BATON ROUGE, La. – The No. 5 LSU softball team broke a scoreless deadlock in the bottom of the third by scoring two runs, only to come back and get three more in the next inning to bolt ahead and behind the shutout performance by pitcher Allie Walljasper defeated the South Alabama Jaguars 5-0 Wednesday in Baton Rouge.
The quality pitching by both sides made it hard for either side to take an early advantage in the chilly contest, with LSU (9-2) getting the clutch hits it needed when it mattered most, earning five of their seven hits in the ballgame with runners in scoring position.
“I thought it was a good win for us. I think as the season goes on, it will prove to be a good win because South Alabama is a really talented team,” head coach Beth Torina said. “I was happy with the adjustment we made at the plate. I thought we faced a really good pitcher and made a good adjustment as we went through the lineup a couple of times and turned the lineup over.”
Walljasper (2-2) earned her first shutout of the season in a gem of a performance, striking out eight with six hits, and only two of those leaving the infield. The sophomore went 24 complete innings without issuing a walk before allowing two in the top of the seventh on Wednesday, as she has still only given up one earned run so far in the 2016 campaign.
“Basically I was just trying to go out there and hit my corners as much as the umpire let me,” Walljasper said. “I was just focusing on my corners and focusing where the batters are and making sure I hit my spots.”
Senior infielder Sandra Simmons led the way offensively by going 2-for-3 at the plate with a run scored. Both of the California-native’s hits were doubles, helping kick start LSU rallies. Sahvanna Jaquish drove in two on her only hit of the day to push LSU out to a big lead, while a Bianka Bell double drove in a run on her hit of the evening.
“I’m just trying to stay calm. I’m just trusting in my hands and my preparation,” Simmons said. “I’ve done a lot of work on my off time and it’s starting to come together and letting me see the ball well.”
LSU got help getting put on base with walks as Kellsi Kloss drew two of the team’s six, while on base LSU swiped five bags with Constance Quinn, Akiya Thymes, Bailey Landry and Randi Provost each having one against the Jaguars (6-4).
South Alabama’s Devin Brown (3-3) pitched valiantly for the opposition, striking out 11 in the complete-game effort, allowing all five runs, four earned, on seven hits on over 160 pitches tossed in the game. Kaleigh Todd and Haleigh Lane each had a pair of hits for the Jaguar offense.
With a combined eight runners left on base already in the game, Emily Griggs opened up the bottom of the third with a walk to reach first, advancing to second on a passed ball. Looking to strike, Bell ripped one down the third base line for the stand-up double to score Griggs and put LSU up 1-0. Kloss followed with a single up the middle to plate Bell to put the Tigers up two.
After a liner to left for the first out of the fourth, Simmons smoked a ground rule double to center to get on base. Simmons beat out the throw at third on a Quinn infield single to put runners at the corners. Quinn stole second and it set the table for Jaquish who hit a single to right center to plate both to make it 4-0.
Now at second after the throw in, Jaquish wound up scoring after a dropped fly ball in left to make it 5-0 LSU after the error.
LSU will be back in action this weekend, hosting the Purple and Gold Challenge at Tiger Park featuring the Tigers, Illinois State and Texas Tech.
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.