LSU Softball emerged victorious in a thrilling showdown against the No. 24-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide by a tightly contested final score of 2-1, as the Tigers notch its third conference series win of the regular season.
Aiming to capitalize on scoring opportunities during the early innings, the purple and gold continue to emphasize stellar offensive production and find themselves in a promising situation.
During the bottom of the first inning, leadoff hitter redshirt senior third baseman Danieca Coffey managed to reach base by drawing a walk on a full-count pitch.
Following this battle, junior center fielder Jalia Lassiter rocketed a line drive toward Alabama Crimson Tide third baseman Mari Hubbard, which was mishandled. This allowed Coffey to advance safely to third base and Lassiter to slide safely into second base head first.
Behind the round of applause roaring from the purple and gold faithful, Lassiter looked toward her dugout and expressed her excitement in an attempt to get her teammates hyped as well.
Junior catcher Maci Bergeron would draw a walk in the next at-bat and Alabama’s starting pitcher sophomore Jocelyn Briski found herself navigating murky waters only three batters into this pivotal in-conference matchup.
With the bases loaded and no outs recorded, red-hot redshirt freshman first baseman Tori Edwards stepped up to the plate, aspiring to wreak havoc with a single swing of the bat.
Working the count to 3-1, Edwards softly grounded out to shortstop and was thrown out.
However, this contact was enough to plate the Tigers’ first run of the game and advance both baserunners.
After bringing two-way player senior right-handed pitcher Catelyn Riley to the mound, the remaining two outs of the inning were secured and the damage was kept to a minimum.
Entering this matchup, freshman sensation starting pitcher Jayden Heavener with two complete-game performances and boasting a 10-2 record. Additionally, Heavener has the fifth most wins in the SEC (10 wins) and total number of strikeouts recorded (106).
Smooth sailing through the first four innings, Heavener coughed up only one hit and recorded six strikeouts (four of which were swinging strikeouts).
In the bottom of the fourth inning, sophomore left fielder Jadyn Laneaux rocketed a double into the left-center field gap, which rolled all the way to the outfield wall.
In her third plate appearance of this matchup, third baseman Danieca Coffey mustered enough power behind her swing to land a single into center field and advanced to second base on the outfielder’s throw to home plate.
With two base runners in scoring position, center fielder Jalia Lassiter caught the Crimson Tide infield off-guard by administering a flawless bunt that rolled in between home plate and the pitcher’s mound.
Both baserunners were running on contact, so the Tigers would score its second run of the game. With the infield converging on this soft contact, Lassiter put into motion a heads-up play by managing to scamper into second base safely on this successful bunt due to this base being left unattended.
Despite having two baserunners in scoring position, catcher Maci Bergeron and right fielder McKenzie Redoutey would both be retired on groundouts to the pitcher.
Entering the top of the fifth inning, the Tigers held a 2-0 lead over the Crimson Tide.
But soon, this advantage would be put to the ultimate test.
Behind the inning’s leadoff hitter, sophomore shortstop Salen Hawkins, reaching on an infield single, center fielder Audrey Vandagriff drawing a walk, and second baseman Kali Heivilin being hit by a pitch, Alabama found itself with the bases loaded and two outs in the inning.
Junior first baseman Abby Duchscherer approached the plate with an opportunity to put a considerable dent into this looming deficit.
With a 2-2 count, starting pitcher Jayden Heavener lost control of her delivery and Duchscherer was pelted with the pitch.
After taking some time to gather her bearings, Duchscherer would stay in the game and jog towards first base while receiving boisterous applause from the crowd.
Alabama scored its first run of the game, making the scoreboard read 2-1 in favor of the Tigers.
Despite having the bases remain loaded, Heavener recorded a much-needed strikeout on Alabama’s freshman third baseman Mari Hubbard and kept the purple and gold in the lead.
The fireworks of this competitive matchup were far from over.
Entering the seventh inning, Heavener fell behind in the count to sophomore left fielder Lauren Johnson and she reached on a single into right field.
With one baserunner on and no outs, LSU Head Coach Beth Torina decided to end Heavener’s impressive outing and called on junior right-handed pitcher Sydney Berzon in relief.
Recording the first out of the inning on a fly out, Berzon managed to force right fielder Larissa Preuitt to ground out directly back to the pitcher’s mound.
Gloving the grounder cleanly, Berzon’s inaccurate throw above the head of first baseman Tori Edwards (who is measured as 5 ’11) allowed both runners to advance into scoring position.
Despite this errant throw putting this game into jeopardy, Berzon put aside this embarrassing fielding error and secured the Tigers’ win behind a clutch strikeout and grounder to third base.
In a down-to-the-wire thriller, the LSU Tigers came out victorious by a final score of 2-1.
Starting pitcher Jayden Heavener’s final line was 6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, and seven strikeouts on 119 total pitches thrown.
No. 5-ranked LSU Tigers are aiming to secure yet another three-game in-conference series sweep, as they prepare to compete against the No. 24-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide on Sunday, April 6, at 4:00 p.m. CST at Tiger Park.