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The late inning magic that worked for Louisiana Lafayette in Game 1 on Sunday took a turn in favor of the Tigers in Game 2, as LSU used some late offense to top the Cajuns 3-1 and advance to the Super Regional.
LSU’s scoring began in the bottom of the fifth when Amber Serrett, one of the hottest hitters in the Baton Rouge Regional, laced a triple to left. Beth Torina opted to pinch hit Sydney Springfield for Becca Schulte. Springfield would deliver a single up the middle putting the Tigers ahead 1-0.
In the sixth, after ULL had tied the game, another hot hitter, Michaela Schlattman did her part with an RBI double that scored Shemiah Sanchez who had reached earlier in the inning on a single. After a Shelbi Sunseri walk, Serrett would ground into a fielder’s choice that would score Claire Weinberger, who had pinch ran for Sunseri.
In the circle, Torina turned to Walljasper, and the senior did not disappoint. Walljasper went the distance allowing three hits and one run while striking out two. She minimized the damage in the sixth inning, when, after a pair of singles and a double steal, ULL had runners on second and third with one out. Walljasper surrendered a run on a ground out and then another ground ball out to end the frame. Aside from the sixth inning, Walljasper never allowed more than one Cajun to reach.
Earlier in the day, the Tigers had lost 5-4 on a ULL walk-off RBI single in the tenth inning. LSU held a 4-0 lead entering the sixth inning but after ULL plated a run and had the bases loaded, Aliyah Andrews tripped while tracking what would have been a routine fly, and her diving effort came up short, resulting in a bases clearing double that tied the game at four. Carley Hoover, making her first start in two weeks, looked solid through the first five innings of work, striking out three.
With the win the Tigers advance to the seventh Super Regional in program history. The Tigers will head to Tallahassee for a three game series against Florida State, a team the Tigers beat in the Super Regionals last year.