LSU displayed the power of its two freshman pitchers as they swept their doubleheader against Iowa St. and Lamar on day two of the Purple and Gold Challenge.
The Tigers used some seventh inning heroics to beat Iowa St. in game one 1-0. They then won their seventh game of the season by mercy rule as they defeated Lamar, 10-0 in five innings.
“Both freshman pitchers are doing some nice things,” said coach Beth Torina. “[Freshman pitcher Baylee] Corbello is just continuing to be dominant, and I really like what I see from all the freshman class.”
In game one, the game remained scoreless for six and a half innings and seemed destined for extra innings as the Tigers started the bottom of the seventh with two outs. But junior outfielder A.J. Andrews reached first on a bunt single, stole second and reached third on a fielding error to spark the team.
After senior outfielder Jacee Blades walked, sophomore first baseman Sandra Simmons hit a line drive straight to second baseman Sara Davison. Davison was unable to make the catch, and Andrews crossed home and Simmons crossed first to secure the victory.
The game was another stellar performance from Corbello, who went the full seven innings allowing six hits with five strikeouts. Corbello has failed to be taken out of her first nine starts this season, and the shutout brought her earned run average down to 1.07.
Corbello was most impressive in getting out of jams, forcing Iowa St. to leave 10 runners on base. Corbello said getting out of these situations is something she has been working on since high school, and she trusts her defense in any situation.
Game two was much like the Tigers’ 8-0 victory against Jackson St. the day before, as powerful hitting and solid pitching from freshman pitcher Kelsee Selman dictated both games.
Selman went all five innings of the shortened game allowing just three hits while registering seven strikeouts. The performance comes just one day after recording her first no-hitter of her career against Jackson St.
The Tigers’ bats came out early, scoring eight runs off seven hits in the first two innings. The highlights were a grand slam by freshman catcher Sahvanna Jaquish and a three run home run by Simmons that could have left any softball park in the country.
Simmons said the power is a display of all the hard work the team has done in the offseason.
“We do a lot of hitting at practice and a lot of us are doing extra and spending more time with their hitting,” Simmons said. “That hard work is showing off and it is helping us out a lot.”
The Tigers will play a pair of road games against in-state teams UL-Monroe and Northwestern St. during the week before they start Southeastern Conference play against Auburn. Torina believes the team took a few lessons from an up-and-down weekend that can translate to success.
“We’ve got an uphill battle the rest of the way to make up for making mistakes like [their 1-0 loss to Harvard Friday],” Torina said. “But this team is capable of doing it.”
Contact Tommy Romanach at [email protected]
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