BATON ROUGE, La. – Backed by one of its trademark big innings, the LSU softball team produced six runs in the bottom of the fourth to break the scoreless draw before plating two more in the bottom of the fifth to earn an 8-0 win over the visiting ULM Warhawks in five innings Tuesday night in Baton Rouge.
Nearly halfway through four innings with very little offense, the Tigers (14-2) earned its tenth-straight win by driving in those six runs on four hits in the fourth to race out to an early lead, batting around in the frame, eventually going through four ULM (11-5) pitchers before getting the final two runs they needed in the very next inning to earn the team’s eighth run-rule victory of the season.
“I think Coach Dobson is always working on a having an offensive plan with them. He is always making adjustments. The adjustment he made there worked,” head coach Beth Torina said. “It was also the second time through our lineup. A second look at their pitcher is always nice for us. We are always going to be better that second time through.”
The middle and bottom of the order were the big run producers on the night, as LSU pounded out all of its runs on eight hits, led by Amber Serrett and Jenna Kreamer who each had two hits. Serrett had two doubles with an RBI and run scored, while Kreamer drove in two with a run scored.
Alayna Falcon got the scoring going as she went 1-for-2 with a double, two RBIs and a run scored, while Sydney Bourg drove in two on her only hit of the game which was a triple for her first extra-base hit of the season. Kellsi Kloss scored twice and had a hit, while Sandra Simmons had a hit and a run scored.
“The bases were loaded. I felt a little bit of pressure, but I thrive in those pressure situations,” Falcon said. “I took advantage of the pitch she threw me and got a double.”
Commanding the circle as the team was getting rolling was freshman Sydney Smith (3-0) who earned her second shutout of the season by holding the Warhawks to two hits with four strikeouts and no walks. Smith tossed just 68 pitches in the victory, retiring 10 consecutive batters, including retiring the side in the final three innings of the contest.
“I thought it was a big improvement from my last outing. I felt like I trusted myself more,” Smith said. “I trusted in the process, Coach Beth and the whole situation. Knowing my teammates were behind me helped me get through the game.”
ULM’s Melanie Coyne (7-4) took the loss allowing all six runs on five hits with five walks and two strikeouts. Faith Bohack and Sidney Coy had the only two hits for the Warhawks Tuesday night.
After nearly three-and-a-half fruitless innings, a walk to Bailey Landry put one on for LSU, as Kloss ripped a single to center to put two on for the first time for either team on the night. Simmons advanced the two after a sacrifice bunt to put two in scoring position, as after a lengthy at-bat Serrett drew a walk to load the bases for the Tigers.
After getting behind, then ahead in the count, Falcon laced a double to left to bring in two to put LSU up 2-0. Kreamer came through next and singled to left to bring in one, as an error in left allowed another run to cross to make it 4-0. A grounder kept Kreamer at bay, as Emily Griggs earned her game-high second walk of the night to put two on, leaving it for Bourg who hit a rocket to dead center for the triple to make it 6-0.
In the bottom of the fifth, Kloss earned a walk to reach first, as Simmons dilled a single down the right field line to put two on for the Tigers, with Serrett hitting a double to right to score Kloss and make it 7-0 LSU with two still on. A walk to Falcon gave LSU a chance to put the game away, and a single to dead center by Kreamer brought in the game-winning run at 8-0.
“I think a lot of it was that we were just swinging out of our plan,” Kreamer said. Our first at-bats, we didn’t stick to our plan. That is what Coach (Torina) was just talking to us about. The second go-around we bought into our plan and you can see the numbers changed.”
LSU will be back in action this weekend, hosting the LSU Invitational, featuring the Tigers, Memphis, Louisiana Tech, Liberty and Tennessee Tech at Tiger Park in Baton Rouge.
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.