The seventh-ranked LSU softball team (7-3) posted a 5-2 victory Sunday over Central Michigan in its final game of the UNLV Desert Classic at Las Vegas.
Ladonia Hughes scored the eventual winning run on a Sara Fitzgerald RBI single to make the score 3-2 LSU in the bottom of the fifth inning. Christy Connor hit a home run later in the inning to ensure the win for the Lady Tigers.
Julie Wiese, who went 7-for-17 including 4 home runs and 8 RBIs on the weekend, put the Tigers up 2-0 with a solo home run in the third inning. Central Michigan tied the game 2-2 in the top of the fourth with a solo shot by Michelle Brander and a RBI single by Aimee Smith.
Tessa Lynam (4-0) earned the win for LSU. She allowed 3 hits and one earned run while striking out 11 batters in the seven-inning performance.
The Lady Tigers split a pair of games on Friday against Cal State Fullerton and UCLA, both of which are ranked in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association/USA Today Top 25.
LSU head coach Yvette Girouard said LSU played with great effort against such great competition.
“I am pleased with the way we played today,” Girouard said. “The competition we faced today is as good as we will face this year.”
LSU defeated No. 10 Cal State Fullerton 4-3. Fitzgerald hit a home run to give the Lady Tigers a 3-1 lead in the top of the fifth inning before Fullerton tied the game 3-3 in the bottom half. LSU shortstop Blair Smith scored the winning run on a wild pitch in the sixth. Lynam earned the win for the Lady Tigers in the circle.
Top-ranked UCLA shutout LSU 2-0 in the second game. LSU pitcher Kristin Schmidt (3-3) surrendered a RBI-single in the third inning and a home run to UCLA’s Emily Zaplatosch in the fourth for the game’s only scores. UCLA’s Keira Goerl pitched seven innings and allowed two hits while striking out nine LSU batters in the contest.
LSU swept Cal Poly and Utah as the Lady Tiger batters hit 6 home runs in the two games on Saturday.
“This morning the bats exploded like we knew they could.” Girouard said on Saturday night.
The Lady Tigers amassed five home runs against Cal Poly as Connor and Wiese both hit two home runs apiece in a 12-0 victory for LSU. Kristin Schmidt and Lynam combined for a no-hitter while striking out nine Cal Poly batters. LSU dropped Utah 5-2 in the nightcap as Wiese added another home run.