The LSU softball team wasted no time getting its first Southeastern Conference win of the season.
After accumulating two errors before they could get an out, LSU (16-8, 1-1 SEC) pulled ahead, 1-0, in the first inning and never looked back in a 4-1 defeat of No. 20 Auburn (21-4, 0-1 SEC), 4-1, in their first SEC game of the season.
“Whoever scores first, that’s going to make it a different ball game,” said senior outfielder Ashley Langoni. “If you score first, that puts pressure on the other team.”
The core of LSU’s lineup came through, with its second, third and fourth batters providing RBIs.
LSU senior pitcher Brittany Mack, who retired seven Auburn batters in a row from the second inning to the fourth inning, said scoring helps her stay calm while on the mound.
“It’s nice to know if I let someone on base, it’s not a big deal,” she said. “I’ve still got some cushion behind me.”
The LSU offense exploded during the fifth inning with a three-run effort.
With two outs already on the board in the inning, sophomore infielder Allison Falcon drove home an RBI and stole second base.
Langoni’s RBI double brought Falcon home to push the LSU lead to 3-0.
It was Langoni’s 17th RBI of the season.
“[Langoni] has been swinging great and playing great,” said LSU coach Beth Torina. “We expect her to do that for us.”
LSU senior infielder Juliana Santos hit an RBI single to drive in Langoni, which broke a 10-game stretch without an RBI for Santos.
Auburn rebounded in the fifth inning with a solo home run to center field from Auburn senior catcher Elizabeth Eisterhold.
Eisterhold couldn’t spark a run for Auburn, and LSU held on as Mack earned her seventh win of the season.
LSU capitalized on its scoring opportunities throughout the game, hitting 5-of-12 with runners on base, while Auburn was 0-for-8 with runners on base.
The story changed in game two of the doubleheader when LSU didn’t get off to a hot start.
LSU junior pitcher Rachele Fico had runners on the corners, but she worked out of the jam to keep Auburn scoreless.
LSU had a chance to put a run on the board in the fourth inning with runners on second and third, but Auburn junior third baseman Caitlin Schultze reeled in a line drive from LSU junior third baseman Kailey McCasland to end the inning.
Auburn senior pitcher Angel Bunner caused problems for the LSU batters that they didn’t see in the first game of the doubleheader.
“She did a better job of moving the ball around in the zone,” Torina said. “She kept us off-balance a little more. The first [game], we were able to sit on one side of the plate.”
Fico retired 15 of 16 batters from the first inning to the fifth. Auburn finally broke through in the fifth inning with a bases-loaded, two-RBI single from senior right fielder Amber Harrison.
Those two runs would be the first and last of the game, as LSU couldn’t respond and finished the game with only one hit.
LSU continues its SEC slate as it hosts Mississippi State (17-9, 3-4 SEC) for a series this weekend.
____ Contact Albert Burford at [email protected]