Tigers Finish Off Twinbill Sweep Of Mississippi State, Clinch Series
May 25, 2016 | Softball
* Official Statistics
* Official Statistics (PDF)
BATON ROUGE, La. - LSU plated single runs in each of the first and third innings, then added a pair of insurance scores in the fifth to rally behind a three-hit shutout from righthander Dani Hofer as the 11th-ranked Tigers finished off a doubleheader sweep of visiting Mississippi State with a 4-0 win in the nightcap Wednesday evening at Tiger Park.
Katie Cooley singled twice in three trips to the plate, while sophomore all-American Courtney Bures singled and was hit by pitch once to highlight a 1-for-2 night for the Bulldogs (30-21, 4-15 SEC) who established a new single season record with their 13th consecutive loss. Stephanie Hill doubled and drove in a run on her first career triple to pace the Tigers (43-7, 16-4) who stretched their series lead over the Maroon and White out to 32-5.
Righthander Ragan Blake (16-12) allowed all four runs, including a pair of the unearned variety, on five hits and two walks in dropping her ninth consecutive decision. Hofer (14-4), the 2005 National High School Gatorade Player of the Year, scattered three hits and struck out six in posting her seventh shutout of the campaign.
"We didn't make the adjustments (at the plate) that we needed to make," said Mississippi State head coach Jay Miller. "We hit one ground ball the entire game and that was a double play. One at-bat led to another at-bat and we just have to break that string and put something together. I thought we got good pitching in both games today and we made some nice defensive plays. We made some mistakes too that hurt us a bit. Against a good team, every little mistake gets magnified."
LSU needed just two at-bats to take a first inning lead when Camille Harris smashed a 1-and-2 offering from Blake off the scoreboard in centerfield for the quick 1-0 lead. The Tigers would add to their lead when, after a one-out walk was issued to Vanessa Soto, Hill cashed in with a triple to rightfield to plate pinchrunner Dee Dee Henderson all the way from first.
With Hofer handling things on the defensive side of the ball, LSU would find a pair of unearned insurance runs in the fifth after a throwing error by Blake. After Soto's RBI single plated Harris from third and a bunt by Klein moved another runner within 60 feet of scoring, the Tigers executed the double steal to perfection and Soto swiped home with the game's final run.
Mississippi State and LSU will close out their midweek series on Thursday afternoon when the squads meet in a 5 p.m. single game at Tiger Park. Following its action in Baton Rouge, Mississippi State will begin a seven-game homestand this weekend by hosting fourth-ranked Tennessee (43-6, 14-6) in a three-game series at the MSU Softball Field.
The squads will open up their set with a 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon doubleheader before closing out the series with a 1 p.m. game on Sunday that is slated to be televised on a regional basis by Fox SportsNet South. Admission to all 2006 MSU Softball home games is free.
#11 LSU 4, MISSISSIPPI STATE 0
Mississippi State 000 000 0 - 0 0 0LSU 101 020 x - 0 0 0Blake, Hickerson (6) and Geddings. Hofer and Roessner. W - Hofer (14-4). L - Blake (16-12). HR - Harris (LSU). 3B - Hill (LSU). 2B - Hill (LSU).
