LSU senior catcher Killian Roessner played the jack-of-all trades in Tuesday’s game against Troy. The senior All-American rested from her catching duties against the Trojans, but soon found herself contributing in all aspects of a nailbiter. In a grueling 11-inning game, Roessner scored the game-ending run in a 7-6 win. With Roessner on third base, senior infielder Shannon Stein stepped up for her first at-bat of the game, belting a line drive down the first base line that scored Roessner. With the score tied in the bottom of the fifth inning, Roessner stepped up to the plate for her team, literally. She blasted LSU’s lone home run of the evening, giving the Tigers a 5-4 lead on the solo shot. “Sometimes when people are down, someone has to just be positive,” Roessnner said. “I try to run my mouth and when I got in the box, I just acted like there was nothing I couldn’t hit because someone needed to do it.” Troy (14-12) soon retook the lead in the sixth inning on a misfire by backup catcher Erika Sluss. With a runner on second, Sluss miscommunicated on a pickoff attempt with freshman second baseman Ashley Applegate, allowing Troy to take a 6-5 lead. It was no surprise to see Roessner resume catching in the season’s longest game. “Sluss needs work, but that was just a learning experience. I’ve done that a million times.” Roessner said. The game started out in offensive fashion as the two teams combined for 25 hits. The Tigers (20-4) found themselves down 3-0 early, as starting pitcher Tiffany Garcia allowed six hits and three runs in just two innings of work. Freshman pitcher Casey Faile, aided by the efforts of Roessner and senior short stop Tayl’r Hollis, got the Tigers back into the game. Faile threw seven strikeouts in three innings while Hollis lined a third-inning, two-RBI double for LSU’s first runs. When Faile ran into trouble in the top of the sixth, sophomore pitcher Cody Trahan closed the door. Trahan got out of the jam and proceeded to throw six strikeouts in a row and nine overall. “Everybody has their off day and you have to be able to step in,” Trahan said. “But I wasn’t expecting that. It all just kinda fell into place.” As explosive as the game started, the performances of both Trahan and Troy pitcher Ashlyn Williams kept things even at 6 until the bottom of the 11th inning. Williams walked Roessner twice in high-pressure situations, but Roessner established herself as the game-winning run with a double to right field. “[Williams] showed a lot of heart out here today,” Roessner said. “You can never take a team lightly.”
—-Contact David Helman at [email protected]