BATON ROUGE – Rachele Fico fired her third one-hitter of the season, while Morgan Russell garnered a 2-for-3 performance with two RBIs as the LSU softball team extended its winning streak to four games with a 2-0 victory over McNeese State Saturday at Tiger Park.
LSU (7-4) also notched a 5-4 victory over South Alabama in its first game of the Tiger Invitational.
“It definitely was a great day,” head coach Beth Torina said. “I thought we fought hard for the first win. South Alabama played really hard. We faced another quality opponent in McNeese State, so overall it was a great day. I liked how our kids played. I liked our offensive production today. I thought they looked very confident.”
For Fico, she improved to 4-1 on the season. She garnered six strikeouts against one walk and her ERA dropped to 0.45 for the season.
McNeese State (9-5) put runners on the corners to open the game off of Fico as Claire Terracina knocked a leadoff triple, while Kim Kennedy was hit-by-pitch.
Fico buckled down and got three consecutive ground balls, including one to shortstop Juliana Santos. She alertly threw home to Russell, who tagged Terracina at the plate to keep the game scoreless.
“Getting out of that first inning after giving up the leadoff triple gave her a lot of fire, and she was really excited about that,” Torina said. “After that, she just continued to dominate the rest of the way. I thought she was really solid, and it was another great performance from her.”
Fico proceeded to find her groove and retired 19 consecutive batters before a one-out walk in the seventh inning.
“All of her pitches were working,” Russell said. “Her curve ball was breaking great. Everything she can throw was working at its best. I was really proud of her and the way she came through. I could tell she really wanted the win.”
LSU used a two-out rally in the fourth inning for the game’s first run. Rikki Alcaraz and Dylan Supak ripped singles to centerfield to set the table for Russell. She took a 3-1 offering and deposited a RBI-single to vault LSU ahead, 1-0.
On her next plate appearance during the sixth inning, Russell ripped a solo home run for an insurance run to make it 2-0.
“It’s awesome because we have worked so hard these past couple of weeks,” Russell said. “We have hit some bumps, but now we are starting to come together as a team. We are doing our job and doing the right things. It is a great feeling.”
Game 1 – LSU 5, South Alabama 4
LSU raced out to a 4-0 edge in the first inning. With one out, Simone Heyward and Ashley Langoni struck for a single and double to put runners in scoring position.
Both runners came around to score on Juliana Santos‘ two-run single to left field, and Santos moved up to second base on South Alabama’s throw to the plate.
After a passed ball allowed Santos to scoot to third base, Rikki Alcaraz drew a walk and stole second base. Dylan Supak delivered a timely, two-out centerfield to push the Tiger advantage to 4-0.
South Alabama responded with a quartet of runs of its own during the second inning. The Jaguars took advantage of a Tammy Wray throwing error to score their first run. Meghan Collins and Alyssa Gunn added RBI-singles as South Alabama drew even at 4-4.
“Offensively, all day we were aggressive, so if we take that mentality and put it toward our defensive side, I think it’s not even a question in that first game,” Torina said. “Without that four-run inning, I think it is a much cleaner day, but overall it was a good day.”
LSU regained a 5-4 lead in the fourth inning as the Tigers used some two-out lightning. Lauren Houston cranked a single to left field, and raced around the bases on Cassie Trosclair‘s double into the left centerfield gap. It was Trosclair’s season debut for the Tigers.
Brittany Mack put up five consecutive scoreless frames and garnered eight strikeouts to even her record at 3-3 for the season. She was touched up for eight hits and four runs, two earned.
With two outs in the seventh inning, South Alabama put together back-to-back hits. Brittany Fowler got caught in between third base and home plate. The Tigers executed a perfect relay play as centerfielder Simone Heyward hit Santos, who fired home to Houston at the plate. Houston then snapped off a bullet to third baseman Tammy Wray, who tagged Fowler for the final out to secure the 5-4 win.
LSU squares off with South Alabama and Alcorn State Sunday to conclude the Tiger Invitational. First pitch is slated for 3 p.m. at Tiger Park.
Follow every pitch of the Tiger Invitational via live stats on www.LSUsports.net/livestats. Fans also can receive live in-game updates on LSU softball’s social media outlets at www.Facebook.com/lsusoftball and @lsu_softball on Twitter.
LSU softball will be collecting new packs of pencils all weekend long at the fan zone on the concourse. The Tigers will donate the items gathered to USA Softball’s Pencil Drive when the team travels to the Preview Tournament in early March.
The Tiger Park Ticket Booth will open 60 minutes prior the first game each day. Fans can purchase tickets on-site starting at $5 for adult general admission and $3 for youth ages 3-12. Season tickets are on-sale for $75 and additional ticket information is available at www.LSUtix.net.
Season ticket holders will have their tickets scanned upon entrance to Tiger Park. The LSU Athletics Ticket Office urges season ticket holders to be cautious when separating their bar-coded tickets. The barcode must be attached to the ticket when arriving at the gate. If the barcode detaches, season ticket holders must stop by the LSU Athletics Ticket Office on the first floor of the Athletics/Administration Building for a reprint of their tickets.
Softball Postgame Quotes
LSU vs. South Alabama & McNeese State
February 25, 2012
HEAD COACH BETH TORINA
On winning four straight games …
“It definitely was a great day. I thought we fought hard for the first win. South Alabama played really hard. We faced another quality opponent in McNeese State, so overall it was a great day.”
On responding during the South Alabama game…
“I thought we did a good job of fighting and battling back. Both teams played hard that first game, and we were lucky to walk away with the win from a team like that. I liked how our kids played. I liked our offensive production today. I thought they looked very confident. I am glad that we had an answer back.”
On pitcher Rachele Fico‘s performance…
“Getting out of that first inning after giving up the leadoff triple gave her a lot of fire and she was really excited about that. After that, she just continued to dominate the rest of the way. I thought she was really solid, and it was another great performance from her.”
On Morgan Russell offensive performance…
“She swung the bat great, a few of them did. I thought Dylan Supak looked really good as well. Rikki (Alcaraz) had another good game too. I liked how the offense played for the entire 14 innings today.”
On one thing they need to sure up going into tomorrow…
“I thought defensively in the first game we were not very aggressive and were very timid. Offensively, all day we were aggressive, so if we take that mentality and put it toward our defensive side, I think it’s not even a question in that first game. Without that four-run inning, I think it is a much cleaner day, but overall it was a good day.”
CATCHER MORGAN RUSSELL
On coming out and doubling the win streak to four…
“It’s awesome because we have worked so hard these past couple of weeks. We have hit some bumps, but now we are starting to come together as a team. We are doing our job and doing the right things. It is a great feeling.”
On what she felt was working for (Rachele) Fico today…
“All of her pitches were working. Her curve ball was breaking great. Everything she can throw was working at its best. I was really proud of her and the way she came through. I could tell she really wanted the win and really wanted to be the pitcher in the circle that game. She was successful.”
On what she feels they need to work on as a team to keep the winning streak going…
“I think we just need to keep our focus. A lot of people like to settle in after this many wins and think it is easy from this point out, but its not. I think if we just keep coming at teams and keep playing the best we can, I think we will continue our streak.”
On her home run…
“It was a screwball. I have actually been working on inside pitches all week, and it is paying off. I am really excited to see that all of our hard work is paying off.”