Tag: Shelbi Sunseri

LSU softball’s season ends after dropping second game in Tempe Regional

LSU’s postseason run came to an underwhelming end in Tempe on Saturday night against Cal State Fullerton.

For the first time since 2014, LSU softball will not be advancing to a super regional.

LSU dropped the opener at the Tempe Regional to San Diego State on Friday, and it was the same story on Saturday in a 3-2 loss to Cal State Fullerton in the elimination game, which ended the Tigers’ postseason run.

LSU jumped out to a 2-0 lead, scoring two in the top of the first. The Titans responded by one-upping the Tigers with three in the bottom of the inning. That 3-2 score held tight the rest of the way and just like that, it was over for LSU.

Down to the last out, [autotag]Taylor Pleasants[/autotag] reached in the seventh with a double down the third baseline. That brought slugger [autotag]Georgia Clark[/autotag] to the plate, who walked after a full count. CSF put an end to the threat the next batter after a [autotag]Shelbi Sunseri[/autotag] strikeout.

It’s a disappointing end of the year for Beth Torina’s group. Arizona State was always going to be the favorite to advance out of this regional, but LSU went 0-2, dropping both games to lower seeded teams.

There were a lot of things to like about this LSU team, but it was never able to put it all together. There’s talent there, but there was far too much inconsistency for a program of this stature.

There will be speculation about Torina’s at LSU. She is one of the few holdovers from the previous administration, and [autotag]Scott Woodward[/autotag] has moved to instill his coaches at many of LSU’s popular athletic programs.

Softball could be next.

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LSU softball drops first game in Tempe Regional, will face elimination on Saturday

The Tigers will look to keep their season alive on Saturday after a 10-5 loss to open the postseason.

The Tigers headed out to the desert this weekend looking to emerge victorious while playing on the road at the Tempe Regional to open the NCAA Tournament. But after a 10-5 Game 1 loss against the San Diego State Aztecs, LSU’s stay in the postseason could be brief as it faces an elimination game on Saturday.

Much of this game was a back-and-forth affair, but it was bookended by poor play from the Tigers. [autotag]Ali Kilponen[/autotag] got the start at pitcher in this one, but she allowed a pair of one-run homers in the first as her team fell behind early.

The Tigers got their answer in the form of a two-run homer from [autotag]Morgan Smith[/autotag] in the bottom of the second to even the game, but a trio of base hits and a fielding error led to three Aztec runs to open the third as the deficit grew for LSU.

Once again, though, it had an answer. [autotag]Ali Newland[/autotag] came up clutch with a three-run homer in the bottom of that inning to tie the game at five runs apiece, and it looked like we were heading to a thrilling finish.

That’s not exactly how it played out, though. The Tigers swapped pitchers, and [autotag]Shelbi Sunseri[/autotag] allowed a run to score on a wild pitch before giving up a two-run blast as LSU found itself down three once again.

Unlike before, it had no answer. It couldn’t get much going on offense down the stretch and squandered the opportunities it did have, stranding runners in the fifth and seventh innings. SDSU added to its lead after an error in the sixth and another homer allowed by Sunseri in the seventh as it completed the upset.

The Tigers will play an elimination game on Saturday against the loser of the matchup between regional host Arizona State and four-seeded California State Fullerton. They will try to keep their season alive as they face a do-or-die situation after just one game.

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LSU softball defeats Central Arkansas in game one of doubleheader

LSU softball defeated Central Arkansas 3-0 on Tuesday in the first game of a double header.

The No. 13 LSU Tigers softball team is hosting Central Arkansas in a doubleheader at Tiger Park on Tuesday.

The Tigers took the first game by a score of 3-0.

With the win, LSU improves to 6-3 on the season. Central Arkansas falls to 3-6 with the loss.

Shelby Wickersham earned the start in the circle for the Tigers and started the game off with two strikeouts.

In the first inning, Amanda Doyle and Shelbi Sunseri drew walks but no runs came across the board.

LSU scored one run in the second inning as Ciara Briggs tripled then later scored on a sacrifice fly from Taylor Tidwell.

Central Arkansas threatended in the fifth inning with two runners on but Wickersham struck out a batter for the final out of the inning.

Aliyah Andrews led off the sixth inning with a hit and later scored on a single by Doyle to put the Tigers up 2-0. Georgia Clark then hit an RBI single that scored Akiya Thymes.

The Tigers shut out the Bears in the first game. Wickersham allowed four hits but no runs in the pitcher’s circle.

LSU softball defeats Liberty in Easton Bama Bash

The No. 9 LSU softball team bounced back on Sunday with an 8-4 win over Liberty on two home runs from Taylor Pleasants.

The No.9 LSU Tigers softball team is in Tuscaloosa this weekend competing in the Easton Bama Bash.

On Sunday, the Tigers faced off against the Liberty Flames and won the first game of the day 8-5.

With the win, LSU improved to 5-2 on the season.

Aliyah Andrews led off the game with a hard hit double to left field. Taylor Pleasants then went yard over left field to put the Tigers up 2-0 early.

Shelbi Sunseri hit her first home run of the year to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead in the first inning.

In the second, Liberty took Ali Kilponen deep on a two-run home run to score the team’s first two runs of the game, Then, Liberty scored another run to tie the game at 3-3.

In the top of the fourth, the Tigers answered back as Danieca Coffey hit a triple to left field that scored Kilponen to make it a 5-3 lead for LSU.

Liberty led off the bottom half of the fourth with a double. LSU brought in Sunseri to pitch but the Flames scored on an error to make it a 5-4 game.

LSU scored three runs in the sixth inning. Coffey drew a walk and later moved to second base on a single by Andrews. Pleasants hit another home run that scored both Coffey and Andrews as the Tigers took an 8-3 lead.

Liberty would score another run in the seventh to make it an 8-4 game.

Sunseri closed out the inning in the circle as LSU would hold on for a much needed win. She earned the win in the pitcher’s circle and moves to 3-1 on the season.

LSU softball defeats Kansas

The LSU softball team defeated Kansas 5-3 on Saturday in the Tiger Classic. LSU hit three home runs in the win.

The No. 5 LSU Tigers softball team bounced back on Saturday with a 5-3 win over the Kansas Jayhawks in the Tiger Classic.

LSU lost against Duke by a score of 8-4.

On Saturday, the Tigers moved to 2-1 on the season with the win over the Jayhawks, while Kansas fell to 1-3 with the loss.

Kansas got on the board in the second inning with a solo home run. In the bottom of the second, Ciara Briggs put the Tigers on the board with a solo home run of her own to make it a 1-1 game.

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LSU led off the bottom of the fourth inning as Shelbi Sunseri doubled to left center. Briggs then added a single and stole second to put runners on second and third with one out. Morgan Cummins hit a sacrifice fly and Anna Jones scored from third as the pinch-runner for Sunseri.

The Tigers held a 2-1 lead heading into the fifth inning. But the Jayhawks hit another home run to even the game at 2-2. Sunseri came in to pitch and Kansas took advantage on an error that made the score 3-2 Jayhawks.

LSU scored three runs in the fifth inning to go up 5-3. Taylor Pleasants drew a walk and later scored on a home run by Amanda Doyle. Georgia Clark hit a homer of her own to extend the lead.

Sunseri was awarded the win in the pitcher’s circle as she had one strikeout. She moves to 2-0 on the season with the win. Maribeth Gorsuch started the game for LSU and worked four innings with two strikeouts.

Up next, LSU faces Central Arkansas in a doubleheader on Sunday to close out the Tiger Classic. The first game is set for a 12:30 pm CST first pitch. The second game will follow at 3 pm CST.

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