LSU softball ace goes the (14-inning!) distance during 208-pitch gem
Brian Murphy
@Spokes_MurphyYou want a workhorse pitcher? Say hello to LSU softball ace Sydney Berzon.
Berzon went the distance in the Tigers¡¯ 14-inning (!) victory over Alabama in the second round of the SEC Softball Tournament on Wednesday.
Berzon needed 208 pitches for the complete game, which is the longest game by innings in SEC history. She threw 129 pitches for strikes and faced 56 batters. She allowed two runs on eight hits and six walks through the 14 innings, but she stranded 12 runners before Tigers shortstop Taylor Pleasants walked it off in the 14th with a bases-loaded single.
Five strikeouts and some sterling defense also helped Berzon¡¯s cause -- like a diving grab from outfielder Ali Newland to keep the game tied in the 11th.
Berzon has been LSU¡¯s workhorse this season: Her 167 2/3 innings are more than twice as many innings as anyone else on the Tigers' staff. But after pitching basically two games in one day -- there are seven innings in a regulation NCAA softball game -- could the right-hander actually be available to pitch against top-seeded Tennessee in the quarterfinals on Thursday?
¡°For sure,¡± she said on SEC Network. ¡°My arm is not that bad right now.¡±
Also, in case you were wondering: Nolan Ryan once, according to accounts from the game, threw 235 pitches in a start. Tim Wakefield¡¯s 172-pitch, 10-plus-inning start for the Pirates against the Braves on April 27, 1993, is the most exhaustive MLB outing since we've had full pitch count data (1988).