Softball Drops Game One to Gophers

A back-and-forth contest saw Minnesota emerge victorious over the Tigers, using a four-run fourth inning to secure a 5-3 victory.

Starter Shelbi Sunseri was unable to hold the lead on two separate occasions, and was responsible for all five Gopher runs. She was pulled in the fourth inning after allowing a two-out, two-run single. Her final line was 3.2 innings pitched, five earned runs, five walks, a strikeout and seven hits. She was relieved by Maribeth Gorsuch who only allowed two base runners in the final 2.1 innings.

The Tiger offense capitalized in the third when Aliyah Andrews scored on a wild pitch. In the third, Amber Serrett hit a solo home run to right. Later in the inning, Amanda Sanchez singled in Elyse Thornhill who had doubled two batters earlier.

Those scoring opportunities aside, it was mostly a struggle for the Tiger offense. Although the Tigers had eight hits and two walks against Gopher ace Amber Fiser, LSU went 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position, On three separate occasions, the Tigers had two or more base runners on and failed to bring one at least one runner home.

Thornhill and Shemiah Sanchez each had two hits in the game. Amanda Doyle and Savannah Stewart each had a hit and a walk. Sunseri and Andrews went a combined 0-for-6. Andrews also recorded her 100th career steal.

Saturday is a must in game for the Tigers. Capitalizing when runners on base will continue to be a key and LSU will need more production from Andrews and Sunseri. It would seem Beth Torina will be opting for a different starter in game two, though Sunseri will likely be available out of the bullpen. Game two starts at 5 p.m. on ESPN 2.