The youth of the No. 19 LSU softball team put on a show this weekend as the Tigers swept the competition at the Wilson/DeMarini Tiger Classic at Tiger Park.
Freshman pitcher Meghan Patterson recorded 25 strikeouts and surrendered only one earned run in 13 innings of work. Freshman center fielder Simone Heyward earned tournament MVP honors with seven hits, six stolen bases and 11 runs in her first weekend as a Tiger.
Junior first baseman Anissa Young said the freshmen stepped up in a big way for the Tigers, who outscored their opponents 41-8 and started the season 6-0.
“The freshmen came out and did their jobs,” Young said. “They did not play like freshmen. Without a doubt they’re going to be an asset to us this year.”
Injuries to senior third baseman Jessica Mouse and senior outfielder Ashley Applegate forced freshmen into key situations. The freshmen produced offensively and defensively — including outfielders Jacee Blades and Alex Boulet, who provided much-needed speed on the base paths.
“We got a very good freshman class,” LSU coach Yvette Girouard said. “We addressed what we need on this team, and that was speed. We’ve got a lot of it with this freshman class. They just added another dimension to our offensive game.”
The speed allowed Girouard to be aggressive early and often. The Tigers combined to steal 22 bases on the weekend and were caught only four times.
“We’re going to run until people throw us out consistently,” Girouard said.
The Tigers’ pitching staff also lived up to the lofty expectations placed on them by Girouard. Junior Brittany Mack, sophomore Rachele Fico and Patterson held opponents Louisiana Tech, Bowling Green and Purdue to just eight runs. Fico and Patterson notched double-digit strikeout totals in each of their two starts.
“It’s a long weekend. Six games in three days — that’s a lot of ball to play,” Girouard said. “Except for a couple of innings, I thought our pitchers were phenomenal.”
Patterson arrived on the college stage with a bang in her first appearance as a Tiger. The Destrehan native entered in the seventh inning Friday night against Bowling Green and struck out the side to close out the game.
“There was a lot of adrenaline going through me when I got that first strikeout,” Patterson said. “I just focus, going pitch by pitch. I never really think I’m going to get the strikeout. I just hit my spot. If it’s a strikeout, it’s a strikeout.”
With several freshmen producing this weekend, Girouard said she expects the younger players to push the upperclassmen for playing time.
“Anytime you have competition within your team and players are pushing one another, that’s a good thing,” Girouard said. “Hopefully, that’s going to make us that much stronger. We need to be clicking on all cylinders.”
The Tigers opened and closed the Tiger Classic with dominant wins over in-state rival Louisiana Tech. Neither game went the full seven innings with the run-rule coming into effect in each game.
Fresh off the 9-1 defeat of Louisiana Tech on Friday, LSU shut out Bowling Green twice — 5-0 on Friday night and 6-0 on Saturday. The Tigers added two more victories against Purdue to complete their undefeated weekend.
Heyward said her first weekend in an LSU uniform could not have gone better.
“It’s more than I could have wanted,” she said. “I didn’t know what to expect coming in. It’s just a great park, a great environment. I love it here.”
 
 
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Contact Hunter Paniagua at [email protected]