The No. 11 LSU softball team’s bats finally came alive and defeated Mississippi State on the road, 12-1, in five innings Sunday in Starkville’s Nusz Park.
Coming off a ten-game stretch where the Tigers were 2-8 versus Southeastern Conference opponents, LSU coach Beth Torina hopes this series will positively propel the Tigers going forward.
“I think this was a big series for us to move this team forward and continue to build our confidence,” Torina said. “I think we’ve been trying to get better all season long, and I like how we improved this weekend.”
The victory was the third SEC series win for the Tigers this season, as they won the last two games after dropping the series opener on Friday.
Mississippi State (23-20, 3-12 SEC) propped an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning, but it was its only lead on the day.
After grabbing 4-1 lead after four, the Tiger offense erupted for eight runs top of the fifth, due to a grand slam from senior third baseman Bianka Bell.
Bell’s slam boosted the Tigers’ lead to 11 runs, 12-1, which was a mercy-rule victory. The Tampa, Florida, native finished the weekend series 6-for-10 from the plate, blasted two homers and drove in five RBIs in three games.
Freshman hurler Sydney Smith started on the mound for LSU, and struck out three Bulldogs and allowed only two hits on 68 pitches in a complete-game effort.
“It was a big day for her, getting her first SEC win and she pitched great,” Torina said. “We saw her have a lot of success Friday night and we knew this day was coming for her.”
Offensively, the Tigers still struggled with the Bulldogs, who came in ranking near the bottom in nearly every SEC batting category.
In total, LSU left 26 runners on the basepath in the matchup against the Bulldogs. Even though it was able to scratch across 30 hits in the series, the Tigers were held in a scoreless offensive drought in 12 of the 19 innings this weekend.
Defensive miscues were another problem for the Tigers, which committed five errors in the series.
The Tigers will be back in Tiger Park on Wednesday at 6 p.m. against the Northwestern State Lady Demons.