LSU softball defeated Nicholls on the road Tuesday night, ending its previous three-game losing streak. The Tigers took a 12-2 victory over the Colonels.
After dropping to 0-3 in conference play against No. 1 Tennessee over the weekend, the Tigers headed into the matchup looking to bounce back against their in-state foe before traveling back home to Baton Rouge.
In the two teams’ previous matchup earlier in the season during the LSU Invitational, LSU defeated Nicholls in a 3-1 victory. The Tigers now hold a 38-game win streak over the in-state opponent and a 14-0 record when facing Nicholls at the Colonels’ home territory in Thibodaux, Louisiana.
A sold-out crowd watched the two schools compete on the breezy Tuesday afternoon. While the wind affected many balls that were on track to leave the park, hanging them foul, the Tigers still found clutch at-bats and came up with a victory that began with efforts on the mound.
Freshman left-handed pitcher Cali Deal got her first start in the circle in purple and gold, her third appearance of the season. The first inning of her collegiate start went by smoothly with no runs on no hits. Deal went on to only allow one run and two hits in her four innings pitched.
Deal’s defense behind her stood solid, highlighted by a leaping dive by sophomore Alix Franklin, robbing the Colonels of a base hit early in the game.
In the first inning, the Tigers got on the board first with a two-run RBI triple by Franklin that knocked in Sierra Daniel and Char Lorenz from first and second. This marked Franklin’s fifth triple of the season, leading the team and tying at No. 1 with Kentucky’s Karissa Hamilton in the SEC. Franklin’s bat remained consistent the entire game, recording her first career three-hit game.
The Colonels scored in the second inning after a ball hit by senior outfielder Gabby Higbee — who missed her junior season last year with an ACL injury — flew right over shortstop Kylee Edwards’ glove and snuck past Lorenz, driving senior right fielder Reagan Heflin home for the team’s first run of the game.
Then, in the bottom half of the second inning, Edwards knocked a base hit up the middle for her own RBI and drove in Franklin for the Tigers’ third run. Ci’ella Pickett then hit her first double of the game to push Edwards to third and put runners in scoring position against Nicholls’ left-handed pitcher Molly Yoo.
Nicholls’ Averi Paden, another left-hander, came in to relieve Yoo with two runners on and only one out in the top of the fourth with Avery Hodge due up at the plate for LSU. Despite the wind picking up, Hodge got under the fifth pitch thrown by Paden for a three-run home run that cleared the bases and advanced the Tigers’ lead 6-1.
In the fifth, Edwards singled through the left side to drive in Lorenz for another LSU run, loading the bases with only one out. Pickett was hit by a pitch from Paden to drive in one more run before Nicholls made the call to bring in freshman right-hander Ashley Little. Little retired Hodge and Ally Hutchins on back-to-back strikeouts to get the Colonels out of a jam.
Heading into the bottom of the inning, fellow freshman Ashlin Mowery came in to relieve Deal. Mowery had only given up three hits in her previous 7.2 innings pitched before this appearance. Mowery had a three-up, three-down inning when facing her first round of Colonel batters.
In the sixth, Little held the Tigers’ offense down, but gave up her first walk to Maci Bergeron with Franklin due up. Franklin got a base hit and beat out the throw to first, but unfortunately for LSU, both runners were left stranded.
The bottom of the sixth was another quick three outs for Mowery, with Edwards at the fielding end of the groundouts. Edwards was the first batter due up in the top of the seventh.
Edwards singled up the middle to reach base once more, with freshman Destiny Harris, who was pinch-hitting for Hodge, getting hit by a pitch. Jalia Lassiter got her first hit of the game, singling through the left side for an RBI that allowed Edwards to slide across home for a run.
Daniel came up to the plate next and knocked a fair ball to the right for an RBI triple to bring home Harris and Lassiter, which forced a pitching change for Nicholls. Senior Sierra Ouellette relieved Little with a runner at third and only one out.
Ouellette’s first pitch was smacked right to the wall by Lorenz for an RBI double, advancing the Tigers’ lead 12-1. Bergeron walked in the next at-bat to put two Tigers on base. Both Tigers were left stranded again as Ouellette struck out the final two batters.
Paytn Monticelli was brought in the circle to shut down the final half-inning for LSU. Monticelli’s first two batters quickly lined out, but Nicholls’ senior utility Kayleigh Lugowski was walked on a full count.
Higbee, who had previously hit a single to drive in the Colonels’ first run, doubled to center to drive in the second run of the game on two outs. Despite a bit of pressure, Monticelli struck out her final batter to allow no more runs and claim a 12-2 victory for LSU.
The Tigers next face Texas A&M for their second conference series, March 14-16. LSU is 15-0 at home and looks to keep that streak alive while earning its first conference win.
