BATON ROUGE, La. – The No. 7 LSU softball team put together one of its finest offensive performances on the young season as the Tigers scored 15 runs on 14 hits in a 15-1 rout of the Northwestern State Lady Demons to close out day two of the 2015 Purple & Gold Challenge at Tiger Park in Baton Rouge Saturday night.
From the jump, the dynamic offense of the Tigers (20-0) proved to be too much for the Lady Demons (9-11) to fight through, as LSU scored 12 runs in the first two innings alone, with nine coming in the second inning. Nine different Tiger batters earned a hit on the night for the team, as the 15 runs scored are the second-most driven in under head coach Beth Torina since scoring 16 in her first season against Mississippi Valley State in 2012.
“I thought the offense was phenomenal all day today honestly,” Torina said. “I thought both games they swung the bat really well. I was really happy with the offensive production today.”
Four players earned multiple hits on the day, beginning with sophomore Sahvanna Jaquish who went 3-for-4, belting her team-leading ninth home run of the season to finish with four RBIs and a run scored. Senior outfielder A.J. Andrews earned her second multi-hit outing of the day in finishing 2-for-2 with four RBIs with two runs scored, including a triple and stolen base.
Constance Quinn and Bianka Bell each fired off two hits, with Bell going 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored, while Quinn earned two hits in three at-bats with a double for an RBI and two runs scored.
“I’m the first batter and I think that I can set the tone really well with my bats, so that’s really all I’m trying to do,” Andrews said.
While the offense produced much of the fireworks, LSU starter Carley Hoover (5-0) earned the complete game victory after giving up one run on two hits with eight strikeouts to just one walk. Even with the game in hand, Hoover took a perfect game into the third inning and a no-hitter into the fourth, giving up both hits in just one inning as the Lady Demons were only able to strand two runners on base for the contest.
“I think having that overall outlook on it – like the other day when we were down by three, instead of playing like we were down by three, we were still attacking,” Hoover said. “I think my team followed suit and really came out there and attacked defensively as well. We played really good defense. ”
Micaela Bouvier (4-4) suffered the loss for Northwestern State, giving up 11 runs, eight earned, on 10 hits with one walk. Her relief in Baylee Gray didn’t fare much better, giving up four runs, three earned, on four hits with four walks and one strikeout.
The Tigers opened the scoring in the bottom of the first inning, as Andrews earned an infield single and then promptly stole second. A walk to Bailey Landry put two on, as Bell hit a single to center driving in Andrews for the game’s first run. Jaquish’s first hit was a lined shot down the left field line to score Landry to make it 2-0, with the two left on base sitting at second and third. An infield popup was the first out for the group, as Sandra Simmons earned an RBI after placing a sacrifice bunt down to third to score Bell to make it 3-0 LSU.
The floodgates opened quickly in the second, as a double by Quinn and single by Emily Griggs put two in scoring position for the Tigers. A sac fly by Andrews to center scored Quinn as Griggs moved to third on the play. Landry singled to short to put runners at the corners, with Bell connecting for a single through the left side of the infield to score the left fielder to make it 5-0.
An infield fly was the first out, as Bell and Landry moved up to second and third. Kloss cleared the bases with a double down the left field line to put the Tigers on top 7-0. A single to right by Simmons scored the catcher to make it an eight-run advantage for the home side. A fielding error at short put two back on for LSU, as Quinn came back around for her second at bat of the inning and singled through the right side to score Simmons, making the score 9-0 with Kailey McCasland at third and Quinn at second.
After a pitching change, Alayna Falcon came on to pinch hit and drew a walk to load the bases, as for Andrews’ second at bat of the frame she once again cleared them for the Tigers, using a triple off of the wall in center to bring in all three to earn double-digits and give LSU a 12-0 lead.
Following a relatively quiet third, Northwestern State earned consecutive hits with a double and single through the infield to plate its only run of the day on its final hit to make it a 12-1 game.
Not looking to let an opportunity go to waste, the Tigers roared back in the bottom half of that same inning, getting a single from Falcon for the first of two hits in the inning for the team, as a walk to Andrews put two on. A fielder’s choice forced out Falcon at third, with a pop-up in the infield for the second out. However, on the second pitch of her time at the plate, Jaquish connected for the three-run bomb to the berm in left to add three more runs to the team’s total for the game’s final score of 15-1.
“I just don’t think there is any pressure being undefeated,” Torina said. “We play 56 games. We’re not going to be undefeated. Honestly, I think the deeper we go into this the less pressure comes of it. We’re at 20 wins. That is a great start to a season. People would kill for 20 wins. I’m happy that we have the 20 wins, and we will go from there.”
Game 1: LSU 12, Florida Atlantic 4 (6 Innings)
In the first game of the day for the LSU softball team, the Tigers spotted the 15-win Florida Atlantic Owls a one run advantage early, but not before turning on the gas and revving up the offensive heat in pounding out 12 runs on 11 hits to overpower the visitors late in a 12-4 win in six innings Saturday at Tiger Park.
Trailing by just a single run after one inning, LSU (19-0) exploded for six runs in the second, putting up crooked numbers in the fifth and sixth to push out to a big enough lead that the Owls (15-3) never threatened from that point on in securing the victory.
Leading the way with three hits was senior outfielder A.J. Andrews who went 3-for-3 with three RBIs, a run scored and a stolen base. Constance Quinn was the only other player with multiple hits for LSU in the game, going 2-for-4 with a double and three RBIs.
Eight different players had at least a hit on the day, while four had multiple RBIs as along with Andrews and Quinn, Bailey Landry went 1-for-4 with two RBIs, while Kellsi Kloss went 1-for-3 with a home run and two runs scored.
“I’m just telling myself to stay really composed in the box and just get back to what I know how to do,” Kloss said. “I’m not trying to do too much. I’m not trying to hit home runs, I’m just trying to have quality at-bats.”
Starter Allie Walljasper (7-0) battled her way through another solid start, scattering seven hits and allowing four unearned runs with eight strikeouts and no walks. The freshman gave up no hits for extra bases, needing just 94 pitches to get through the FAU lineup in the contest.
Samantha Messer (4-1) suffered the loss for the Owls, pitching 5.1 innings and allowing 12 runs, half of them earned, with four walks and two strikeouts, allowing four hits for extra bases. By the end of the game, Messer had thrown 132 pitches as LSU hit .355 for the contest.
The Tigers spotted the Owls a run in the very first inning, as a pair of errors put FAU runners in scoring position, getting a run on an infield grounder, but nothing else to take a 1-0 lead over LSU midway through one.
Although they needed an inning to get started, LSU finally got things rolling in the second as a walk to Kloss opened the frame, advancing to second on a wild pitch. A walk to Sandra Simmons put two on for the Tigers, as a single by Walljasper loaded the bases with LSU threatening.
Things got silly, and in a hurry, from that point as a fielder’s choice on a Quinn grounder allowed Kloss to score to tie the game at 1-1, although the force out at second resulted in an error to keep the bases loaded. Sydney Bourg came in to run for the pitcher at second, as a fielder’s choice grounder at short forced out the runner at home.
Andrews dropped a single into left field, scoring Bourg to make it 2-1, with a wild pitch moving every one up a base and allowing Quinn to score to make it 3-1. A double ripped down the line in left by Landry brought in two to give LSU a four-run lead up 5-1. A wild pitch moved her to third, as a fielder’s choice for Bell put runners at the corners. A pop fly in foul territory was the second out, as Bell took off from first and the resulting throw allowed Landry to score to make it 6-1.
Florida Atlantic got another run in the top of the third inning, as another error put a runner on second, eventually scoring on a single through the infield to make it 6-2. They got two more runs in the top of the fifth inning after the fifth LSU error of the contest allowed FAU to cut the LSU lead to 6-4.
In the bottom half of that same inning, Simmons singled up the middle to put another LSU runner on. A grounder to short advanced her to second, as Quinn laced a shot through the infield to give LSU a 7-4 lead. A single by Griggs put runners at the corners for the Tigers, as after the left fielder stole second, Andrews came through again, getting a single through the left side to drive in both to make it 9-4.
In the bottom of the sixth, Jaquish drove a double down the left field line, motoring to second in the opening at-bat of the frame, coming in much easier as Kloss drove one to the flags in center for the home run to make it 11-4 to put LSU on the brink of the victory. A fielding error allowed Simmons to reach first, moving to second on a grounder to short. Quinn ended the contest with one swing of the bat earning a double to right to drive in the game-winning run to make it 12-4.
“It’s pretty crazy just thinking that we don’t have one person who is doing it all,” Kloss said. “Every single person, every single piece of our lineup is doing something different. We all bring something different to the table. We all feed off of each other really well.”
LSU closes out the 2015 Purple and Gold Challenge on Sunday, taking on Stephen F. Austin at 11:30 a.m. in Tiger Park.
For all of the latest news and information on Tiger softball, visit www.lsusports.net/softball. Fans can also follow the program on its social media outlets at www.Facebook.com/lsusoftball along with @lsusoftball and @BethTorina on Twitter and @lsusb on Instagram.