The No. 5 LSU softball team notched its 25th straight win and its first Southeastern Conference sweep of the season with a 7-1 victory against Arkansas on Sunday afternoon, surpassing the longest winning streak in program history.
Throughout the series, the Tigers (25-0, 3-0 SEC) relied on a combination of relentless hitting and dominant pitching to overwhelm the Razorbacks (12-10, 0-3 SEC). In the series, LSU outscored Arkansas, 23-1.
“It’s hard to beat anybody three times, so the fact that we were able to take care of anybody in the SEC three times is huge,” said LSU coach Beth Torina. “It helps set them up to accomplish some of their goals. They want to win the SEC. They want to win a national championship. It’s a step in the right direction.”
Despite not scoring in the first inning, the Tigers took control in the bottom of the second by capitalizing on Arkansas’ mistakes.
Junior first baseman Sandra Simmons sparked LSU with a leadoff single up the middle before senior designated player Dylan Supak drew a walk. Simmons and Supak moved into scoring position on a wild pitch by Arkansas sophomore pitcher Grace Moll (0-3).
LSU sophomore second baseman Constance Quinn drove in Simmons with a ground out to short for the Tigers’ first run. Supak scored on a passed ball by the Razorbacks’ sophomore catcher Shelby Hiers.
The Tigers blew the game wide open in the bottom of the fourth inning, scoring five runs on three hits.
After Quinn lined out to open the inning, freshman left fielder Emily Griggs and senior center fielder A.J. Andrews drew back-to-back walks to set the table for sophomore right fielder Bailey Landry who drove in Griggs with a double to left center.
After the Razorbacks intentionally walked junior shortstop Bianka Bell, sophomore third baseman Sahvanna Jaquish came to the plate with the bases loaded and only one out.
Jaquish put the game out of Arkansas’ reach with her second grand slam and her 11th home run of the season. Jaquish leads LSU and the SEC in home runs.
“They had thrown me a changeup before and I struck out looking on it, so I was kind of like, ‘I don’t want to get out the same way twice,’” Jaquish said. “When she threw the changeup to me again, I was ready for it. I wanted to hit it hard, but I didn’t know it was going to go out. That was a plus.”
Although LSU’s lineup shined throughout the series, the Tigers’ pitching rotation kept the Razorbacks swinging the entire series, striking out a combined 22 batters while giving up only four walks.
In her longest outing of 2015 in the series finale, sophomore pitcher Kelsee Selman notched nine strikeouts while walking only two batters in her fifth complete game.
In the series, the Tigers’ pitchers did not allow an earned run and gave up only 10 hits.
“[The pitchers] did a great job,” Torina said. “They kept us in every game. They threw quality pitches. They did everything we asked them to do. We have a great pitcher, [sophomore pitcher Baylee Corbello], that didn’t even get in this weekend. We have a really nice staff, and they matched up well this weekend.”
You can reach Morgan Prewitt on Twitter @kmprewitt_TDR.