes too, but I feel that the team played pretty well with the number we had out. We lost a good player today. [Traci Roper] tore her ACL.”
On making a NCAA regional tournament appearance for the past five years…
“It says that the things we promote and push at Mississippi Valley State are consistent. We push and strive for excellence. Every time we play, we play to win. You may not win all the games, but you win the games that count. You win the championship games and that is our goal. We want to win championships.”
2008 NCAA BATON ROUGE REGIONAL
Game 5 Quotes
LSU def. East Carolina, 9-1 (5 innings)
LSU HEAD COACH YVETTE GIROUARD
On Jessica Mouse…
“Jessica Mouse is having quite the tournament. I am so excited for her because I think she may be one of the best defensive third bases in the country.”
On pitching Dani Hofer against ECU…
“Well, it is all about hitting the spots right now. She did that in the first two innings and I was pleased with what I saw. The bottom line is Cody [Trahan] and Dani [Hofer] are going to have to throw a lot of innings tomorrow. We are going to take it one pitch at a time and see what happens.”
LSU PITCHER DANI HOFER
On her performance tonight and any opportunities to pitch tomorrow…
“Tomorrow, if I get the opportunity, I would like the chance to throw. I want to do my job, hit the spots, control the team and do what I can to help the defense that way our offense can come through like they were in the first game. I feel like I have been doing pretty good and hitting my spots. Each day is getting better and better.”
LSU CATCHER KILLIAN ROESSNER
On what she thinks helped motivate the team…
“I think what helped was the adrenaline rush that we had after the first game. We started coming back and the bats started coming alive. Everyone just stepped in the box knowing that they were going to hit the ball and we had Dani [Hofer] back out there. We had all the confidence in the world and knew she had been throwing well, so we just kept the fire going.”
LSU THIRD BASEMAN JESSICA MOUSE
On her batting…
“Right now, I’m just seeing the ball really well. All I am trying to do is get on base for my team. If it’s my turn to step up, I’ll step up, but I have confidence in everyone.”
EAST CAROLINA HEAD COACH TRACEY KEE
Opening statement…
“I want to congratulate LSU. I think we all knew, as a program, what we were getting ourselves into this evening after they lost to ULL. On the flipside, I was extremely pleased with my kids’ effort. I was a little frustrated after our first game. I thought we were a little flat, and for them to come out and stay up for five innings, regardless of what the scoreboard said, is all I can ask for, which is to lay it all out there. I was pleased.”
On Dani Hofer’s performance…
“For someone who hasn’t pitched in awhile, I felt that she had some very good stuff. We saw her warming up, and we warned our kids to be up for the challenge. She’s got great stuff as it is. It’s obvious that the more she’s running out there, the more she is dialed in. I felt we put some pretty good swings on her pitches. We were just trying to be aggressive and jump on the first pitches we thought we could handle and not go down looking or be too passive in the box.”
On playing an LSU team with its back against the wall…
“We knew whoever came out of that game had their hands full tonight. We had prepared our kids that we would be playing one fired up LSU team that would be doing everything possible to get into Sunday. I give credit to LSU. They backed it up; they came out early. We couldn’t keep them off the scoreboard, and that says a lot about their offense and their players. I think their team speed is phenomenal, and when you have that coming after you, all we kept trying to do is just hang in there, take every pitch and every at-bat and keep trying to battle with them.”