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LSU softball ended the regular season on a high note, taking two of three against Auburn in Tiger Park.
Sunseri Anchors in Walk-off Win
Shelbi Sunseri got the Tigers going with a 2-1 win in the opener on Friday night. The LSU hurler tossed a complete game with three hits and two strikeouts. The Bayou Bengal offense got started in the first when Taylor Pleasants, who was named SEC Newcomer of the year and first team All-SEC, hit a solo home run. After Auburn came back to tie the game at one, Rayleen Gutizerez notched a sac-fly RBI to seal the win.
Auburn Evens Series
The AU bats were on full display as the Tigers beat LSU 9-5 in the second game. Maribeth Gorsuch was tagged for three runs in 3.2 innings and Ali Kilponen was worse, allowing four runs in two-thirds of an inning pitched. LSU’s offense was not the problem. Georgia Clark hit a two-run home run while Amanda Doyle, Gutierrez and Morgan Cummins each had an RBI.
Pleasants Grand Slam Gives LSU Series
Entering the sixth inning, Auburn was holding onto a 1-0 lead. Kilponen had kept the Tigers in it so far and finished the game allowing just the one run on four hits. The LSU sixth started off with Ali Newman singling to left, then Aliyah Andrews, who was named first-team All-SEC and All-Defensive team, landed a bunt single and Ciarra Briggs, who was announced to the All-SEC newcomer team, singled to first base to load the bases. With a 3-1 count, Pleasants launched a homer to dead center field gave the Tigers a lead that would not be relinquished as LSU went onto win 4-1.
LSU now heads to the SEC tournament as the fifth seed facing South Carolina on Wednesday, who beat Auburn in the first round on Tuesday. Should the Tigers win, LSU would face Mizzou in the quarterfinals with a potential matching looming against the Gators in the semifinals.