BATON ROUGE – The No. 5/4 LSU softball team swept Day 2 of the LSU Round Robin as they defeated Campbell 5-1 and Illinois State 5-1 Saturday in Tiger Park. The Tigers move to 19-3 on the season while Campbell falls to 10-14 and Illinois State falls to 11-10 on the year.

Game One – LSU 5, Campbell 1

Ali Kilponen came out hot in the circle for the Tigers with three straight strikeouts off 11 pitches to start the top of the first.

In the bottom of the first Aliyah Andrews pushed a single through the right side to start off the inning. Taylor Pleasants and Georgia Clark both drew walks to load the bases with one out. Shelbi Sunseri recorded a sacrifice fly to right field to plate Andrews from third. The Tigers scored one in the inning to take the lead over the Camels.

In the bottom on the second Andrews singled to left center to plate Cait Calland from second. Andrews stole second and Ciara Briggs reached on an error by the second baseman that scored Andrews. The Tigers closed out the bottom of the second with two runs on two hits.

Clark earned a leadoff walk in the bottom of the third and Sunseri walked to put runners on first and second for the Tigers. Amanda Doyle doubled to left center to plate Clark from second. The Tigers scored one run on one hit to finish out the bottom of the third.

Campbell got on the board in the top of the fourth, but the Tiger defense limited the damage to one run to get out of the inning.

In the bottom of the sixth Savannah Stewart singled up the middle and Briggs tripled down the right field line to plate Stewart late in inning.

Kilponen earned the win in the circle for the Tigers moving to 5-1 on the year. She allowed one earned run and recorded 15 strikeouts. Campbell's Georgeanna Barefoot took the loss for the Camels moving to 5-6 on the season, she allowed seven hits, five runs and four earned runs.

Game Two – LSU 5, Illinois State 1

Clark got it started for the Tigers in the bottom of the second with a double to right center and was plated by Sunseri who also doubled to right center. Morgan Cummins singled to left center to plate Sunseri. The Tigers ended the inning, scoring two runs on three hits.

In the bottom of the fourth, Doyle launched a solo shot over the left field wall to tack on another run for the Tigers. 

Illinois State got on the board in the top of the sixth with a homerun, but Shelby Wickersham and the Tigers' defense stepped up and got out of the jam.

In the bottom of the sixth, Anna Jones drew a walk and Taryn Antoine ran out an infield single to put the Tigers on first and second with two outs. Andrews crushed a double to left field to plate Jones and Antoine, giving the Tigers the 5-1 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh.

Shelby Wickersham earned the win in the circle for the Tigers moving to 5-1 on the year. She allowed one earned run, three hit and recorded five strikeouts. Illinois State's Morgan Day took the loss for the Redbird's moving to 6-5 on the season. She allowed eight hits and five runs, all earned.

Game Notes

·       Ali Kilponen recorded a new career-high 15 strikeouts in game one against Campbell.

·       Aliyah Andrews now holds the second most stolen bases in program history with 114 after two stolen bases against Campbell in game one. The program record is 155 held by Dee Dougle (1998-2001).

·       Amanda Doyle tallied her 22^nd career homerun and second on the year in game two against Illinois State.

Torina's Thoughts
Thoughts on the day...
"We had two solid pitching and defensive performances. I think that always keeps you in every game, and then our offense was able to do enough damage and capitalize on some opportunities to get us two wins."

Ali Kilponen's performance...
"I thought she had a really great day. I thought she was able to use a lot of different pitches. She was able to be in a lot of different parts of the zone, and I think that is always tough for hitters to handle."

Shelby Wickersham's performance...
"I don't think Wick had her best stuff but she was able to find a way to win, and I think that's the key to making a great pitcher is that you're able to win on maybe not your best day. I'm proud of her effort today."

Players stepping up at the plate...
"I think we knew those guys were going to hit. There's no doubt they were going to figure it out. It just took them a little bit of time to get going, and I know they'll be a big reason why this team succeeds late in the season."

Up Next

The Tigers finish play in the LSU Round Robin tournament Sunday at 1 p.m. against Illinois State. This game will stream live via SEC Network+. The Tigers will square up with South Alabama for a midweek matchup Tuesday in Tiger Park at 6 p.m. This game will stream live on SEC Network +.