LSU did not blow Southern Miss out of Tiger Park like most fans expected, but softball coach Yvette Girouard said she was happy her team pulled out the win.
“Any time you play an opponent four times, I don’t think you will be able dominate each time out,” Girouard said.
By LSU’s standards, the game was far from domination.
LSU (43-7) beat Southern Miss in its other three games by a combined score of 40-3. Southern Miss matched its offensive output, losing 5-3.
Freshman Emily Turner (16-3) said she played well but made a few mistakes. Turner struck out the first batter of the game, then allowed a home run the very next pitch.
“There was the only big mistake that I made,” Turner said. “I hung one out there, and sometimes that just happens.”
Turner continually found herself behind in counts, which led to 11 hits from Southern Miss. But Turner continued to bend but not break, escaping with Southern Miss base runners stranded after most innings.
“I just wanted to keep my composure and hang in there,” Turner said.
Turner was not aided with much early run support. Jessica Saunier (2-6) allowed only one hit in the first three innings and kept a blank on LSU’s score board.
Saunier’s run of holding the Tigers scoreless ended in the fourth inning, when one crack of the bat from Stephanie Hill slowly got the Lady Tigers on track.
Hill advanced to second base after a pitch escaped the grasp of Southern Miss catcher Sue Logan. With Hill in scoring position and two outs in the inning, Leigh Ann Danos delivered the hit that tied the game.
After holding USM scoreless in the fifth inning, LSU seemingly put the game out of reach.
With runners on first and second, LaDonia Hughes delivered the single that advanced one runner to second and another home, making the score 2-1. With bases loaded, a wild pitch brought home Camille Harris, pushing the score to 3-1.
With two outs in the same inning and runners on second and third, Lauren Delahoussaye expanded the lead to 5-1, which was enough to prevent a comeback.
“Hitting is contagious,” Delahoussaye said. “We always like to get as many scores as possible as soon as we can, but we came out with the win tonight and that’s all that
matters.”
Turner said she felt more relaxed on the circle when her teammates gave her some run support.
“Definitely, when you have the insurance runs, it feels better out there,” Turner said.
But USM would not go down without a fight.
In the top of the sixth, a two-run hit brought the game back in reach at 5-3 with two outs.
Girouard did not want to take the chance of going into extra innings because of the team’s important weekend series against Auburn. Girouard pulled Turner out of the game with one out remaining in the seventh.
“I’ve got to hand it to Southern Miss; they laid off my rise ball which is my signature pitch,” Turner said. “And they laid off my curve ball, which wasn’t on tonight.”
Kristin Schmidt struck out the first and only batter she faced, quickly sealing the deal for LSU.
“I did not want this game to go into extra innings,” Girouard said.
Turner said she was not disappointed when Girouard took her out of the game with only one out remaining.
“She came up to me and said we should have been out of the inning,” Turner said. “That’s just the way the game goes. I’m sure when [Schmidt’s] in trouble I’ll be in the game.”