Sunseri, Wickersham Lead LSU to Two Five-Inning Wins
BATON ROUGE – The LSU softball team remains undefeated after a five inning walk-off victory over Iowa, 9-0 and defeating Tulsa, 11-0 in five innings. The Tigers improve to 3-0 on the season.
Senior Shelbi Sunseri led the Tigers at the plate, hitting three home runs on the day for seven RBI. Amanda Sanchez went 2-for-3 in game one and 3-for-3 in game two with three RBI and three doubles on the day.
Shelby Wickersham and Sunseri held it down in the circle, both claiming their first victories on the season. Wickersham pitched a no-hitter in her college debut, and the two combined to finish with eight strikeouts on the day. Both improve to 1-0 on the season.
WHAT. A. DEBUT. @shelbywick5 throws the 6th NO-NO as a freshman in program history! 💪#FightAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/wZYTTweqDO
— LSU Softball (@LSUsoftball) February 9, 2019
Torina’s Thoughts
On team’s performance:
“It was a fun and exciting day. We got to see a lot of different faces out there and we had a lot of people step up. It’s nice to see your team have a lot of success.”
On Wickersham:
“She did a great job. I think she’s a really talented pitcher and I think you are going to see a lot of highlights from her in her career. She’s going to do a great job for us. Of course, a lot of help from her offense making it end in five innings. The offense gets the credit for that one too.”
On Sunseri:
“She is a really talented player that can hit and pitch in the SEC and do it at such a high level. She’s a really special player and we’re lucky to have her.”
On her no-hitter…
“It was definitely an honor and a privilege. It definitely feels nice going out there knowing my teammates have my back making all the plays in the field and then getting those runs on the board for us. It was special for it to be my first college game.”
Game 1
Aliyah Andrews put herself into scoring position after two stolen bases in the bottom of the first. She came in to score the first run of the game on a single from Amanda Doyle.
In the bottom of the second inning, the bases were loaded after a single from Shemiah Sanchez, and great at-bats from Michaela Schlattman and Amber Serrett. Freshman Savannah Stewart walked, bringing in Shemiah Sanchez to up the lead 2-0. Antoine ripped the ball to right field, scoring two runs from Andrews and Stewart, extending the Tiger’s lead 5-0.
Shelbi Sunseri began the bottom of the fourth inning with a double to the right field, and Antoine reached first on a fielder’s choice, scoring her third RBI of the game.
The Tigers entered the fifth inning with a 6-0 lead, and after a three-run home run from Sunseri, the Tigers claimed the walk-off win, 9-0.
Freshman Shelby Wickersham claimed her first career victory as a Tiger with a no-hitter, finishing with two strikeouts in the circle.
Game 2
In the bottom of the first inning, the Tigers began with two runners on base, Aliyah Andrews walked and Amber Serrett drove the ball to center field for a double. Amanda Sanchez hit the ball down the left field line allowing Serrett and Andrews to score, giving the Tigers a 2-0 lead.
Amanda Sanchez doubled to center field to start the bottom of the third inning, followed by a home run from Sunseri, her second home run on the season. The two runs pushed LSU to a 5-0 lead.
The Tigers kept the momentum going into the fourth inning, scoring two runs after a wild pitch and a Doyle double to the right field, scoring Serrett. A double from Amanda Sanchez brought in another run to make it an 8-0 lead for the Tigers. At the plate, Sunseri hit her third home run of the day, second of the game, scoring two more runs. Georgia Clark hit a double down the left field line, bringing in another run. The Tigers ended the inning with an 11-0 lead on Tulsa.
You can PUCKER UP and KISS that baby GOODBYE! @ShelbiSunseri goes yard for the second time on the day to extend the Tigers’ lead to 5-0! #FightAllTheWay
💻: https://t.co/GJIG4ui6sK pic.twitter.com/utRUE9RJXm
— LSU Softball (@LSUsoftball) February 9, 2019
In the circle, Sunseri claimed her first victory on the season, ending the game in the fifth inning with a strikeout, making it her sixth on the day.
Game Notes
>> Wickersham’s no-hitter is the sixth in program history thrown by a freshman.
>> Sunseri hit a home run in back-to-back plate appearances in game two. She now has 10 home runs in a Tiger uniform.
>> Sunseri finished the day with a 4-for-6 performance for a total of seven RBI off three home runs and a double.
>> The Tigers have now scored 39 runs in three games.
On Deck
The Tigers continue the 2019 Tiger Classic on Saturday, taking on Iowa at 3:30 p.m. and Bucknell at 6 p.m. The game will stream live on SECN+. For all information on the Tiger Classic, click here.