LSU pitcher Britni Sneed has something else to go along with her blazing fastball and array off off-speed pitches.
A pretty good sense of humor.
Although Sneed didn't leave No. 24 South Carolina in a laughing mood, LSU's first-team All-American managed to make light of her two most pressing moments in Sunday's 1-0 Southeastern Conference victory to close out the No. 5 Lady Tigers three-game sweep before 521 at Tiger Park.
It was LSU's 300th win since the school reinstated softball in 1997.
"I've got to give the fans their money's worth," smiled Sneed, who earned her the 99th win of her standout career. "I can't strike out everybody."
Well, maybe not everybody.
Sneed (13-4) followed up Saturday's three-hit, 14-strikeout performance with another stellar outing: limiting South Carolina to four singles.
She walked one and struck out 13, including three in both the first and seventh innings to work out of jams -- cementing her third straight shutout and 10th of the season.
"Obviously Miss Sneed's in a zone," LSU coach Yvette Girouard said.
Sneed's effort helped to pave the way for LSU's second three-game SEC sweep and fourth straight shutout. The Tigers defeated the Gamecocks for the fifth straight time.
LSU (24-7, 9-2) also remained a half game behind SEC Western Division-leading Alabama (26-11, 10-2), which swept a home series against Tennessee.
"We have to keep the pressure on," Girouard said. "We lost that one game (at Tennessee) to rain. If Bama keeps winning and everybody keeps winning, it's important at home to make sure we stay ahead of everybody."
South Carolina (21-11, 4-5) threatened against Sneed in the top of the first and with one out in the seventh.
Jodi Fittro and Kim Evans (2-for-3) reached on consecutive singles to open the game before Sneed retired the next three batters she faced -- including the final two on strikeouts.
Sneed, who improved to 7-0 in SEC play and won her 27th straight conference game, went on to retire 19 of the next 20 batters she faced -- including a stretch of 11 straight -- before Megan Cornett's one-out single in the seventh.
"My change-up was working really good," said Sneed of the pitch she finished three innings on strikeouts with. "I finally feel confident that I can throw it at any time and it will work."
"She pitched well," South Carolina coach Joyce Compton. "She's a competitor any time she goes out to the mound."
The highly anticipated Sneed-Megan Matthews pitching duel that was expected Saturday materialized a day later.
Matthews (12-4) held LSU without a run after the Tigers loaded the bases in the first and allowed only five hits.
"She pitched much better," Girouard said of Matthews. "She was more in control. But I'm still proud of our hitters with only two strikeouts. We had some quality at bats."
LSU pushed across its lone run in the third inning.
Center fielder Trena Peel reached on a lead-off triple in the third and scored on Matthews' first offering to April Janzen, a wild pitch. It was Peel's 10th triple of the season, giving her the school's single-season mark and 23rd in her career.
"She jammed me my last at bat," Peel said. "So I said to myself that she wasn't going to do it again and I just turned on it."
That set the stage for Sneed, who cruised into the seventh having set down 11 straight batters. She allowed a one-out single and walked the first USC batter in the series with two outs.
Sneed then reared back and fired three straight strikes, including a knee-bending change-up to end the game.
"They came out ready," Sneed said of USC. "And that's what we needed to get us going. That got us up and going and we battled back and took control."
