There were mixed results last weekend between these two softball teams. LSU somewhat salvaged the season by beating Mississippi State on Sunday, 5-3. McNeese, on the other hand, has been on a tear, winning its last four weekend series.
These two teams duked it out at Tiger Park in Baton Rouge on Tuesday evening for the final midweek game of the regular season. LSU exploded onto the scene with an overwhelming amount of runs. McNeese couldn’t recover and fell in a 16-0 run-rule ballgame in five innings. The win improved the Tigers’ record to 34-16, and the Pokes dropped to 35-19.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
It didn’t take long for LSU to jump out to a sizable lead, putting up crooked numbers in the first couple of innings. McNeese failed to get on base in the first inning and opened the door for LSU to jump out to an early lead.
The Tigers loaded the bases before a batter was called out. Cowgirl starting pitcher Brookelyn Taylor hit LSU leadoff hitter Jalia Lassiter with a pitch and gave up a single to Sierra Daniel before Kylee Edwards walked without a strike being thrown. Alix Franklin struck out for the first out, but a second wild pitch of the inning scored Lassiter and advanced the other two runners for the first run.
That was only the beginning of LSU’s scoring spree as Tori Edwards walked to load the bases again and Maci Bergeron hit into a fielder’s choice to put another run on the board; Edwards was out at second base. Char Lorenz hit an RBI single, and the run was enough for McNeese head coach James Landreneau to make the switch at pitcher to Maddie Taylor. That didn’t stop the Tigers from scoring a fourth run of the inning as Destiny Harris singled through the left side.
The Pokes still couldn’t find their way on base, as all three batters grounded out in the infield.
A massive eight-run inning by LSU in the second created a mountain of a lead that McNeese wouldn’t recover from. The Tigers were back at the top of the lineup to begin, and it didn’t start well with flyouts by Lassiter and Edwards, with Daniel walking sandwiched in between. Franklin singled into center field to put runners on the corners, and Daniel then scored on a wild pitch after Tori Edwards walked and Bergeron hit an RBI single. The run continued to pile up as Lorenz recorded a hit and prompted Taylor to be taken off the mound in favor of Ryann Schexnayder.
The pitching change didn’t slow down the Tigers as Harris hit a two-RBI double into left-center field. Avery Hodge’s single helped Harris score, and Lassiter capped it off on her third at-bat with a home run over the left-field wall. That put the Bayou Bengals up 12-0 after two innings of softball.
Cece Cellura continued to force the Poke batting lineup into groundouts. McNeese’s nine-hole hitter Alexis Dibbley recorded the team’s first hit with a single through the right side, and Kassidy Chance forced a walk to put runners on first and second. Maddie Weeks couldn’t capitalize on the opportunity to put a run on the board and grounded out to Cellura to end the inning.
McNeese made its third pitching change of the evening to Kadence Williams, and Onna Pruitt replaced Dominguez at catcher. The change was a success to start, as LSU didn’t score a run or a hit in the third. That wasn’t the case in the fourth as the Tigers put up another handful of runs.
The Tigers had two runners in scoring position before the Cowgirls could record an out, and Lassiter helped score the first run of the inning with a sacrifice fly into right field. Jada Phillips pinch hit for Daniel and hit an RBI before Edwards doubled on the first pitch she saw, as Phillips scored from first base. Tori Edwards then made it 16-0 heading to the top of the fifth.
McNeese needed at least nine runs to prevent a run-rule loss. With one out, Dibbley reached first after a fielding error by pitcher Ashlin Mowery, but she was the only Cowgirl to get on base in the final inning as the Tigers ran away with the overwhelming win.
BIG NUMBER: 8
The Tigers ended what was an impressive late-season run by the Cowgirls. Heading into Tuesday evening’s matchup, McNeese was on an eight-game win streak that included a pair of sweeps in Southland Conference play and a midweek win vs the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns. The Pokes had also won 12 out of their last 13 games.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Destiny Harris
Harris was one of two players to record multiple hits, but she also had a game-high three RBI and two runs scored. 12 out of LSU’s 13 batters recorded a hit, 14 total in the game, and the 16 runs scored were a season-high for the Tigers.
UP NEXT: The LSU Tigers will begin their final regular season series on Thursday, April 30th, when they host the Auburn Tigers. First pitch from Tiger Park is scheduled for 6:00 PM. For McNeese, the Cowgirls will open the Southland Conference Tournament by taking on the No.7-seeded Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks. First pitch in that one is at 4:00 PM on Thursday.