The Texas Southern University softball team received a standing ovation on Wednesday when they stepped into Tiger Park.
The Houston-based university (1-6) was two hours late to the game because the team bus was delayed by heavy rain and rush-hour traffic.
“They pulled off to the side of the road because the weather was really bad,” LSU coach Yvette Girouard said. “Then they hit rush-hour traffic in Beaumont and Lake Charles.”
The No. 19 Lady Tigers stayed loose by tossing the ball in the outfield during the two-hour delay.
“We were out there just trying to keep warm and stay positive,” said outfielder Leslie Klein. “We could have easily said that we didn’t want to play anymore, or we hope that they don’t show up, but we didn’t. We were ready to play today.”
The delay did not affect the Lady Tigers, whodefeated Texas Southern 12-0 in the first game and 19-0 in the second game.
LSU (14-0) is off to its best start in team history. The Tigers have outscored their opposition 130-2, including two shutouts against No. 11 University of Washington.
In the first game pitcher Megan Jolly (3-0) allowed two hits and struck out seven in five shutout innings.
The Tigers scored seven runs against Texas Southern pitcher Katie Ortiz in the first inning to set the tempo for the evening.
Outfielder Lauren Castle went 3-3 with two runs and two RBIs in the first game of the double header. Second baseman Vanessa Soto, outfielder Camille Harris and catcher Killian Roessner each also batted in two runs.
In the second game, pitcher Tiffany Garcia struck out 11 batters and gave up three hits in the second shutout performance of the night.
Garcia pitched a perfect game in her first win and a no-hitter in her second victory this season.
LSU scored five runs in the first inning, but it was 12 runs in the second that opened up the game. The Tigers added two more runs to finish the 19-0 win.
Texas Southern loaded the bases in the fifth inning with only one out, but Garcia struck out the next batter and popped up the final out of the game.
Klein hit in all three at bats, scored three runs and had five RBIs.
“Mission accomplished,” Girouard said. “We got to play everybody, and we worked on some things that we needed to work on. Now it’s on to much bigger and better things.”
LSU will travel this weekend to Palm Springs, Calif., to play in the Palm Springs Classic. The Tigers will face No. 3 University of California- Los Angeles and No. 11 Oregon State University on Friday, University of California- Santa Barbara and Texas Tech University on Saturday and finish with No. 6 Stanford University on Sunday. ESPNU will cover the Stanford game live at 11 a.m. (CT).
 
Contact Matt Vines at [email protected]