BATON ROUGE — The No. 22 LSU softball team shut down UAB 11-0 in five innings and notched a forfeit victory over Texas State Sunday to win the Easton Purple & Gold Challenge at the new Tiger Park.
The Bobcats forfeited due to travel concerns. LSU (11-4) placed Ashley Applegate, Brittany Mack, Jessica Mouse and Kirsten Shortridge on the All-Tournament team with Mack earning MVP honors after picking up two victories in the circle, including her first career-no hitter Saturday.
“We talked about offensive adjustments this weekend,” head coach Yvette Girouard said. “We wanted to see more pitches and try to extend innings with our at-bats. All the little things will help make us better. We see that happening more. It’s not always pretty with us, but the kids play hard. That’s all you can ask for as a coach.”
LSU reeled off seven runs and sent 12 batters to the plate in the third inning. Jessica Mouse, Kirsten Shortridge and Juliana Santos set the table with one out.
After a Rachel Mitchell fielder’s choice, Applegate reached on a throwing error by UAB starting pitcher Lindsay Croft. The ball sailed into the LSU dugout allowing Mouse and Shortridge to score giving the Tigers a 2-0 lead.
Ashley Langoni knocked a two-run single through the left side to plate Mitchell and Applegate to extend the Tiger advantage to 4-0 before bases loaded walks to Anissa Young and Mouse made it 6-0. Shortridge capped the frame with an infield RBI-single for LSU’s seventh run.
LSU tacked on four more runs in the fourth inning as Young added her second RBI of the day on a bases loaded walk. Morgan Russell belted a three-run double into the right centerfield gap for the final margin of 11-0.
“It’s a mental thing for me at the plate,” Russell said. “I know I have the tools to be a good hitter. I just need to relax in the batter’s box and take one pitch at a time.”
Cody Trahan mowed down six batters in the circle en route to a one-hit shutout for her first win of the season.
“Everything is going well with the rehab,” Trahan said. ”We are just trying to up the pitch count every game. I think once we get momentum going as a team and work together that will continue to bring us the confidence to be successful.”
The Tigers take on Southern Miss Wednesday at the new Tiger Park. First pitch is on-tap for 6 p.m. with live stats available on LSUSports.net
All-Tournament Team
P ? Brittany Mack (LSU)
IF ? Jessica Mouse (LSU)
IF ? Andrea Rogers (UAB)
IF ? Ryan Kos (Texas State)
IF ? Mackenzie Day (Northern Iowa)
OF ? Ashley Applegate (LSU)
OF ? Kirsten Shortridge (LSU)
OF ? Tamra Hall (Texas State)
UTL ? Jen Larson (Northern Iowa)
MVP ? Brittany Mack (LSU)