BATON ROUGE – The No. 13 LSU softball team extended its school-record winning streak to 22 games, shutting out Nicholls 7-0 Tuesday night at Tiger Park. It marked the 13th shutout of the season for the Tiger pitching staff and sixth in team’s last nine outings.
LSU (27-4) was powered by leadoff hitter Kirsten Shortridge, who posted a game-high three hits and three RBIs. Additionally, shortstop Allison Falcon reached base and scored in all three of her plate appearances, collecting two hits and a walk.
The Tigers used a strong finishing kick to break open a 1-0 game with three runs in the fourth, a pair of runs in the fifth and tacked on a single run during the sixth for the 7-0 triumph.
“You know, it was workmanlike for a while at the end,” head coach Yvette Girouard said. “We did what we needed to do, made good defensive plays, and it was a typical Tiger team out here tonight.”
“It’s always a gorgeous day in Tiger Park,” Shortridge said. “We love being here, we love our crowd, and we love our field. We love our momentum, and we’re doing everything we can every day to keep it up.”
Reigning SEC Pitcher of the Week Cody Trahan tossed three scoreless innings and surrendered only two hits, while fanning four batters.
Rachele Fico, the SEC Freshman of the Week, entered the game with one out in the fourth inning after Nicholls (14-9) loaded the bases via a trio of Brittany Mack walks. Fico recorded back-to-back strikeouts to get out of the jam and keep the score 1-0 in favor of LSU.
“I had to dig deep in that situation. I knew I have a good defense behind me, so I wasn’t afraid to throw my pitches,” Fico said. “I was just keeping the ball low and hoping for ground balls. [Catcher] Morgan Russell worked really hard behind the plate and I came up with two strikeouts.”
Falcon ignited the three-run fourth inning and was hit-by-a-pitch to leadoff the frame. After Russell added a bunt single, Falcon and pinch runner Jackie Victoriano moved into scoring position on a wild pitch. A sacrifice fly by Mouse pushed the LSU advantage to 2-0.
Pinch hitter Lauren Capello drew a four-pitch walk and Tiffany Shaw reentered the game to run immediately swiping second base. On a 1-1 offering, Shortridge cranked a two-run double to score Victoriano and Shaw to make it 4-0.
LSU loaded the bases during the fifth inning with one out as Hollier and Falcon knocked singles coupled with a Mouse walk. Shaw picked up her second career RBI after being hit-by-a-pitch and Shortridge legged out an infield single to stretch the LSU edge to 6-0.
Fico went onto to retire all 11 Colonels batters she faced, six via the strikeout, in her 3.2 frames of no-hit relief en route to 10th consecutive victory since opening weekend. She moved to 11-2 on the season, while Carlee Winkelmann dropped to 3-3 for Nicholls.
“The team is on a roll right now,” Fico said. “Winning is the only thing on our mind. Everybody is coming to play their ‘A’ game every single day. We’re working hard in practice. We’re applying that and executing in the games, which is really showing.”
Rachel Mitchell belted her second double of the game to open the sixth inning. She came around to score on a pair of wild pitches for the final margin of 7-0.
Mouse opened the scoring for LSU in the second inning and ripped a two-out RBI-double into the left centerfield gap to plate Falcon, who reached on a single.
“Jessica works so hard and was so frustrated at one point that I pulled her aside and said, ‘you know what, don’t worry about hitting,” Girouard said. “You play such great defense for us and you’re such a leader on the team. You bring so many other things to this program, don’t stress out about hitting.’ I’m hoping that she’s done that.”
LSU kicks off a seven-game road trip Wednesday when the Tigers travel to Hammond to face off against Southeastern Louisiana at North Oak Park before heading into its SEC bye weekend. First pitch versus the Lions is slated for 6:00 p.m. with live stats available in the Geaux Zone on LSUsports.com in addition to live in-game updates on www.twitter.com/lsu_softball.
LSU Head Coach Yvette Girouard
On only scoring one run in the first three innings before putting up six in the next three…
“You know, it was workmanlike for a while. We did what we needed to do, made good defensive plays, and it was a typical Tiger team out here tonight.”
On Rachele Fico getting two outs after coming in with the bases loaded…
“She came in and did exactly what we needed – throw strikes and get us out of the jam. Maybe one appearance in relief has been shaky, but everything else has been superb and she did that again tonight.”
On Kirsten Shortridge‘s three runs and three RBIs tonight…
“Once again, just a phenomenal night from Shortridge. She just puts so much pressure on the defense.”
On Jessica Mouse breaking out of a hitting slump…
“She works so hard and she was so frustrated at one point that I pulled her aside and said, ‘you know what, don’t worry about hitting. You play such great defense for us and you’re such a leader on the team. You bring so many other things to this program, don’t stress out about hitting.’ I’m hoping that she’s done that.”
On the importance of tomorrow’s game at Southeastern Louisiana…
“We just reminded our players that in-state losses have cost us a couple times in the long run. We need to go out there, take care of business and do it early and often.”
Pitcher Rachele Fico
On extending the school-record winning streak…
“The team is on a roll right now. Winning is the only thing on our mind. Everybody is coming to play their ‘A’ game every single day. We’re working hard in practice and we’re applying that and executing in the games, which is really showing.”
On entering the game with the bases loaded…
“I had to dig deep in that situation. I knew I have a good defense behind me, so I wasn’t afraid to throw my pitches. I was just keeping the ball low and I was hoping for ground balls. Morgan Russell worked really hard behind the plate and I came up with two strikeouts.”
On receiving run support from the offense…
“Our hitters have been setting the pace for every single game. It’s so relaxing when you know you have such a big cushion of runs. It really changes the way we play our game.”
On the mindset going into tomorrow’s game…
“We’re going to take on Southeastern with the same approach we’ve been playing with. Everybody’s hitting aggressively and they’re making spectacular plays in the infield. We’re on a roll right now and we’re going to keep that going.”
Centerfielder Kirsten Shortridge
On keeping the team’s momentum going…
“It’s always a gorgeous day in Tiger Park. We love being here, we love our crowd, and we love our field. We love our momentum, and we’re doing everything we can every day to keep it up.”
On having multiple players hit well…
“We need that all day, every day. We need it all season and it’s important that the people in front of us are setting the table so, as the leadoff hitter, I’m going to set the table. We enjoy it, we love it, and primetime situations are clutch.”
On Rachele Fico‘s performance tonight…
“She does great. She’s mature and she works hard every day. She’s pretty levelheaded, and that’s what we need one through four in our pitching staff.”
On one of the keys to the winning streak…
“I always say we represent the name across the front of our chest so as long as we play ourselves and our best, we’re going to come out on top.”