CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. – The seventh-ranked LSU softball team split its twinbill Saturday afternoon, run-ruling Fresno State, 10-2 in five innings and falling to No. 3 UCLA, 9-1 in five innings. The Tigers are now 14-1 on the season.
Sophomore Amanda Doyle led the Tigers on the day, going 3-for-4 at the plate with two doubles, two walks and five RBI. Senior Emily Griggs went 2-for-5 with a double and her first career home run.
Game One
The Tigers got on the board early as Griggs doubled to shallow left field with one out. She came around to score on junior Amber Serrett‘s hard-hit double to right center, giving the Tigers a 1-0 lead.
Fresno State tied the game up at 1-1 in the second inning, hitting a solo home run over the left field wall.
LSU answered in the top of the third as Aliyah Andrews reached on an error and Griggs smoked a ball over the right field wall. The two run-shot gave the Tigers a 3-1 lead.
The Bulldogs cut the LSU lead to 3-2 after a single up the middle to plate one. But LSU answered again, plating two runs in the fourth off Doyle’s single to center, extending the Tigers’ lead to 5-2.
Five runs came across for LSU in the fifth. With one out, Shemiah Sanchez singled through the left side. Freshman CC Caccamise followed with her first hit in a Tiger uniform. Claire Weinberger drew a walk to load the bases.
Freshman Kara Goff came off the bench to pinch hit and drew another walk, scoring Sanchez. With two outs, Serrett also walked to score Caccamise before Doyle doubled to right center to clear the bases and give the Tigers a 10-2 lead.
Senior Carley Hoover kept the Bulldogs off balance in the fourth and fifth innings to secure the victory. She allowed two runs off four hits, while striking out seven in five innings of work. With the win, Hoover remains unbeaten at 6-0.
Game Two
UCLA got to senior Allie Walljasper early in the first inning as the Bruins used a single and a home run to take a 2-0 lead.
Three more runs came across for the Bruins in the third off Walljasper. Maribeth Gorsuch came in to pitch and did not allow a run that inning, striking out two.
LSU got on the board in the fourth. Serrett drew a one-out walk and advanced to third on Doyle’s double to right field. Serrett would score on a ground ball to third that was ruled obstruction by UCLA’s catcher, cutting the Bruins’ lead to 5-1.
UCLA responded with a run in the bottom of the fourth and would plate three more in the fifth to claim the win.
Walljasper took the loss for the Tigers, her first of the season. She is now 5-1. She allowed five runs off six hits in two innings of work. Gorsuch allowed four runs off seven hits, while striking out three in two innings.
Torina’s Thoughts
“In game one, the team played well and offense had a solid performance. Amanda (Doyle) had a great day top-to-bottom. It was great to see her continue to swing well. Game two was a good learning experience for us. Our pitching staff has done so much for so many games. They aren’t going to be perfect every time, we can’t expect them to be. Of course, we want to perform better, but we will learn and get better from it.”
Notes
>> With the win against Fresno State, Beth Torina earned her 286th victory at LSU. She is now 14 victories away from reaching 300.
>> Senior Emily Griggs hit her first home run of her career in game one against Fresno State.
>> CC Caccamise pounded out her first hit in a Tiger uniform.
Next Up
LSU will wrap up the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic on Sunday, facing No. 5 Oregon at 11 a.m. CT. The Tigers return home next weekend to play host to the LSU Invitational.
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 @lsusoftball on Instagram.