No. 5 LSU Shuts Out Utah, Notre Dame on Day Two of the Judi Garman Classic

FULLERTON, Calif. – No. 5/6 LSU turned in a pair of shutout victories, beginning with a 2-0 win against Utah, followed by a 10-0 five-inning thrashing of Notre Dame on Friday at Anderson Family Field.

LSU jumps back in the win column and improves to 17-1 this season. Utah fell to 4-13, and Notre Dame is now 9-9.

Pitchers Sydney Berzon and Jayden Heavener combined for 18 strikeouts and held opposing batters to a .122 batting average while giving up no runs. The duo threw complete games and allowed five hits and three walks in 12.0 innings.

LSU was 14-for-47 (.298) at the dish, including two home runs, and had 11 RBI. Outfielder Jadyn Laneaux has bumped up in the lineup and led the team with four hits and a .571 batting average. Laneaux has logged multiple hits in three consecutive games. Utility player Tori Edwards (.429) had three hits on the day, including her fifth home run of the season.

Game One

After a tough outing on day one of the Judi Garman Classic, Heavener (4-1) bounced back with 11 strikeouts and logged her second shutout this season in the 2-0 win over Utah. In her fourth complete game, Heavener relinquished three hits and walks.

Utah’s Hailey Maestretti (1-3) was charged the loss after pitching a solid game. She had one strikeout, was hit five times and walked two batters.  

Laneaux had two of LSU’s five hits and outfielder McKenzie Redoutey had one hit and one RBI in the win. Infielder Sierra Daniel and Edwards were the other Tigers to record a hit.

Heavener set the tone early, striking out the first two batters she faced and retired 12 of 15 batters with eight strikeouts through five innings.

In the sixth, Edwards doubled to left field on the first pitch she saw and advanced the third on a fielding error. Redoutey followed with a double to left field that scored Edwards. Moments later, Daniel hit a two-out single, and Redoutey advanced home from second base thanks to a throwing error to put the Tigers ahead, 2-0.

Heavener shut the door in the top of the seventh by striking out the side for the second time in the game.   

Game Two

Berzon (7-0) tossed her third shutout this season, registering seven strikeouts and giving up just two hits in the 10-0, five-inning victory over Notre Dame.

Notre Dame’s Alexis Laudenslager (0-4) received the loss after giving up five runs on two hits and walked three batters. She recorded no outs. Brianne Weiss eventually came in and pitched 5.0 innings with six strikeouts and gave up four hits, four walks and two runs.  

Edwards was 2-for-4, including a two-run dinger, and scored a game-high two runs. Laneaux added another two hits and had an RBI, and designated player McKaela Walker matched a career-high three RBI after hitting her second career home run.

The Tigers erupted in the first inning by scoring eight runs on six hits, capped by Walkers’ first round-tripper this season, a 3-run shot that gave LSU an 8-0 lead. All eight runs were scored with no outs and forced two pitching changes.  

Notre Dame held LSU scoreless for the next three innings, but Berzon and the defense went to work, retiring eight of 12 batters, including three strikeouts for Berzon.

In the fifth frame, pinch hitter Madilyn Giglio reached base on balls, and two batters later, Edwards hit a nuke over the left-center field wall to add a couple of insurance runs for the Tigers. The Irish were retired in order at the bottom of the inning, featuring two more strikeouts by Berzon.  

Up Next

LSU concludes its weekend slate with an 11 a.m. CT game against Weber State.

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