After an up-and-down start to the season, LSU found the signature victories previously absent in its first two weekends, going 4-1 at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Palm Springs, Calif.
The Tigers went 2-1 against teams in the top 15 of the AP poll, including a 6-3 victory against No. 3 Washington, and a 5-3 win against No. 13 Stanford. Washington was the highest ranked team LSU had beaten since defeating No. 2 Florida on April 24, 2012.
“This was a statement weekend for us,” said coach Beth Torina. “It’s going to give our team a whole lot of confidence, and hopefully, it’s going to turn some heads with what we’re capable of doing. But in the long run, our kids are going to benefit from the success they had out here.”
After opening wins against Long Beach State and Washington on Thursday night, the Tigers split their doubleheader Friday, losing to No. 6 Oregon 4-1 and blowing out Cal State Fullerton 8-1.
The Tigers played from behind the entire game against Oregon, after a two-run home run in the top of the first gave the Ducks an early lead. Six hits and three walks gave LSU its share of scoring opportunities, but the key hit never came with the Tigers leaving nine runners on base.
LSU’s best opportunity came in the final frame when the Tigers loaded the bases and brought the winning run to the plate. But sophomore shortstop Bianka Bell, who hit a home run in the fourth, went down swinging to hand the Tigers their fifth loss of the season.
Things became even worse for LSU in game two as it trailed Cal State Fullerton 1-0 heading into the bottom of the fifth. But an eight-run, eight-hit fifth inning turned a loss into a blowout victory.
Torina said her hitters did a great job of making adjustments and took off after getting some key hits to start the fifth.
Freshman pitcher Baylee Corbello notched her fifth win in the game, going the full seven innings while allowing just one earned run on six hits. Corbello has gone the distance in all eight starts in her first season in Baton Rouge.
The Tigers concluded their weekend with a dramatic victory against Stanford. LSU trailed 3-2 entering the final inning, but a string of hits turned into a three-run rally to give the Tigers a positive end to the tournament.
Senior outfielder Simone Heyward opened the inning with a single and was followed by a pair of bunt singles from junior outfielder A.J. Andrews and senior outfielder Jacee Blades. Cardinal pitcher Madi Schreyer gave LSU the lead for good when she walked or hit three of the next four batters.
“It’s nice to know we have the capability to not only do all of the little things right, but fight and have some guts and come back on a team late in a game,” Torina said. “I think that is a key thing to our season and will carry us a long way.”
The Tigers will come back to Tiger Park this weekend for the Purple and Gold Challenge beginning Feb. 28. Torina said she looks forward to watching her team improve like they have with every tournament this season.
“We’re still improving, and that’s the best part about this team,” Torina said. “…I think we started a little bit slower than what we wanted, but we are truly getting better and if we can keep that up through the end of the season then we will be in a good position going forward.”