LSU clinches 4th WCWS berth with 10-5 win against Arizona

The No 8 LSU softball team secured the program’s fourth berth in the Women’s College World Series with a 10-5 win against the No. 16 Arizona Wildcats Sunday.
The Tigers rode a four-run first en route to scoring double-digits while fending off multiple rallies by the Wildcats.
With the victory, the Tigers (50-12) will move on to play the Auburn Tigers at 1:30 p.m. Thursday at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium — OGE Energy Field, earning a trip to the pinnacle of collegiate softball for the first time since 2012. LSU earned the last spot in the field.
This is LSU’s second trip to the Women’s College World Series under head coach Beth Torina, winning the most games of any of her four seasons at the helm.
“I feel like starting back in the fall this team was on a mission,” Torina said in a news release. “They worked so hard, and they truly earned this moment today. If they had won or lost, I still would have been so proud to be the coach of this team. I truly have enjoyed every minute with these girls this year. It has flown by because of how much I’ve enjoyed it, and I’m just so proud to be their coach today.”
LSU pounded out all 10 runs on 12 hits in the contest, getting the timely hits that the squad was known for early in the season.
The Tigers held Arizona (41-20) to five runs on eight hits. The Wildcats put together multiple scoring opportunities, stranding eight runners on base, but the record postseason crowd of 2,968 was engaged from the start and never let up on the visitors.
Junior infielder Sandra Simmons led LSU at the plate, going 3-for-3 and tying for the program postseason record in RBIs with five. The Fountain Valley, California, native helped spark the Tiger offense with a home run and a triple, scoring three times. She was named the MVP of the Baton Rouge Super Regional.
Simmons was one of three players to finish with multiple hits as Constance Quinn went 2-for-3 with a double, three RBIs and a run scored, while A.J. Andrews, in her final game at home in Tiger Park, went 2-for-5 with a run scored and two stolen bases.
In one of the biggest spots in her young career, freshman pitcher Allie Walljasper (15-5) earned the start and earned the win, pitching 4.1 innings and allowing five runs — two earned — on five hits with three walks.
Carley Hoover earned the save by giving up three hits with three strikeouts to close out the game.
Michelle Floyd (19-13) suffered the loss, pitching three innings and allowing six runs on five hits with four walks and a strikeout.
Leadoff batter Hallie Wilson led Arizona offensively, finishing 3-for-4, while Katiyana Mauga and Chelsea Goodacre each drove in two RBIs
As the designated visitors for this game, LSU batted first and loaded the bases in the first inning.
With two outs, Simmons’ hit drove in two runs to make it 2-0 LSU with runners now at second and third.
Quinn came through next and roped a double to the gap in right field to drive in two more to make it 4-0 Tigers.
Arizona came back in the bottom half of the inning and loaded the bases before scoring runs on an infield grounder and a sacrifice fly.
LSU added to its lead in the third inning as Simmons connected on a two-run home run for a 6-2 LSU lead.
Arizona countered with a run in the bottom of the third to cut its deficit to 6-3.
The Tigers came back in the fourth inning with two runs — via a Bianka Bell high-chopping single up the middle and Simmons’ sacrifice fly — for an 8-3 advantage.
Arizona put together its best inning since the opening frame with a bases-loaded-and-no-out situation. The Wildcats plated two runs via bases-loaded walks to cut its deficit to 8-5 and prompt LSU to bring in Hoover.
The switch worked as Hoover came on in one of the biggest spots of LSU’s season and got consecutive strikeouts to stop the leak and end the inning.
After an Arizona threat again was snuffed in the bottom of the sixth, LSU went back to work on offense in the top of the seventh as Simmons, who tripled to lead off the frame, scored on a double by Quinn, while pinch-hitter Dylan Supak connected on a single up the middle to score Quinn for the final margin.
LSU 8, Arizona 0
On Saturday, LSU scored eight runs in the first three inning to roll to an 8-0 win against Arizona in five innings.
The Tigers exploded for four runs in the first frame to set the tone early, taking advantage of opportunities with runners on base to plate two more in the second and a pair more in the third to get out to a heady lead that the Wildcats would never threaten.
LSU needed only five hits to pull ahead, getting two from Bailey Landry, who went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Landry hit her second home run of the season. The Prairieville product was a force in all facets Saturday, making some outstanding plays with her glove in the field, including an inning-ending double play during one frame.
The middle of the order for the Tigers also came through, as Sahvanna Jaquish, Kellsi Kloss and Simmons each drove in at least one run. Jaquish got the scoring going with a two-RBI single early, while Kloss came through with an RBI double and Simmons, an RBI single. Bell scored twice and was walked twice, while Andrews was walked once and scored once.
Earning her second shutout of the postseason, Hoover (17-5) battled through two walks on her opening two at-bats to storm through the Arizona lineup Saturday, tossing a one-hitter with a strikeout and three walks.
Trish Parks (16-7) opened and then closed, the game in the circle for Arizona, suffering the loss. She allowed four runs on three hits with five walks in just two innings.
Mandie Perez had the only hit for Arizona.