LSU softball rode an energy-filled home run in the second inning of a six-inning, 8-0 victory over Virginia Tech on Saturday during the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional.
The Tigers struck first with senior catcher Maci Bergeron’s two-run bomb in the second inning and added another run via senior center fielder Jalia Lassiter’s sacrifice fly. However, the Hokies didn’t go down without a fight, making it tough for the Tigers to score in the next innings.
But LSU is the school of grit, and rightfully so. It pushed across five runs to stretch its lead, four of them in the sixth. Redshirt sophomore left fielder Char Lorenz ended the game with a single in the sixth inning.
“I think we executed our plan beautifully against such a quality opponent like Virginia Tech is really something special,” head coach Beth Torina said postgame. “We know what a good team they are from top to bottom, so to execute our plan like that with the team [they played].”
But none of it could have been done without the starting pitcher dominating in the circle for the Tigers. Junior pitcher Cece Cellura got the nod on Saturday, and she continued to lead the purple and gold pitching staff in Game 3 of the Baton Rouge Regional.
She was nearly perfect in her outing; the only blemishes on her scorecard for the day were hits in the fourth and fifth innings. Unlike Jayden Heavener in Friday’s contest, Cellura relied much more on the defense behind her to get through the game.
Cellura only recorded two strikeouts on the night, opposed to Heavener’s 11 on Friday. The other 16 outs were recorded by the defense on Saturday. She was so consistently near the strike zone that she only walked a single batter and did not throw a wild pitch.
“[Cellura] did a great job of just pounding the zone and [getting Virginia Tech to] hit into some of the defense,” Torina said. “She did a great job of just getting us out of some spots.”
The defense has been a questionable part of this team at times. Several players have played multiple different positions throughout the season to find the best combination of what has worked, and the grouping Torina has put together in the last few weeks of the season has been one of the best.
Outstanding defensive grabs by redshirt sophomores Tori Edwards and Lorenz helped to keep Virginia Tech scoreless during the contest. Only a single error was recorded on the Tiger defense, and it was a throwing error in the second inning.
Everything came together so well for LSU that not a single Hokie saw third base during the matchup, and that wasn’t what was predicted entering Game 3.
Going into Game 3, fans were expecting a high scoring game, but when the game started, it was looking like the offensive nature both teams brought on Saturday would be snuffed. LSU happened to maintain its tenacity enough to make it to championship Sunday unscathed.
The Tigers will wait around at Tiger Park to watch Games 4 and 5 to find out who they will see on Sunday. LSU will play again at 1 p.m. on championship Sunday. A win in that game will bring the purple and gold out of the regional round for the first time since 2024.
