If there was ever a night that LSU needed to bounce back in SEC play, Friday night was the right time. The team took down the 23rd-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide in dominating fashion. Through the basics of storing hitting and a shutout-type performance from the circle, they secured a win in the first of the series.
The 5th ranked Tigers were on a quest to avenge themselves for last weekend’s debacle. The offense found a rhythm early and batted 8 runs of 11 hits.
History was also made Friday night as the game resulted in the Tigers’ first run-rule victory against Alabama in over 23 years. The catalyst in the circle, Sydney Berzon, pitched the full game while only allowing 4 hits.
“I think it proves our toughness and how we are willing to compete.” Sydney Berzon said, “We are a tight group, and we want to fight for each other, and fight for this organization, for LSU, and for the letters on our chests, and I think tonight showed that.”
What was a bitter last series for the Tigers about a week ago left them with a chip on their shoulders heading into this weekend. With that series still fresh on their minds, Head Coach Beth Torina made key adjustments, approaching the weekend with a focused game plan centered around one goal- winning ballgames.
“One thing is knowing the conditions here at Tiger Park, and we know how the wind would be tonight.” Beth Torina said. “We worked a lot about hitting ground balls, and Coach Grace did a good job preparing them for that, so we did a good job understanding how that will play and what we needed to do to win, and we executed on that.”
While some weekends don’t go their way, the Tigers re-established their true identity Friday night and showed the Purple and Gold faithful what they can accomplish.
The Tigers host Game 2 of the series against Alabama on Saturday at 6:00 pm CT at Tiger Park.