[Online exclusive] Championships also remembered for LSU pitcher’s 3-games-in-a-day feat
By Noah Grand
June 1, 2004 9:00 p.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY “”mdash; Facing elimination, Louisiana State tried
to make history by winning three games on Sunday to advance to the
championship game of the Women’s College World Series.
Each time, the Tigers turned to pitcher Kristen Schmidt, who
threw over 20 innings on Sunday in the standout individual
performance of the tournament.
For the first two games, the senior ace got the job done with a
2-1 win over Florida State in the morning and a 4-1 win over Cal to
force an elimination game.
Despite getting less than a half-hour of rest, Schmidt was able
to hold the Golden Bears scoreless through four innings. After
throwing over 300 pitches on the day, she gave up four runs to Cal
in the fifth inning, losing 4-1.
“We were just trying to dig deep and find whatever you
have,” Schmidt said. “I think our team played our
hearts out. We left everything on the field, so we have no
regrets.”
Schmidt, who had already pitched 20 innings in LSU’s first
two games, pitched another 20 2/3 innings on Sunday. With two outs
in the seventh, LSU coach Yvette Girouard removed her to let her
get the crowd’s recognition.
At that moment the crowd began to rise, starting with the LSU
fans, until everyone in the stadium and even some players in
Cal’s dugout were on their feet giving Schmidt a standing
ovation in appreciation of her marathon performance.
“Softball is an enlightened community, and I had a feeling
everyone in the stands would do that,” Girouard said.
“Kudos to our sport, because this young lady certainly
deserved that.”
On the day, Schmidt struck out 25 batters, gave up only six
runs, and threw 355 pitches.
But her performance was not about the statistics as much as it
was about her just being able to throw something ““ anything
““ and get batters out for innings after it seemed like her
right arm was going to fall off.
“When these pitchers get on a roll like this they’re
pretty unstoppable and they’re not going to give in,”
Cal coach Diane Ninemire said. “They’re going to give
their teams everything they can out there, and I expected exactly
what she did tonight.”
LSU was only forced into a tripleheader because of freak weather
on Saturday night. Severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings
postponed the night game against Florida State, so it had to be
played early Sunday.
Afterwards, Girouard said she would go with Schmidt for as far
as she would take them.
Schmidt’s first win took them to a regularly scheduled
game against Cal. Her second win, combined with UCLA’s win
earlier in the day, meant LSU had to come back right away for the
third game of the day.
Pitching three games in one day was an unprecedented performance
under the tournament’s current format, and it may perhaps be
remembered more than who won the game.
