OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – Kailey McCasland turned in a 2-for-2 performance, blasted her first career home run and drove home a career-best three RBIs as the LSU softball team notched a 7-4 triumph over No. 23 Oklahoma State Saturday at the ASA Hall of Fame Stadium.
LSU (10-5) responded in a big way after having its season’s best six-game winning streak snapped Friday by No. 8 Oklahoma. The Tigers had seven of their nine starters collected hits.
McCasland along with fellow freshman Rikki Alcaraz along with Dylan Supak accounted for five of LSU’s seven runs. Lauren Houston also joined McCasland with a 2-for-2 effort of her own and added a RBI.
“The offense came out strong which was something we put a lot of emphasis on during our pregame warm-up,” head coach Beth Torina said. “Kailey was great, and I was excited to see the ball go over the fence for her. We started four freshmen in the lineup. They’re really battling, fearless and excited to be out there. It’s great to have them spark the offense.”
LSU batted around the lineup en route to a quartet of runs during the second inning. Juliana Santos was hit-by-a-pitch to open the frame, while Dylan Supak ripped a double down the left field line and Rikki Alcaraz coaxed a walk to load the bases.
McCasland put the Tigers on the board with a two-run double into the right centerfield gap. After Lauren Houston was plunked, Cassie Trosclair delivered a two-run single to left field to push the LSU advantage to 4-0.
LSU tacked on two more runs in the third inning. The Tigers filled up the bases again with one out after Santos, Alcaraz and McCasland were issued free passes. Houston drew LSU’s fourth walk of the inning to extend the lead back to four runs. LSU also cashed in on a Cowgirl throwing error by shortstop Chelsea Garcia. Her throw pulled catcher Tarah Ettinger off the plate.
Oklahoma State (7-8) capitalized of LSU errors in the second and third innings to score two unearned runs to make it 6-2 after three innings.
With one out during the fifth inning, McCasland belted a 2-1 pitch over the left field fence to vault LSU ahead 7-2. It was McCasland’s first career round tripper.
The Cowgirls rallied for two runs in the seventh inning off LSU starter Brittany Mack. With the bases loaded and two outs, Tamara Brown worked a walk to draw Oklahoma State back to 7-3. It also enabled OSU to send the tying run to the plate.
Torina turned to Rachele Fico out of the bullpen. Following a wild pitch, Fico regrouped to get Cowgirl clean-up hitter Julie Ward to strike out looking to secure the 7-4 win. For Fico, it was her eighth career save which placed her in sole possession of second place on LSU’s all-time list.
Mack grinded out 6.2 innings on 158 pitches to even her ledger at 4-4 for the season. She was touched up for four runs, two earned, on nine hits. The senior right-hander picked up seven strikeouts versus six walks.
“Brittany did a nice job, it was her game all the way,” Torina said. “It was a tough strike zone she had to throw in, and I felt the number of pitchers she threw caught up to her at the end of the game. She battled through it and got a well-deserved win. I didn’t want to take any chances and decided to let Rachele close it out.”
LSU concludes day two of The Preview versus No. 8 Oklahoma. First pitch is on-tap for 4 p.m. at the ASA Hall of Fame Stadium, site of the Women’s College Series. Rachele Fico is scheduled to start in the circle for the Tigers.
“I’m excited about putting Rachele out there in the circle,” Torina said. “She’s been throwing so well, and I think she’s going to compete no matter who we put her out there against.”
Follow every pitch of LSU softball this season 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.