LSU softball made a trip to Lake Charles, Louisiana, on Tuesday for a mid-week matchup versus McNeese, earning a 9-3 victory.
Early inning runs and a concrete pitching performance powered LSU to this win, extening its win streak to five games.
Historically, facing McNeese, LSU came into the game leading the series 56-13. Under head coach Beth Torina, LSU has won 21 out of the 23 games against the Cowgirls.
The Tigers’ ace Jayden Heavener recorded 11 strikeouts on the night to prove why Torina gave her the starting spot to open the season. Heavener ended the night with at least one strikeout in all seven innings.
“I thought Jayden Heavener just kept us in it the whole time, followed by some solid defense behind her,” Torina said after the team’s win against Michigan State.
The same would be true against McNeese as Heavener locked down her first win on the road, and the Tigers’ defense stood right behind her.
From an offensive standpoint, one Tiger in particular, utility Char Lorenz, demonstrated her power and speed at the plate early on in the game. Lorenz knocked in two crucial home runs in the game to give LSU a larger advantage.
In the first inning, LSU scored four runs on only two hits. What began differently this time around was who claimed the leadoff spot. Centerfielder Jalia Lassiter, who had led off every game, was moved to the third spot in the batting lineup behind junior Maddox McKee.
This bumped up junior Sierra Daniel to leadoff Tuesday night, who walked in the first at-bat.
The first run of the game would come from an error by McNeese’s shortstop that allowed Daniel to score safely at home. Three more runs for the Tigers resulted from two walks and a single by shortstop Kylee Edwards, which allowed Lassiter, Tori Edwards and Alix Franklin to score.
To resume the Tigers’ scoring, a no-doubt home run off the scoreboard from Lorenz kickstarted the third inning to shake Cowgirls’ pitcher Brookelyn Taylor. In the circle for McNeese, Taylor led the staff with a 4-0 record. She’d gain her first loss to the Tigers.
The third inning didn’t stop after Lorenz’s solo run. Infielder Ally Hutchins, Edwards and outfielder Destiny Harris all reached base to give the Tigers’ a full load with Daniel up to the plate.
Daniel walked, which allowed Hutchins to score, followed by an RBI by McKee to drive in Edwards for another run.
The fourth inning started off rocky for Heavener, who had racked up strikeouts in all of the innings prior. But after walking the first three batters she faced, McNeese would capitalize and score its first run of the game. Luckily for Heavener, that same play resulted in two outs to end the inning.
McKee doubled to left to reach base for the Tigers to bounce back in the fifth. Lassiter knocked in a single and reached second on an error that allowed McKee to hustle across home to build a 9-1 lead.
The Cowgirl’s offense gave Heavener a shake, with outfielder Nyjah Fontenot hitting a home run that knocked in two runs, cutting the lead down at 9-3. Despite those runs, Heavener recorded two more strikeouts in the inning and allowed no more runs, a situation she had been able to get herself out of all night.
The sixth and seventh innings would be quiet for LSU’s offense in quick at-bats that resulted in pop ups and groundouts. Despite that quietness, LSU sat at a comfortable lead heading into the bottom of the seventh inning with all of the Tigers’ trust in Heavener.
To finish out the seventh, Heavener only allowed one hit and recorded two more strikeouts to lock down a 9-3 victory for the Tigers. Heavener is now 5-2 so far in the season.
The Tigers will seek to continue their recent unbeaten streak as they spend the weekend back at home for the LSU Invitational. The games start on Friday with LSU taking on Nicholls and Memphis starting at 4 p.m. CT.
