Coming off a series win in Starkville, LSU (34-8,11-4 Southeastern Conference) defeated McNeese State (20-22, 11-4 Southland) 4-0 at Tiger Park to extend their win streak to three.
Even in a game without their best power hitter in Shelbi Sunseri, LSU still found a way to put runs on the board and seal a midweek victory.
The Tigers returned home and only wasted an inning to get on the board for its fans as Sydney Bourg singled home Michaela Schlattman to get the scoring started in the second inning.
While LSU got on the board first, McNeese pitching did an exceptional job of keeping the explosive Tiger lineup at bay through two innings by only allowing one unearned run.
In the third, LSU found a way to get another run across with the combo that has produced all year: Aliyah Andrews and Amanda Sanchez.
Andrews got an infield single and stole another base to be in prime position for Sanchez.
Sanchez got the message and hit an RBI double to score Andrews and increase the lead.
Schlattman got another run across by grounding into a fielder’s choice to score Amanda Doyle to extend the lead to 3-0 going into the fourth.
The real superstar of the game for the Tigers did not come in the batter’s box, but from the circle as junior Maribeth Gorsuch stole the show by allowing no runs in seven innings of work.
Sanchez does not get credit for the RBI, but gets another run across in the fourth by grounding into a double play to further the lead.
After the fourth, both pitchers start to settle in and induce multiple groundballs to keep the remainder of the game defensive.
A defensive game is exactly what Gorsuch planned throughout the game.
“Every time I go into a game, my game plan is to let my defense work,” Gorsuch said. “I go out there and try and hit my spots and know my defense will be behind me.”
The defense did not let her down tonight as Gorsuch only had three strikeouts and pitched to contact which allowed the Tiger defense to shine.
Head coach Beth Torina loved the effort from her veteran leader and knows the win will keep them motivated into the weekend.
“She [Gorsuch] did a great job; I thought she really led us today.” Torina said. “On a day where we did not have a ton of energy, she gave us the performance that we needed.”
While the Tiger offense did not shine as bright as usual, Gorsuch showed that she can handle the pressure and can carry the team when needed.
LSU will look to use this effort to carry themselves against a tough SEC opponent in Kentucky as they come to town for a weekend series at Tiger Park on Friday.
