No. 14 LSU closes out Tiger classic with splits on Saturday and Sunday

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - No. 14 LSU (4-2) finished the Tiger Classic with splits on both Saturday and Sunday and won a total of four games over the weekend.

In the first game on Saturday, Feb. 12 against South Alabama the Tigers came away with a 8-1 win as junior pitcher Ali Kilponen (2-0) came away with her second win in the circle. Kilponen would pitch seven innings, allowing four hits, one run, and striking out seven.

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South Alabama got things started in the top of the third inning as Caroline Nichols singled to left field to score Odalys Cordova from third base and the Jaguars took a 1-0 lead.

LSU would answer in the bottom of the third inning as they tied the game at 1-1 on a Shelbi Sunseri solo home run to center field. It would be Sunseri’s second home run in three games.

In the bottom of the fourth inning the Tigers erupted for six runs to take a 7-1 lead. All-American Taylor Pleasants got things going with her first two RBI of the season on double down the right field line to score Sydney Peterson and Danieca Coffey to make it 3-1.

Sunseri would follow and blasts her second home run of the game, this time a three-run shot to left center scoring Pleasants and Briggs to make it 6-1. It would be home run number three on the season for the senior Sunseri.

Then Georgia Clark would hit her second home run of the season with a shot to center field to make it 7-1 LSU after four innings.

In the bottom of the sixth inning Clark would add another run to make it 8-1 on a solo home run to left center, her second of the game and third on the season.

In the second game on Saturday and the Tigers fourth on the season they would suffer their first loss to Central Arkansas 3-2. Freshman pitcher Raelin Chaffin would get the start in the circle for her first of her career in Baton Rouge. Chaffin went four innings, allowing five hits, two runs, one earned run, two walks and striking out five.

The Tigers got things started in the bottom of the third inning as Sunseri continued her hot start with an RBI double to left center to score Ciara Briggs to make it 1-0. In the top of the fourth inning the Sugar Bears would answer on a Jaylee Engelkes solo home run to right center to make it 1-1.

Central Arkansas would add another run in the top of the fifth inning as Jenna Wildeman would score on a passed ball to make it 2-1.

In the bottom of the sixth inning the Tigers would get a run back as Clark led the inning off with a double and then Ali Newland followed with another double scoring KK Madrey to make it 2-2. However, in the top of the seventh inning Central Arkansas would get that run back as Engelkes hit an RBI double down the left field line to make it 3-2.

Shelby Wickersham (0-1) took the loss and pitched 2.2 innings, allowing two hits, a run, and striking out four. She came into to relieve Chaffin in the top of the fifth inning.

On Sunday, in LSU’s first game of the day LSU took on Illinois and Sunseri got the start in the circle for the Tigers and went 5.1 innings allowing five hits, two runs, while striking out five.

In the top of the first inning the Fighting Illini got things started as Bella Loya double down the left field line to score Averey Steiner to make it 1-0. The Tigers would answer in the bottom of the first inning as Sunseri hit a two run single to left field to score Briggs and Coffey to make it 2-1.

Megan Ward would tie the game for Illinois in the top of the fifth inning to score Kelly Ryono to make it 2-2. The Tigers and Fighting Illini would head to extras and in the top of the eighth inning Illinois would add three runs.

Meade would get things started as she singled to shortstop and then Kailee Powell would walk. Meade would later score on an error to get things going and take a 3-2 lead. Powell would score on a passed ball to make it 4-2 and then Gabi Robles scored on RBI groundout to make it 5-2.

In the bottom of the eighth inning the Tigers were threatening with two outs and runners on first and second, but Newland would flyout to left field to end the game. Kilponen (2-1) took her first loss of the season after pitching 2.2 innings, allowing four hits, three runs, an earned run, walking two and striking out one.

The Tigers would face the Sugar Bears in the final game of the Tiger Classic and would come away with a 2-1 victory. Wickersham got the start in the circle and bounced back pitching 5.2 innings, allowing three hits, one run and striking out six.

Clark continued her great weekend and got the Tigers on the board in the bottom of the first inning as she hit an RBI single through the right ride to score Sunseri to make it 1-0.

In the top of the third inning Central Arkansas would tie the game at 1-1 as Jenna Wildeman reached on an error allowing Lexi McClellan to score from third. The Tigers would break the tie in the bottom of the sixth inning as Clark singled back up the middle to score Briggs to make it 2-1.

Sunseri, would shut things down in the top of the seventh inning as the Sugar Bears went three up and three down. LSU will head to Clearwater, Florida for the St. Pete/Clearwater Elite Invitational, with game one scheduled for Friday, Feb. 18 against Oklahoma State at 3 p.m.

Through the Tigers first six games of the season, they committed six errors, struck out 39 total batters, Kilponen and Sunseri each with 12. Offensively, Sunseri and Clark led the Tigers with three home runs each with Sunseri leading with nine RBI and Clark with six RBI. LSU as a team scored 21 runs and hit for a combined .252 average.

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