LSU softball took two of three games and the series win against Texas A&M this past weekend.
This marks the first series win for the Tigers since the opening of SEC play against Alabama, March 11-13.
The nearly month gap between series wins had the Tigers facing off against tough SEC (and soon to be SEC) foes Texas, Arkansas and Kentucky during that span.
The Tigers opened the weekend with a dominant pitching performance by Shelby Wickersham and Ali Kilponen to start the series off with a win. Each faced 13 batters, gave up two hits, a walk and Wickersham was charged with the lone earned run for the game. The pair combined for eight strikeouts against the Aggies.
The bats for the Tigers were nearly non-existent for the game, as only two batters register a hit heading into the final frame of the day. With one out in the seveth, Ali Newland took a 3-1 pitch over the wall to tie this game up, sparking some energy that carried throughout the rest of the inning. Following the game-tying home-run, Raeleen Gutierrez doubled to right center, and Savannah Stewart entered the game to pinch-run for her. Stewart advanced to third on a wild pitch, and with two outs Jordyn Perkins was called upon to pinch hit. Stroking a single down the right-field line, Stewart made it across the plate easily to give the Tigers their first lead of the game. Kilponen shut the door on the Aggies in the bottom half to get the win, improving to 12-4 on the season.
In game two the Tigers were all over the Aggies’ pitchers, plating 11 runs. Taylor Pleasants was the star of the game going three of four with three doubles and six RBIs. Shelbi Sunseri hit her 11th home-run this season, but struggled in the circle to start the game. Sunseri was pulled after loading the bases to start the third inning and was responsible for five earned runs. Kilponen entered the game in relief and threw 101 pitches to close the game out over five innings. Kilponen earned the win for this game making her 13th of the season, and was able to have Sunday off from the circle after throwing 157 total pitches over the two games.
The one loss of the weekend happened on Sunday, as the Tigers got into trouble during the fourth inning. The Aggies plated four runs, and although some late inning heroics by Pleasants with a two-run home-run pulled the Tigers within one run, they left a runner on to end the game.
The showing by Wickersham this weekend was great to see as the Tigers approach the latter part of the season. The 6.1 innings pitched and three strikeouts while only allowing two runs, five hits and two walks should have her earning a larger role. With some of the pitching struggles this team has seen, it is great to see Wickersham hitting her stride.
Looking ahead the Tigers will host a three-game series with unranked South Carolina starting Thursday, April 14. The Gamecocks are 23-17 overall, with a 2-10 SEC record. The team is also 3-13 against top-25 ranked opponents and have a combined .293 batting average. This will be a key series for the Tigers in hope of getting above .500 in the SEC before a true test against currently ranked No. 14 Georgia the following week. With 14 games left before the SEC Tournament, the Tigers could use a series to get right for the tough stretch of games ahead.