A pitcher’s duel led by Sydney Berzon ended in a Sierra Daniel walk-off victory for LSU softball.
After getting mercy ruled in Game 1, hits were hard to come by in one of the biggest pitchers duel of the season. Berzon pulled her game together from her last outing and showed why she has potential to be the next four-time All-American for LSU.
After two tough weeks in Texas, fans were starting to question the quality of Berzon as the ace. Head coach Beth Torina continued to shake things up to benefit the Tigers, meaning that Berzon didn’t start Game 1 against Florida, and it didn’t bode well for LSU at the moment.
Berzon stepped up big and looked how she had in the past. She kept the Gators off the board for most of the game, even keeping them hitless into the third inning. The fifth inning allowed both teams to tally a run, but Berzon and the defense fueled the heart of this pitchers duel.
To put the Tigers on the board Tori Edwards blasted her 18th home run of the season, and there wasn’t much else for LSU until the seventh inning.
In the seventh inning, the Tigers faced Katelynn Oxley in relief for Florida. McKenzie Redoutey led the inning off with a single during her senior weekend. Redoutey is often overlooked as one of LSU’s stud athletes.
Torina said that entering this season Redoutey was hitting around .300 in SEC play during her career. This lead off single shows her ability to come up clutch.
Daniel, a sophomore, was the player to end it for the Tigers. She hit a hard chopper to the second baseman for the Gators. The ball had just enough on it to force Mia Williams to fumble the ball.
It would later be ruled a hit by the officials.
But LSU doesn’t get to this big moment without Berzon and the defense being electric in one of the final games in Tiger Park in 2025. Berzon’s struggles have set her up to be stronger in the face of adversity throughout the postseason.
Torina said that Berzon has faced some issues in the past weeks, but she is still the same All-American she has been her whole career.
“She is grinding through some of everyone in the world being prepared for her, some of her own perfectionism, some of just the grind of being the ACE day in, day out, having the bulk of the innings,” Torina said. “I think there’s a lot of things, but I think the one thing that is not lost on her is she is working. She is out there competing, giving us every single ounce of what she has every day.”
Berzon and the rest of the Tigers have cut out the middleman and any question marks that anyone could have for this team. Especially with this special graduating class of seniors.
The game ended with a special surprise for LSU third baseman, Danieca Coffey. She was given a golden ticket to the Athletes Unlimited Softball League college draft. She is one of 12 players in the country to be given one, and she will be among one of the first athletes to play in a true professional softball league.
In this game of excitement, LSU downed the Gators 2-1 in seven innings of scrappy softball. The rubber match will be played Monday April 18 at 6 p.m. at Tiger Park.
