BATON ROUGE – The No. 19 LSU softball team notched a 6-0 victory over Bowling Green coupled with a 5-3 triumph over Purdue to improve to 4-0 on the season Saturday during day two of the Wilson/DeMarini Tiger Classic in-front of 1,189 fans at Tiger Park.
LSU (4-0) has strung together 20 consecutive opening weekend home wins dating back to the 2004 season. Ashley Langoni finished the day with three RBIs on five hits, while Anissa Young belted LSU’s first home run of the 2011 campaign.
“I am really proud of our team hitting behind runners, scoring runs with two outs and taking their hacks,” head coach Yvette Girouard said. “Ashley Langoni was really good about that today. She was excellent during RBI situations. It is that junior class that is leading the way. They are the nucleus of this team, and they need to lead.”
The Tigers wrap up opening weekend Sunday against Purdue at 11:30 a.m. followed by a 2 p.m. tilt versus Louisiana Tech.
“Purdue gave us a great game, and they had opportunities,” Girouard said. “We have to be able to play the quality we have been playing all weekend. We have had fabulous weather and fabulous fans, awesome turnout already for our tournament.”
Live stats for every game of the Wilson/DeMarini Tiger Classic are available on LSUsports.net and fans can follow in-games updates via the program’s social media pages at www.Facebook.com/lsusoftball and www.Twitter.com/LSU_Softball.
The Tiger Park Ticket Booth will open Sunday at 8 a.m. and fans can purchase tickets on-site starting at $5 for adult general admission. Additional ticket information for LSU’s home series with SEC heavyweights Alabama, Florida, Kentucky and Tennessee is available at www.LSUtix.net.
Game 1 – LSU 6, Bowling Green 0
Meghan Patterson hurled a gem, a four-hit shutout, during her first career start. She racked up 11 strikeouts to join Dani Hofer, Brittany Mack and Kristin Schmidt as the only pitchers in LSU history to record double-digit Ks in their initial starts.
“Meghan has come so far from the beginning of the year, and she is going to give us some quality innings that will make our pitching staff so much better,” Girouard said. “She threw hard, the ball was moving, and she was very good at hitting her spots.”
The Tigers dented the scoreboard first in the second inning. With one out, Heidi Pizer battled to a nine-pitch walk. Pinch runner Alex Boulet swiped her third stolen base of the season and scooted over to third on a Cassie Trosclair fly ball to deep centerfield. She crossed the plate as Tiffany Shaw legged out an infield single to give LSU a 1-0 edge.
LSU kept the pressure on with a trio of runs in the third inning. Langoni scorched a single through the right side and wheeled her way around the bases on a Young double into the right centerfield gap. A Bowling Green throwing error on the relay allowed Young to score. Later in the frame, Trosclair slapped a RBI-single to push the advantage to 4-0.
The Tigers added single runs in the fourth and sixth innings aided by a Langoni RBI-groundout and a Santos sacrifice fly, respectively, for the final margin of 6-0.
Patterson set the tone early and sat down 16 of the first 17 batters she faced, including a run of 14 straight after a two-out single in the first inning.
The Falcons best chance to score came in the sixth inning. With runners on second and third, Pizer dove and fully extended to snag a line drive from the shortstop position. She calmly flipped the ball to Trosclair covering second base for the double play to secure the shutout.
“I didn’t see anyone warming up in the bullpen so I knew she [Coach Girouard] was going to leave me in,” Patterson said. “I just dug down deep and with the support of my team; they really helped me through the win. Heidi made a great play at shortstop. I was worried that Bowling Green was going to sneak two runs in, but thanks to the good defense it didn’t happen.”
Game 2 – LSU 5, Purdue 3
Rachele Fico posted her second straight double-digit strikeout effort and mowed down a career-best 13 batters to improve to 2-0 on the season.
The Tigers struck in the opening frame for the third time in four games. Simone Heyward manufactured her own run with a leadoff walk and stole second. She came around to score after a pair of ground balls, the second by Langoni for the RBI.
LSU exploded for three runs in the third ignited by a Shaw leadoff double. Santos poked a RBI-single through the right side to plate Shaw. Two batters later, Young connected for a two-run, opposite field long ball to right to extend the advantage to 4-0.
“I know we came in really focused. We took the intensity we had yesterday, brought it today and we got the job done,” Young said. “I think we have embraced the little things that factor in our game play. We try to focus in and move runners. When we get that done, we get very excited.”
Purdue dented the scoreboard with a trio of runs of their own in the fifth inning. With runners on the corners and one out, Katie Hackney executed a squeeze bunt to perfection followed by a two-run double from Andie Varsho to pull the Boilermakers back to 4-3.
LSU fired back with a run in the home half of the frame. Heyward coaxed another walk and advanced into scoring position on a Santos ground ball. Langoni added her second RBI of the game on a single to push the lead back to 5-3. Fico regrouped in the circle and sat down the final seven batters, four via the strikeout.
“Rachele is getting more Ks than she got last year, but we have to perfect a few things,” Girouard said. “But gosh is she a bulldog after she gets touched up. I have complete confidence in her, and I never thought about putting somebody in the bullpen. I knew she would be fine.”
Wilson/DeMarini Tiger Classic
LSU vs. Bowling Green/Purdue
Postgame Quotes
February 12, 2011
Head Coach Yvette Girouard
On pitcher Meghan Patterson‘s first career start…
“I thought she was starting to get a little tired at the end, but gosh I am so proud of her. She has come so far from the beginning of the year, and she is going to give us some quality innings that will make our pitching staff so much better. She threw hard, the ball was moving and she was very good at hitting her spots. Heidi [Pizer] made a great play. Then Meghan came back in the next inning, settled down and went back to work.”
On Anissa Young‘s homerun and junior class…
“She got it, and got all of it. I am really proud of our team hitting behind runners, scoring runs with two outs and taking their hacks. Ashley Langoni was really good about that today. She was excellent during RBI situations. Morgan Russell was hitting the ball hard as well. It is that junior class that is leading the way. They are the nucleus of this team, and they need to lead. “
On Rachele Fico‘s pitching…
“She is getting more Ks than she got last year, but we have to perfect a few things. But gosh is she a bulldog after she gets touched up. I have complete confidence in her, and I never thought about putting somebody in the bullpen. I knew she would be fine.”
On tomorrow’s games…
“Purdue gave us a great game, and they had opportunities. We have to be able to play the quality we have been playing all weekend. We’ve had fabulous weather and fabulous fans, awesome turnout already for our tournaments. Usually the crowd doesn’t show up and get into until SEC play. But if this is what is going to happen the rest of the year, we are going to have a lot of fun.”
First Baseman Anissa Young
On the team’s mindset…
“I know we came in really focused. We took the intensity we had yesterday, brought it today and we got the job done.”
On her homerun…
“I have just been trying to stay focus lately. I am going to keep doing what I am doing, and hopefully it will make our team more successful.”
On productive outs…
“It has been very important to us, and I think we have embraced the little things that factor in our game play. We try to focus in and that is moving runners. When we get that done, we get very excited.”
On how to finish the weekend strong…
“Tomorrow we are going to come in just like we did today; focused and intense. We are looking forward to a very good day tomorrow.”
Pitcher Meghan Patterson
On her first career start…
“When I first went out there, I was nervous of course. There were a lot of fans out there today, and I know I have my teammates backing me up.”
On what pitches were working today…
“Definitely the riseball I felt very confident in, especially during warm-ups. Along with the curveball, it has always been my go-to pitch since way back when. Everything looked good and it felt great.”
On good team defense…
“When you don’t strike everybody out, you have to worry about how good your defense is behind you. Heidi [Pizer] made a great play at shortstop. I was worried that Bowling Green was going to sneak two runs in, but thanks to the good defense it didn’t happen.”
On Coach Girouard’s confidence leaving you in…
“I didn’t see anyone warming up in the bullpen so I knew she was going to leave me in. I just dug down deep and with the support of my team; they really helped me through the win.”