A two-hour delay couldn’t stop the No. 5 LSU softball team from dominating both of its opponents in the LSU invitational.
In the first battle of the Tigers,, LSU demolished Memphis, 17-2, in five innings.
LSU was scheduled to face-off against Memphis at 5 p.m. but first pitch was pushed back when Liberty and Tennessee Tech went into extra innings.
LSU wasted no time scoring against Memphis. The home team Tigers scored four runs in the bottom of the one first frame, and four more runs in the bottom of the third.
With LSU up 8-2 heading into the fourth, the LSU offense exploded for nine runs on seven hits, including four two-out hits, to extend its lead to 17-2.
“Hitting is contagious,” said junior third baseman Sahvanna Jaquish. “A lot of us have the pass the bat mentality on our team. I think that was apparent in that inning and that’s when we have big innings.”
Freshman outfielder Amber Serrett spearheaded the LSU offense, finishing the game 3-for-3 with three RBIs and scoring three runs.
LSU coach Beth Torina has called her the “shortstop of the future”, but Serrett has been playing near her potential.
“She’s just a great player,” said Torina. “The more she plays the better that she’s going to get for us here. I’ve said all along what a great player she would be for this program, I think she’s shown us even sooner than we thought she would.”
The LSU offense wasn’t the only bright spot for Torina and company on Friday.
Junior Baylee Corbello pitched  a gem for LSU. Corbello (4-0) went the distance on 79 pitches and only allowedtwo hits to the Memphis lineup.
“Baylee threw a nice game,” said Torina. “She did exactly what we needed her to do.”
In the final game of the night versus Tennessee Tech (4-11), the Tigers were a again dominant in their 10th rule-rule victory of the season with a 8-0 win in five innings.
Although the first pitch was originally scheduled for 7:30 p.m., the contest didn’t begin until 9:50 p.m.
The Tigers offense got off to an early start, tacking on five runs in the first two innings. LSU scored four runs in the second frame off of six hits.
Sophomore outfielder Emily Griggs lead the Tigers offense and finished the game 3-for-3 with one RBI and scored one run.
While the Tigers’ lineup did their work on the offensive end, freshman pitcher Sydney Smith did something that has only been done three other times in LSU history.
Smith (4-0) pitched a perfect game.
The heralded freshman kept the Golden Eagles lineup confused all night and pitched a completed game fanning six batters.
“I honestly I didn’t know until the end [of the game],” Smith said. “I was just really focusing on hitting my spots and just knowing that my team had my back.”
Overall, Torina came out of the first day of the Tigers’ final home tournament of the season satisfied with her team’s play.
“I thought it was a great day,” Torina said. “I thought it was some the best softball we played this year, the offense was rolling and I thought the defense was spectacular.”
You can reach Josh Thornton on Twitter @JoshT_TDR 

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Wingate Jones

LSU Freshman Pitcher Sydney Smith (12) pitching during the LSU 10-2 victory against Illinois State University on Friday, Feb. 25, 2016 at Tiger Park