LSU right fielder Alix Franklin raced back toward the wall, futilely it seemed, trying to chase down a long fly off the bat of Virginia Techโs Addison Foster.
The Hokies have been known for their prodigious home run power, hitting 108 in all. Despite a strong south wind howling into Tiger Park, this certainly looked like No. 109.
Then, Franklin, all her life before this season spent as an infielder, made the play. The catch. The whatever-you-want-to-call-it, reaching over the wall as she slammed into it with frightening force to rob Foster and Virginia Tech of a potentially momentum-shifting moment.
โJalia (Lassiter, LSUโs center fielder) and I practice balls at the wall like that I donโt know how many times,โ said Franklin, who fortunately didnโt fracture any bones to make her โSportsCenterโ-worthy play.
It was just the bottom of the fifth inning (why home teams in regionals must ever be the visiting team has always been beyond me). Virginia Tech, which scored six remarkable runs in the top of the seventh Saturday night to eliminate Akron 7-6 and get into this NCAA regional final with LSU, still had time.
But the Hokies, the Tigers and everyone watching knew this was something huge, something too big for Virginia Tech to overcome. The kind of moment that so often defines monumental victories, like the 7-2 decision that went LSUโs way Sunday afternoon.
โI tell them all the time,โ LSU coach Beth Torina said. โThatโs the kind of play youโre going to have to have on the way to the (Womenโs) College World Series.โ
The Tigers are still many miles away from the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City. Thereโs first the matter of a little detour to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, this coming weekend to take on Alabama, the No. 1 overall seed in the entire NCAA tournament, in the super regional round.
But to the victor go the spoils. And the dreams. After the way the Tigers (40-17) played and pitched this weekend, outscoring Akron and Virginia Tech twice by a combined tally of 23-2, why not dial up the imagination as big as it can go?
โWe trained all season for this moment,โ senior catcher Maci Bergeron said, clearly not willing to let it end now.
One of the things you need to make a deep run into the softball or baseball postseason is pitching depth. LSU displayed a bumper crop of that in the pitcherโs circle this weekend. The Tigers got complete game shutouts in the first two games from Jayden Heavener and Cece Cellura to zip up the Zips and handle the Hokies in matching 8-0, 8-0 run-rule decisions.
Virginia Tech touched LSU Sunday starter Paytn Monticelli โ a vagabond right-hander with previous stints at Wisconsin and Oklahoma โ for two early runs. But after a two-out RBI single from Foster in the second inning, Monticelli set down the final 16 Hokies, a streak that owed its existence to Franklinโs fireworks.
โI saw her smile in the third inning,โ Torina said of Monticelli, โand I said, โAll right, weโre good.โ โ
Good may not be good enough for the Tigers to survive a super regional test at Alabama (52-7), a team that LSU did not face in the regular season or the SEC tournament. But thatโs a worry for another day.
Sunday was a day for the Tigers to give thanks for their 11th super regional appearance. Theyโre still two huge wins short of returning to the WCWS for the first time in nine years. But the point is, they made it this far. One year earlier, Torina was fighting through the emotions and her players were fighting back tears after getting eliminated from another home NCAA regional by two losses to upstart in-state rival Southeastern. It is fun being the Goliath in the state until David shows up with a loaded slingshot.
In this regional, this year, David had to go look for another mark somewhere else, as the seat everyone figured was getting hot in Torinaโs office is now turned cool once again. The Tigers are moving on to the next weekend, one of the last 16 teams still playing.
Still looking for that next special, momentum-making play.
โI hope we have one next weekend,โ Torina said, with a smile that will last all the way from Tiger Park to Tuscaloosa.