It was announced early Thursday morning that the start to the LSU Softball season would be on hold, at least for an hour, due to thunder and rainstorms in the area the night before. This extra-hour delay to the 2021 season did not seem to bother the Tigers one bit.  
Starting pitcher Shelbi Sunseri struck out two looking and got the third batter to flyout to center to lead off the Tigers season, and the bats were hot out of the gate as well. Shortstop Taylor Pleasants and Amanda Doyle hit back-to-back jacks to start the hitting in the first, and Georgia Clark followed, hitting a single and making it around to score after two walks and a hit batter.
Sunseri continued her dominant start, not allowing a baserunner to reach first until the leadoff hitter in the fourth.
After that, the real thunder showed up.
The game was put on hold due to lightning reported in the area, and the grounds crew was just able to get the tarp on the field before a downpouring of rain came through Tiger Park. The game was delayed for nearly 90 minutes as the weather passed through the area, and play resumed right around 9 p.m.
Sunseri came back into pitch in the top of the fifth, striking out two more batters in the inning, and leading off the bottom half of the inning with a triple into right field. A wild pitch scored Sunseri making it a 4-0 ballgame. A few batters later Ciara Briggs hit a shot to center scoring three on the homerun, blowing the game wide-open 7-0.
Sunseri worked the next frame, allowed one hit and shut down the following three McNeese batters, bringing us to the bottom of the sixth. Sunseri on a 1-0 count with two outs took the pitcher deep to center field to end the game and invoke the eight-run mercy rule.
Sunseri was the star of the game. She went two for three with a walk, triple and homerun while pitching six innings and giving up only two hits and throwing six strikeouts in the victory for the Tigers.
“It felt good to start off the season with a win. The team played phenomenal. We really hit the ball well,” Shelbi Sunseri said in the postgame press conference. “As a whole we looked really good tonight, and we set the tone for what’s to come this season.”
The Tigers will face Duke on Friday at 6:30 p.m., day two of the Tiger Classic.