Seven-run rallies don’t come much stranger than this.
Trailing 1-0 to McNeese State on Wednesday night, the No. 20 LSU softball team reeled off seven runs on just two hits to fuel a 7-1 win against the Cowgirls.
Stranger still, the Tigers (10-3) had taken a 3-1 lead without even recording a hit. Instead, LSU capitalized on every kind of mistake McNeese (2-9) could make — errant pickoffs, fielding errors, five walks and two batters hit by pitches — in a bizarre third inning.
“We’re kind of lucky tonight. I wasn’t all that impressed with the Tigers,” said LSU coach Yvette Girouard. “If you’ve coached long enough, you’ve kind of seen everything … and we were handed a gift tonight.”
The rest of the game was an offensive washout. The two teams combined for 11 hits, and McNeese State couldn’t register another run after opening the scoring on an RBI single.
LSU fared no better, as the Tigers struggled to find hits even during their rally. They recorded just five hits in the game — the lone offensive highlight being a two-RBI double by junior designated player Morgan Russell.
“It was nice that we got seven runs, but games like that happen,” Russell said. “I’m happy it happened, because we made things happen in our way.”
While the Tigers’ bats needed some help to seize the lead, LSU pitching required no such dramatics. Freshman pitcher Meghan Patterson got the start for LSU, giving up four hits and one run while striking out five batters.
Patterson didn’t stay long in the circle, however, as Girouard gave her entire pitching staff some work ahead of this weekend’s Cathedral City Classic in Palm Springs, Calif.
Junior Brittany Mack (3-0) replaced Patterson in the fourth inning and proceeded to strike out four while allowing just one hit. She pitched only two innings, but it was enough for the win.
“I wanted to keep it simple. I didn’t want to throw too many pitches in there,” Mack said.
Sophomore pitcher Rachele Fico took over for the final two frames and held the Cowgirls to one hit in two innings.
“[Girouard] told us before the game we were all being thrown a little bit,” Mack said. “I guess it was kind of to refresh ourselves since we’re about to be playing in two days.
Normally, we wouldn’t do that, but this is a huge tournament.”
 
 
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Contact David Helman at [email protected]