The No. 4 LSU softball team broke multiple program records on Tuesday as it dismantled Louisiana Tech 30-8, including a new game high of seven home runs.
The Tigers (24-3, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) used a single-game, program-record 27 hits to sweep the two-game season series with the Lady Techsters, after claiming a comeback 9-6 victory at Tiger Park on March 5.
In addition to the historic highs in home runs and hits, LSU set the single-game team bar for RBIs, with 27, runs with 30 and at-bats with 48. Senior shortstop Bianka Bell and senior designated hitter Kellsi Kloss set the individual mark with three long shots in a game.
“They shattered nearly every offensive record in the Tiger record book,” said former LSU coach Yvette Girouard in an interview with Cox Sports Television. “[The team should] enjoy tonight, but they’ve got to wake up tomorrow and prepare for [Texas A&M].”
Louisiana Tech’s offense unknowingly played a part in the Tigers record-breaking night.
In front of a record crowd of 1,927, the home team answered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the third to cut LSU’s advantage down to seven. After a two-run fourth for the Tigers, the Lady Techsters had their largest scoring inning of the contest, plating four runs to cut the deficit to 12-7.
The Tigers nearly ended the game in the fifth without any of the records, after adding another three runs to give them a 15-7 lead and the eight run margin needed to enact the mercy-rule. But the Lady Techsters were able to plate a run extending the game and hoping to mount a comeback.
But the opposite happened.
LSU began to pick apart the Louisiana Tech defense in the sixth hit after hit, including four that cleared the fence. When the dust settled, the team had scored a single-inning program record 15 runs in the frame to give the final score.
“[The coaches] prepared us for that type of pitching,” Bell said in an interview with CST. “[The team] went through their entire pitching staff and just knew what was coming.”
The huge inning masked what was a back and forth game for the first five.
After a three-run first, LSU added another run on in the second and tacked on six more runs highlighted by Bell’s three-RBI homer hit over the centerfield wall to cap off the inning giving the Tigers a 10-1 edge.
But the sixth inning made history.
Nineteen of the 23 LSU players participated in some capacity during Tuesday’s win. Only sophomore pitcher Carley Hoover, junior outfielder Layna Savoie, catcher Sydney Loupe and utility Elyse Thornhill did not play in the game.
Bell nearly missed hitting her third home run, after leaving the game in the fourth when she was hit by a pitch. The senior had it iced and the CST broadcast originally stated she would not return.
“It jammed me right in the elbow,” Bell said in an interview with CST. “I may need to start wearing a [protective shield], obviously, but I’m good.”
The Tigers finished the game 27-for-48, with 16 players recording an at bat. Only one of those 16 failed to reach the basepath.
Seven of the LSU players tallied multiple hits, including 4-for-4 performances from Bell, Kloss and senior third baseman Jenna Kreamer.
“It really helps when the rest of your team is hitting like that as well,” Kloss said in an interview with CST. “It makes you feel comfortable. It makes our job a lot easier when we have support like that.”
LSU overpowers Lady Techsters, 30-8, in record-setting night
March 15, 2016
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