BATON ROUGE, La. – A sacrifice fly from first baseman Tori Edwards gave No. 9/10 LSU a 3-2 walk-off victory over Southeastern Louisiana to conclude the 2025 Tiger Classic Sunday afternoon at Tiger Park.
LSU (5-0) has walked off Southeastern (2-3) for the second consecutive season after Karli Petty hit a three-run blast in the eighth inning last season at Tiger Park.
“They [Southeastern Louisiana] are a good team,” said Head Coach Beth Torina. “Every time we play them, it is a game like this. They do a good job; he [Head Coach Rick Fremin] has all new personnel, yet they play the game the same way. I think that is the mark of a good coach. His standard is the standard no matter what personnel he has on the field. They do a great job.”
Southeastern had two runners in scoring position with two outs in the top of the seventh when left fielder Jadyn Laneaux made an over-the-shoulder catch to save the game and give LSU a chance to walk it off with the score tied, 2-2.
In the bottom of the seventh, shortstop Avery Hodge drew a walk, and third baseman Danieca Coffey’s bunt single put two runners on with no outs. Both advanced to second and third base, respectively, after a sacrifice bunt by center fielder Jalia Lassiter, and catcher Maci Bergeron tallied the second walk of the inning to load the bases. That’s when Edwards stepped to the plate, fought her way to a full count, and lifted the next pitch deep enough to center field to score Hodge for the win.
“I felt that it was a cool moment for Tori Edwards in her maturing process,” said Coach Torina. “She swung through the change-up earlier in the at-bat and was forced to deal with that again. It was cool to see the adjustment that she made. She is wise beyond her years. She studied and was prepared. She is not just up there making big swings – although it may look like that. She is extremely calculated. To see her make that adjustment is not super surprising, but nice to see her hard work pay off.”
LSU was outhit by Southeastern, 6-3, and the Tigers’ three runs were scored on two sac flies from Edwards and right fielder McKenzie Redoutey and an RBI walk by designated player McKaela Walker. Bergeron, Coffey and Lassiter recorded LSU’s three hits.
Pitcher Sydney Berzon improved to 2-0 in the circle and tossed a complete game. She struck out four batters and surrendered six hits and one earned run.
“We gave up two or three balls out of the infield, including Jadyn Laneaux’s catch. It is just another day where Sydney is being Sydney,” said Coach Torina.” “Southeastern has a tough offense with all the lefties and the slappers. They are not up there trying to swing through stuff. They are trying to challenge your defense and put stuff in play. It may have been a tougher match-up for Sydney, who is going to change speeds and try to keep big-swinging people off balance, but she is Sydney. She finds a way to win, no matter the situation.”
SLU’s pitcher Hallie Burns (0-2) was given the loss after entering the game in relief and giving up three walks, two hits, and the final run with no strikeouts in 1.2 innings. Pitcher Britney Lewinski started for the Lady Lions and threw five shutout innings before getting pulled in the sixth after walking two batters. Lewinski had one strikeout in the game, walked four batters and gave up just one hit.
After four scoreless innings, Southeastern got on the board with a run-scoring single by second baseman Shelby Morris in the top of the fifth and shut down a rally attempt in the bottom half after turning its second double play of the game. The Lady Lions extended their lead, 2-0, thanks to an RBI single up the middle by pinch hitter Brilee Ford in the sixth.
Coffey and Lassiter drew walks in the bottom of the sixth, and Bergeron singled to left field to load the bases with no outs. SLU recorded the first out with a foul flyout, but Redoutey brought home Coffey on a sacrifice fly to put LSU on the board, 2-1. A pitch hit second baseman Maddox McKee to load the bags again, and Walker walked in Lassiter to tie the game, 2-2 heading into the final inning.
Up Next
LSU will host No. 17/18 Virginia Tech, No. 20/21 Northwestern and UT Arlington in the 2025 Purple & Gold Challenge at Tiger Park on Feb. 14-16.
For the latest news and information on Tiger softball, visit www.lsusports.net/softball. Fans can follow the team on its social media outlets, such as www.facebook.com/lsusoftball and @lsusoftball, as well as on Instagram and X.