No. 4 LSU sweeps round robin against Campbell and Illinois State

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - The No. 4 LSU softball team hosted Campbell and Illinois State for the 2020 LSU Round Robin Tournament in Tiger Park.

The Tigers (20-3) did most of their damage in the first two innings on the way to a 9-1 run-rule victory in six innings over the Redbirds (11-11).

LSU pitcher Maribeth Gorsuch (No. 6)(Josh Auzenne/WAFB-TV (custom credit) | WAFB)

Maribeth Gorsuch (4-1) only gave up one run (home run) on three hits in 6.0 innings of work. She struck out six batters.

In the bottom of the first, Taylor Pleasants hit a sac fly to score Aliyah Andrews from third to put LSU up 1-0. Then, Shelbi Sunseri hit a single to right center to send Ciara Briggs home from second. With the bases loaded, Anna Jones ripped one up the middle to score Georgia Clark to make it 3-0.

LSU center fielder Aliyah Andrews (No. 4)(Josh Auzenne/WAFB-TV (custom credit) | WAFB)

In the bottom of the second, Andrews singled to left field to get things going for the Tigers again. She then stole second and later advanced to third on a wild pitch. Another sac fly by Pleasants plated Andrews again to make it 4-0. Andrews was 2-for-4 with two runs. Later, Morgan Cummins dropped a single into center field and Briggs crossed home to extend the lead to 5-0. Briggs was 1-for-2 with three runs and two walks.

A solo home run in the third by Taylor Vanderpool gave Illinois State its only run of the game. The Tigers put up another run in the bottom of the fourth and then had another three-run inning in the bottom of the sixth to run-rule the Redbirds.

The Tigers (19-3) came away with the 5-1 win over the Redbirds (11-10).

Shelby Wickersham (5-1) earned the victory in the circle after allowing one run on three hits in a complete game. She struck out six batters.

After a scoreless first inning, the Tigers put up two runs in the second. They added another in the fourth off a solo home run by Amanda Doyle and put up two more runs in the sixth.

The Tigers (18-3) had seven hits in a 5-1 win over the Camels (10-14).

Ali Kilponen (5-1) recorded three straight strikeouts to start the game and finished with a total of 15. She gave up the one run on just two hits in a complete game.

LSU third baseman Amanda Doyle (No. 22)(Josh Auzenne/WAFB-TV (custom credit) | WAFB)

The Tigers (17-3) were dominant in a 21-0 run-rule win in five innings over the Camels (10-12).

With the Tigers up 3-0 in the bottom of the first, Amanda Doyle crushed a ball over the center field wall for a three-run homer to give LSU a 6-0 lead. It was Doyle’s first dinger of the season and the 21st of her career.

LSU shortstop Taylor Pleasants (No. 17)(Josh Auzenne/WAFB-TV (custom credit) | WAFB)

Before that, the Tigers first got on the board courtesy a two-run blast by Taylor Pleasants. It was her third home run of the season. Georgia Clark and Morgan Cummins both hit the fourth home runs of their Tiger career.

LSU pitcher Shelbi Sunseri (No. 27)(Josh Auzenne/WAFB-TV (custom credit) | WAFB)

Shelbi Sunseri (6-0) allowed four hits in four innings of work. She struck out two and walked one. Taylor Edwards relieved her and gave up one hit in her single inning in the circle. She struck out one batter.

LSU entered the weekend tournament with a 16-3 overall record. The squad came off a 3-2 weekend after beating No. 25 Texas Tech, Cal, and Colorado State. The Tigers fell to No. 2 Washington and LMU. The Tigers had the No. 1 ERA in the nation at 0.95 with Shelby Wickersham leading the way at 0.25. Georgia Clark was leading the team with a .409 batting average. She had 18 hits, four doubles, three home runs, and 13 RBI. Wickersham was 4-1 with 25 strikeouts in 28.1 innings of work.

The Campbell Camels entered the weekend with a 10-10 record. They were coming off a loss to College of Charleston last Sunday. Campbell was supposed to face ULL on Wednesday but the game was canceled due to weather. Destini England was leading the team with a .392 average at the plate.

The Illinois State Red Birds were 9-9 on the year before the tournament and were coming off a 12-1 five-inning loss to Western Kentucky last Sunday. Mack Leonard was leading the team at the plate with a .415 average. She had 27 hits, 18 runs scored, eight doubles, two triples, and six home runs.

It was the first time LSU and Illinois State faced each other.

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