Editor’s Note: The following is an official press release courtesy of LSU’s athletics department.
BATON ROUGE, La. – No. 15 LSU (35-11, 8-8 SEC) opened the series against Mississippi State (24-20, 3-12 SEC) with a 7-1 victory Friday night at Tiger Park.
“I thought it was a great win,” said Head Coach Beth Torina. “It was a team win. We had good pitching on the mound and some good offensive performances. Danieca [Coffey] did a great job leading us off in the first inning and the rest of the team just followed.”
Head Coach Beth Torina coached her 699th game for LSU today, surpassing Yvette Girouard for the most games coached in LSU Softball history. Coach Torina has been at the helm of the program for 12 seasons and has a 485-214 record at LSU.
Freshman pitcher Sydney Berzon (13-5) threw a complete game Friday night where she tossed eight strikeouts and allowed no runs on six hits. Berzon now has 106 strikeouts this season and becomes the first LSU freshman pitcher with 100 strikeouts in a season since Carley Hoover in 2015.
Junior infielder Taylor Pleasants recorded her 10th game this season with multiple hits after setting a new season-high with three hits. Pleasants also finished with two RBIs to record her 15th multi-RBI game this season. Junior infielder Danieca Coffey and junior outfielder Ciara Briggs both recorded two hits on the night while graduate designated player Georgia Clark and junior catcher Ali Newland both recorded two RBIs.
Mississippi State’s senior pitcher Matalasi Faapito (4-5) was charged with the loss after allowing four runs on seven hits in 1.1 innings.
After Berzon struck out the side to start the game, the Tigers scored three runs in the opening inning for the second straight game. From leadoff to cleanup, the Tigers rattled off four consecutive singles that included a two-run base hit from Clark. The next at bat, Newland wore a pitch before graduate infielder Karli Petty hit a sac fly to left field to cross the third run of the frame.
Graduate outfielder Savannah Stewart and Coffey led off the second with a pair of singles, and Pleasants drove a one-run double to center field to increase the lead, 4-0.
Berzon kept the Bulldogs offense at bay, allowing just two hits from the third through sixth innings. The Tigers added three insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth via an RBI single from Pleasants and a two RBI double by Newland to push the lead to 7-0.
Mississippi State plated its first run of the game in the seventh, but were unable to do anymore damage as the Tigers captured game one of the series, 7-1.
On Deck
The series between LSU and Mississippi State will continue Saturday at 7 p.m. CT on ESPN2.
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