HAMMOND – Ashley Applegate, Rachel Mitchell and Anissa Young each knocked home three RBIs apiece coupled with a Brittany Mack three-hit shutout as the No. 13 LSU softball team notched an 11-0 six-inning victory over Southeastern Louisiana Wednesday at North Oak Park.
Mitchell connected for a career-best four hits, while Mack sat down the first eight batters she faced, four via the strikeout, to set the tone in the circle.
LSU (28-4) pushed its winning streak to 23 games. The run matches the third-longest streak by any Tiger team equaling the runs by the 1991 volleyball and 2008 baseball squads.
“We’re seeing the ball really well and feeling good about ourselves,” head coach Yvette Girouard said. “The kids are feeling confident about themselves, and our plan is to give the players the weekend off to refocus for a big week ahead.”
The Tigers opened the scoring in the first inning when Mitchell cranked a 0-1 pitch for a solo shot down the left field line to give LSU a 1-0 edge.
LSU pieced together four consecutive singles to open the third inning. Tiffany Shaw and Shortridge executed a double steal to move into scoring position and set up an Applegate RBI-single to push the advantage to 2-0.
After an Applegate stolen base, Mitchell platted both runs on a single to left centerfield. The Tigers capped the frame with an unearned run to make it 5-0.
Courtney Hollier tacked on a RBI-single in the fifth inning before the Tigers exploded for five runs during the sixth to put the game away.
Shaw and Shortridge set the table for Applegate, who ripped a two-run double. After a Mitchell infield single, Young belted a three-run homer to straight-away centerfield to put the finishing touches on the 11-0 victory.
Mack bounced back from a three-walk outing over 0.1 innings against Nicholls State last night and went the distance to improve to 7-2 to complete LSU’s 14th shutout of the season. It also marked the seventh shutout in the team’s last 10 outings. Southeastern’s (5-15) Kati Morse fell to 0-5.
“What was done [last night] was done,” Mack said. “I wanted to live in the present and be positive in the circle tonight. It’s important to keep our confidence and our offense rolling going into this critical stretch. “
LSU returns to action next Wednesday at McNeese State after taking its SEC bye weekend. First pitch is slated for 6 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.