Shutouts are challenging to come by in college softball.
Having five in a row? That’s a test to No. 14 LSU’s top-notch pitching and sharp at-bats.
“The cool part is it is five different arms… if we were concerned about our depth, we can feel a little better about it,” head coach Beth Torina said.
After starting off the season with an 8-0 win against Nicholls State, The Tiger’s continued their dominance over Memphis and Pittsburgh in the LSU Invitational on Friday and Saturday.
On Friday, LSU beat Memphis 19-0 and Pitt 5-0. On Saturday, it won 7-0 against Pitt and 8-0 against Memphis.
In total LSU had 31 hits, 4 home runs and 21 strikeouts. Here are three takeaways from LSU’s sweep.
LSU has a formidable pitching staff, consisting of new faces and returners
Sydney Berzon’s 14-win, 127-strikeout and 1.91-ERA freshman year was only the beginning of her story.
Even though she’s a sophomore, Berzon is one of LSU’s main leaders. She showcased her unhittable skills in the Tiger’s season opener against Nicholls when she threw a shutout.
But LSU’s talent in the circle wouldn’t end with Berzon’s performance on Thursday. All four starters in the invitational pitched shutouts as well.
While fans might’ve been surprised, Torina wasn’t.
“I think probably five shutouts is shocking for anybody,” Torina said. “But am I surprised to see them execute and pitch well? I’m not. I’m a big believer in what we have on this staff.”
In the two-day invitational, each team played a double header, which allowed Torina to use the depth in her pitching roster.
Transfer Kelley Lynch made her debut as a Tiger on Friday against Pittsburgh. The graduate student ended her first game in purple and gold with a 5-0 win, striking out six batters along the way.
Lynch was preceded by sophomore Emma Strood who led the Tigers to their second mercy rule of the season, winning 19-0.
Strood pitched for five innings, only allowing two hits and two walks, additionally recording three strikeouts.
Juniors Raelin Chaffin and Emilee Casanova closed out the Invitational on Saturday. The pitchers combined to have 12 strikeouts, five walks and four hits.
The seniors are still on fire at the plate and in the field
Guess who’s back, back again? First baseman Raeleen Gutierrez, walking up to the plate with “Without me” by Eminem playing, setting the tone for her explosive at-bats.
From the nine hole, Gutierrez hit the first home run for LSU against Nicholls. She moved her way up to fifth in the lineup after hitting a two-run homer in the first game of the invitational.
In the first game of the series against Memphis, shortstop Taylor Pleasants hit the second grand slam of her career. She had a standout performance in the invitational with three hits, two home runs and three runs batted in.
But Pleasants was mostly unstoppable on defense. A deep ground ball in the 5-6 hole is a difficult out for most shortstops, but not for Pleasants. In all four games, her immediate reaction to field the ball and throw to first gave LSU a defensive advantage.
“I would be hard pressed to find a better shortstop anywhere in the country,” Torina said. “I think that is a huge reason for the success… there is no question that she is a big reason and the whole defense is a huge reason why we are here.”
Center fielder Ciara Briggs led LSU with seven runs and three hits. This two-time golden glover is sure to break records and showcase unmatched skills in her final season.
Dual-threat pitcher Lynch transferred from Washington in the offseason and highlighted her three new pitches added in the offseason. However, getting on base for the Tigers is where she’ll come in handy this year.
From top of the lineup to the bottom, each batter can produce runs
With the amount of experience on LSU’s team, it’s no surprise that there are few holes in its lineup.
From the top to bottom, there’s not a person incapable of bringing in a run.
The top of LSU’s order stayed consistent: Danieca Coffey first, Briggs second, Pleasants in the three-hole and Ali Newland in cleanup.
The pitchers and catchers determined the rest of the lineup, but ultimately, it didn’t affect the score much.
Besides the Tiger’s first game where they scored 19 runs, the remainder of their weekend consisted of scores under eight, mainly due to the mercy rule.
Since the Tigers were up 19 runs in their game against Memphis on Friday, Torina gave a few freshmen the opportunity to see the field.
Even though the skill-level on LSU’s team was noticeably higher than Memphis or Pittsburgh, the invitational still gave the Tigers an opportunity to showcase the experience on their team, as well as the young talent.
“It helps our depth, helps our future,” Torina said. “As we’re down the stretch, who knows what we’re going to need?”
The Tigers will travel to Florida next weekend to face Georgia Tech in their first game of the Clearwater Invitational.
