LSU continued their winning streak in the Tiger Classic as freshman pitcher Shelby Wickersham pitches a no hitter for her LSU debut as the Tigers took down Iowa 9-0.
Wickersham was ranked No. 9 in FloSoftball’s Hot 100 list. Wickersham pitched two strikeouts and two walks. She was replaced by sophomore Shelbi Sunseri for the game versus Tulsa.
“It’s really an honor and a privilege,” Wickersham said. “It definitely feels nice going out there knowing my teammates have my back, making the plays in the field and getting those runs up on the board for us. It was special for it to be my first college game.”
LSU first faced Iowa leaving them scoreless by a score of 9-0. First inning LSU’s defense showed up to play with a quick three up, three down. The Tigers’ first chance on base ended with an RBI after a hit to shortstop from Amber Doyle.
The second inning LSU’s defense pushed again as Iowa picked up the pace a little bit. Wickersham gave a walk to give Iowa a small advantage, but it was a quick three outs pick up by the LSU defense.
The bottom of the second was more promising for LSU as they scored four runs. It started with infielder Shemiah Sanchez’s single to shortstop, followed by three walks left the Tigers with bases loaded and the first score of the game. Outfielder Aliyah Andrews hits a single for another score, so outfielder Taryn Antoine could get a triple to right field, ending the second inning and giving the Tigers a 5-0 lead.
The third inning let LSU’s defense shine again with another three up, three down. However, Iowa’s defense got to LSU as they ended the inning after just four players on base. The fourth inning was similar for LSU’s defense with three more quick outs. The bottom of the fourth gave LSU one more run, making their lead 6-0.
The fifth inning LSU put down Iowa fast, but their offense came to finish the game. Schlattman got a single followed by a walk. This left Sunseri to hit a homerun deep past left field for two RBIs and herself running across the bag making the final score 9-0 in favor of the Tigers.
“It feel pretty great,” Sunseri said. “I think we’ve all worked for this moment so I think it’s really cool to see our hard work pay off. We’ve really been working on the mental aspect of hitting. We’re gonna see two, three, maybe four different pitcher tomorrow so watching film to see what they’re gonna come at us with is the best preparation.”
LSU started their game against Tulsa strong leaving them scoreless in the top and receiving three runs in the bottom with two RBIs from infielder Amanda Sanchez and a field error on outfielder Elyse Thornhill to bring Sanchez back into home.
The second inning was scoreless for both team as LSU continued to lead 3-0. The third inning continued to leave Tulsa scoreless, but LSU gained two more points after a double from Amanda Sanchez and a homerun from Sunseri.
Tulsa continued to be scoreless after the top of the fourth. LSU offense, however, picked up the pace. Andrews scored by stealing on a wild pitch, a double to right allowed Serret to come in, Amanda Sanchez with her third double of the night to bring in a run, Sunseri scored her third home run of the night pulling in two more run and another double pulled Thornhill in.
This gave LSU a 11-0 lead over Tulsa going into the fifth inning. Top of the fifth ended with a strikeout, foul out and a strikeout. LSU defeated Tulsa 11-0.
“It was a fun day,” LSU coach Beth Torina said. “It was an exciting day. It was good to see a lot of different faces out there, a lot of people stepping up. [Wickersham] did a great job. I think she’s a really good pitcher. You’re gonna see a lot if highlights of that kid in her career. [Sunseri] is really that talented of a player. She’s a really special player.”