After defeating Arizona State 2-0 on Sunday, LSU coach Beth Torina smiled and said, “I think we’re going to be someone’s nightmare.”
Torina has good reason to exude confidence. The Tigers (48-15) have won 18 of their last 21 games and outscored their opponents 16-3 in the Baton Rouge Regional.
“I liked how we battled throughout,” Torina said. “At this time of the year it doesn’t have to always be pretty, it’s just finding a way to win. I think that’s something our team has done a great job of all season long. They have a lot of different ways to win.”
Arizona State (32-26) was fresh off a 14-inning 3-2 win against McNeese State, in a game that was more than four hours.
Sun Devils co-interim head coach Letty Olivarez said the playing in a long didn’t hurt her team, but actually helped them.
“I thought it was a plus for us,” Olivarez said. “It definitely brought our team together, and they came out with good energy. I’m sure that had some type of effect on us, but that’s definitely not our excuse.”
Even after throwing 199 pitches in two games on Saturday, Arizona State sent out junior pitcher Kelsey Kessler to try and keep the Tigers at bay.
Kessler (16-13) was effective for four innings and was pulled when she pitched herself into a jam, allowing two runners to get in scoring position.
On the other end, LSU sophomore pitcher Allie Walljasper stymied the Sun Devils all afternoon. In 5.3 innings, Walljasper surrendered only three hits and struck out four.
“Allie’s change of speeds was just nasty today,” LSU sophomore pitcher Carley Hoover said. “She did exactly what we’re supposed to do and followed the plan. She just an all-around MVP teammate today.”
Arizona State tried to mount a rally in the bottom of the sixth, but it was halted by a controversial play at the plate. Senior left fielder Abby Spiel tried to tag from third base to home, but when she dove into home plate umpire Dustin Douglas ruled that she did not touch home plate and was tagged out by LSU senior catcher Kellsi Kloss.
It was a big momentum shift for the Sun Devils, as it ended the inning and stopped any threat from them.
Co-interim Arizona State head coach Robert Wagner was adamant about the umpire’s decision and was immediately thrown out of the game after arguing the call.
Olivarez said their request for a second opinion was turned down and the inning was over. Video replays and pictures seemed to show that Spiel had touched home plate.
“There’s definitely a picture posted online, and I think that says it all,” said Olivarez. “One thing I wish we would’ve done is given the opportunity asked for help.”
Next up for the Tigers is James Madison, as they will travel to Harrisonburg, Virginia to face the Dukes.
Even with breezing through their Regional and have a strong showing in the SEC tournament, Hoover is confident that LSU has potential to be even better.
“I think there’s a lot more big hits and big plays in us,” Hoover said.
