The first game of the annual Tiger Classic was a breeze for No. 4 LSU, but the second did contest come so easily.
After a 14-2 run rule victory win against Oklahoma State, the Tigers faltered to Penn State 7-3.
The Tigers got off to a much slower start than they did in game one and struggled to find their footing on offense.
“The first game they did a great job,” LSU coach Beth Torina said. “They did everything we asked them to do and I think in game two if you eliminate the third inning, we’re in a pretty good spot. I think we played 13 really solid innings today and one really bad one.”
Both teams remained scoreless for the first inning, but LSU freshman infielder Sydney Springfield scored on a sacrifice fly for the first run of the game.
Penn State chased LSU freshmen pitcher Maribeth Gorsuch in the top of third inning, scoring five runs, causing Torina to make a change.
Torina called on her ace, junior pitcher Carley Hoover to replace Gorsuch in the circle during the third inning.
“She’s a fire pitcher,” Hoover said about Gorsuch. “She’s going to figure it out too. She’s getting there just like all of the other young players. It was great for her to have that experience on the mound tonight and hopefully she can build from it and learn from it.”
After falling behind 5-1, the Tigers scored only one run in the bottom of the third, as senior Bailey Landry scored on a single from senior second baseman Constance Quinn.
Penn State came back with a home run and another run on a passed ball in the top of the fourth, padding the Nittany Lions lead to 7-2.
The Tigers put another run on the board when freshmen Amanda Doyle hit an RBI double to score senior catcher Sahvanna Jaquish from second base.
Four freshman started for LSU, including Gorsuch, outfielder Aliyah Andrews, infielder Sydney Springfield, and infielder Amanda Doyle. Springfield and Doyle came up big offensively in both games.
“The freshmen are great players,” Torina said. “I’ll go back and evaluate how we can still have some confidence. The two freshmen are the two that got all the hits tonight in this game though, Doyle and Springfield really carried us offensively tonight.”
Gorsuch threw 46 pitches in three innings in her debut for the Tigers, totaling five strikeouts.
Hoover threw 59 pitches in four innings, totaling 12 strikeouts.
Despite Hoover’s fire toward the end of the game, she feels that she did not shut things down like she should have.
“We’re absolutely optimistic,” Landry said. “We have another chance to face them tomorrow, we’re facing quality opponents all weekend. We’re not looking at this as anything defining, it’s just a step one way.”
LSU continues the Tiger Classic tomorrow with a double header against McNeese State at 3 p.m. and Penn State at 5:30 p.m.
