BATON ROUGE — In her first season as LSU head coach, Yvette Girouard guided the LSU softball team past her former squad, Louisiana-Lafayette, 2-1, to advance LSU to the Women’s College World Series for the first time on Sunday afternoon in the NCAA Regional Championship in Baton Rouge.
Britni Sneed was named the Most Outstanding Player of the regional after winning three of LSU’s four games and striking out 32 batters in 19 innings.
The Tigers (57-9) advanced to the WCWS for the first time in school history, the fifth season after the sport’s reinstatement at LSU. Head coach Yvette Girouard, who made three WCWS appearances with UL-Lafayette (formerly Southwestern Louisiana University), makes her first as the Tiger skipper.
ULL’s season ended at 51-10.
Fans interested in purchasing tickets to the WCWS should call the Oklahoma City All-Sports Association on Monday morning at (405) 236-5000. In the first round of the WCWS, LSU will face No. 6 seed Stanford in the 6 p.m. game on Thursday, May 24.
LSU lost to Stanford, 2-0, in the Leadoff Classic on Feb. 23. Sneed pitched a two-hitter, but allowed a pair of solo homers to take the loss. LSU was also two-hit by Cardinal pitcher Dana Sorensoen.
Sneed, a junior All-American from Houston, struck out 12 batters while allowing three hits and three walks in the complete game victory. She improved to 35-5 and recorded at least 10 K’s for the ninth time in her past 10 appearances.
LSU took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third on a pair of unearned runs which resulted from a passed ball by ULL catcher Carrie Vernon.
LSU’s Aleshia Perry led off the inning with a single that kicked up chalk on the third base line and hit the bag before creeping into left field. The Tigers put their best speed on the basepaths when Dee Douglas reached on a hard-hit single to shortstop Alana Addision. With no chance to get Douglas out at first base, Addison attemped to get Perry out at second unassisted but was too late.
The passed ball put Perry on third and Doulgas on second with no outs. After April Janzen struckout, Tiger shortstop Stephanie Hastings’ ground ball to second baseman Jill Robertson was thrown home too late and LSU took a 1-0 lead.
Hastings took second base on defensive indifference to put runners on second and third. Christy Connor lined out to first before Trena Peel earned her sixth hit of the regional and third RBI on an 0-2 pitch. Douglas scored on the infield single for a 2-0 lead.
ULL answered the Tigers’ outburst with a leadoff home run that was blasted out of the park by No. 3 hitter Alana Addison, her 15th of the season. The home run was the second in two days against Sneed, who had gone 103 1/3 innings without allowing a run in Tiger Park.
The Lady Cajuns put together a two-out two-on threat in the top of the fifth against Sneed, but the junior pitcher threw Roberton out on a bunt attempt to end the inning.
The Tigers’ attempt for an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth inning was foiled when Coronado got Perry to popout to Addison with runners on second and third.
The Lady Cajuns put a runner on base in the top of the seventh inning by virtue of a walk, but couldn’t get the runner past first base.
All-Tournament Team
Baton Rouge Regional
Britni Sneed, LSU, P *
Stephanie Hastings, LSU, SS
Melissa Coronado, ULL, P
Phelan Wright, Arizona State, 3B
Alana Addison, ULL, SS
Trena Peel, LSU, OF
Jennifer Tripken, Penn State, 3B
Kristie Martin, Southern Miss, 3B
Dee Douglas, LSU, OF
Christy Connor, LSU, 1B
Kristin Swetel, Arizona State, OF
Tiffany Grayson, ULL, DP
* Most Outstanding Player