The bats of No. 8 LSU softball came to life Tuesday night in a 7-3 win against Western Kentucky.
LSU was down 0-3 early in the game and Western Kentucky seemed to control the game.
“I’ve said it all year, we can win it a lot of different ways,” said coach Beth Torina. “We can win with great pitching or we can win it with offense. So it’s nice to see here in a short span of days us winning in a lot of different ways.”
In the bottom of the third inning, with sophomore left fielder Aliyah Andrews and senior center fielder Emily Griggs on base, junior shortstop Amber Serrett hit her third home run of the season over the center field wall to the tie the game at 3-3.
Griggs credits the Tigers’ sweep of Auburn for Tuesday’s offensive performance.
“We had one run ball games with Auburn, but I think we used that momentum to roll into tonight,” Griggs said
The Tigers’ batting did not slow down for the rest of the game. In the fourth inning, Griggs hit a double and drove in sophomore right fielder Akiya Thymes and junior designated hitter Michaela Schlattman.
In the fifth inning, sophomore catcher Sydney Springfield crushed a homer that travelled 261 feet, with an exit speed of 87 mph.
Sophomore pitcher Maribeth Gorsuch started in the circle for the Tigers. However Senior pitcher Allie Walljasper came on in relief in the third inning.
In two innings pitched, Gorsuch allowed three hits, three earned runs and recorded three strikeouts.
In Walljasper’s five inning outing, she allowed four hits, no earned runs and picked up five strikeoits.
“They always call us the Fightin’ Tigers for a reason,” Walljasper said. “Because we always chip away and battle until the last out.”
Andrews, the Southeastern Conference’s Player of the Week, put on a  strong offensive performance for the Tigers in the win..
Andrews went two for four batting, and stole two bases in the process. She believes being selfless has helped her performance this year.
“I guess I’m in a rhythm,” Andrews said. “I just really haven’t been thinking as much as before. I just want to go out there and help my team more. I guess I’ve become more selfless.”
“She just keeps getting better and better,” Torina added. “I think she’s going to be one of the best players in the SEC when it’s all said and done.”
On the night, LSU had 12 hits, eight strikeouts and no errors. Western Kentucky had seven hits, four strikeouts, and one error. Walljasper is credited with the win, and WKU’s Shelby Nunn receives the loss.
LSU will travel to Lexington this weekend for a conference series matchup against the University of Kentucky.