BATON ROUGE- No. 11 LSU softball improved to 2-0 this season after a 1-0 win over No. 13 Oklahoma State Friday at Tiger Park.

It was a pitching dual as the game remained scoreless until the 6th inning where 1st baseman Georgia Clark hit an RBI single through the right side of the infield to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead.

LSU pitcher Shelby Wickersham was pulled out of the game after pitching 6 shutout innings of 4 hit softball. Ali Kilponen then closed the game out and stranded 2 Oklahoma State runners to lock down the win.

Torina's Thoughts

On being 2-0 with such a young team …
"I thought it was a good battle and a good win.  I liked that the pitching staff was able to keep us in it long enough to score.  Their pitcher is very talented.  She was throwing really hard.  I think when it's all said and done at the end of the year this is going to end up being a big win."

On shutting them out with their talented offense …
"Our pitching staff was phenomenal.  Shelby Wickersham showed a lot of depth in the game.  She was changing speeds, moving the ball around the zone, and did a really nice job out there.  I liked that a lot of the things that she worked on in the off-season showed up today.  That was really exciting and cool for her.  Ali Kilponen having back-to-back days with the same type of outing is a really special thing for us."

On beating a ranked team so early in the season with such a young team …
"It's a big win.  Like I said, when it comes down to the end of the season we're going to look back on it and think it was still a good win.  They're a good team and they're going to have a good year.  It's going to pay dividends as we move forward."

On Ali (Kilponen) embracing her role as a young pitcher …
"It looks like we might have a closer.  I better call (Coach Paul) Mainieri and ask how to manage this situation, I have no idea.  She's pretty good in that spot and we won't hesitate to use her there."

On the young infield making the routine plays …
"I thought that was the difference between yesterday and today.  We made all the routine plays today.  We slowed it down a little bit.  We were able to make the routine plays.  That's the reason why we stayed in it to the end.  It gave us a chance to score there in the end.  Savannah (Stewart) definitely was a nice spark there for us and Georgia (Clark) has had two good days.  The reason we were able to do that and put that together was because the defense made all the routine plays today."

On what makes Georgia (Clark) the great player that she is …
"Yeah she's a good player and she's a great hitter.  I think giving her consistent at bats throughout the season is going to make her really strong.  Last year she was in a pinch-hit roll which is a really hard roll to be in no matter how good you are.  I think given her consistent at-bats day-to-day throughout the season we're going to see really special things."

Up next, the Tigers will play in game 2 of the Tiger Classic against Florida A&M University at 1:30 on Saturday. Following the game, the Tigers will play against Oklahoma State for the second time at 4pm