STARKVILLE — Bailey Landry’s mind-set doesn’t change.
Regardless of the situation, the junior right fielder tries to go to the plate or to take the field with the same attitude every time.
No. 12 LSU needed Landry to do that Wednesday in the bottom of the seventh
inning against No. 16 Texas A&M.
Following a leadoff single in the seventh, Landry had to keep it going. Her single kept the rally going and helped LSU score three runs for a 5-4 victory in the first round of the Southeastern Conference tournament at Nusz Park.
“I knew my job was going to be if the first batter reached to move her over,” Landry said.
Landry hit one sharply but second baseman Kaitlyn had no chance of throwing out Landry. She later scored on a passed ball to tie the game at 4.
Landry, who is fifth on the team with a .331 batting average, went 2-for-3 in the No. 9 spot in the order. She gave LSU a 2-0 lead with a single to right field that scored Constance Quinn scored from second in the second. The Prairieville, Louisiana, native has 14 multiple-hit games and a six-game hitting streak.
“I think she’s an awesome person,” leadoff hitter Sandra Simmons said. “I think she can bat anywhere from 1-9. She has the power to be anywhere. I love just hitting behind her. It just gives me a positive mind-set.”
Landry has started 14 games in the No. 9 spot in the lineup, but she has mainly batted sixth (19 times). She also had led off, batted second, third, and fifth for the Tigers (43-14).
In addition to her timely hitting, Landry laid out to make the diving catch on Erica Russell’s line drive down the right-field line with runners on first and second and two outs in the second.
“I thought it was a moment where we needed it,” LSU coach Beth Torina said. “I thought we had been a little timid in the first inning defensively in a couple of spots. It was nice to see somebody step up and set the tone for how we needed to play defense.”
Before the at-bat, Landry took advantage of a move by assistant coach Howard Dobson.
“(He) moved me over a little more to my left,” Landry said. “I knew we had to get an out.”
Torina said Dobson has been on target with his defensive alignments in the last few games.
Today, Landry might find herself in a different spot in the lineup against Kentucky, but she will continue to have the same philosophy.
“She just goes out and competes every pitch and wins every pitch she can,” Simmons said.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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