STARKVILLE — Sandra Simmons is tough.
The LSU senior has developed a reputation as being one of the Southeastern Conference’s most tenacious players.
Simmons showed that attitude in the LSU softball team’s victory against Texas A&M on Wednesday. She delivered again Thursday, hitting a three-run home run to lift No. 12 LSU past No. 11 Kentucky 3-1 in the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament at Nusz Park.
“Sandra’s the kid you don’t want to meet in a dark alley because she knows she’s going to find a way to win,” LSU coach Beth Torina said. “She’s just so prepared for every game. She studies and she prepares. She works extra every week at a certain time, and she has never missed it, to my knowledge, in four years.”
Torina said she found a page of notes — front and back — in the senior left fielder’s helmet after the game. Simmons took notes while watching film and saw things she could take advantage of against Kentucky.
After going 2-for-4 with an RBI Wednesday in a victory against Texas A&M, Simmons went 2-for-3 and gave the Tigers (44-14) their first runs against the Wildcats in four games. Kentucky shut out LSU three times in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Simmons said the Tigers weren’t going to lose to the Wildcats for the fourth time.
After back-to-back one-out singles by Amber Serrett and Emily Griggs, Kentucky coach Rachel Lawson pulled starter Meagan Prince for SEC Pitcher of the Year Kelsey Nunley. Simmons hit Nunley’s 1-1 pitch over the right-field wall for her third home run. She was clapping before she reached first base.
“The way I swung, no,” Simmons said when asked if she knew it was gone. “Once I got to first I realized it. But I knew if it wasn’t out, I was doing a job. It was moving them into scoring position. If it wasn’t out, Bailey Landry was going to score them.”
Simmons went 2-for-8 against Nunley in two regular-season games and was excited to see her for a third time and saw the opportunity as a time for revenge.
Lawson called the pitch and took all the blame for the home run.
The 5-foot-6 Simmons doesn’t think of herself as tough, but she’s confident her teammates and coaches believe she is.
Lawson has come to respect Simmons, who is batting .382 with 28 RBIs.
“When I respect a player it’s because of their toughness, it’s because they have to work so hard to get everything that they have,” Lawson said. “She’s not somebody who’s particularly large in stature. She’s not somebody you would necessary notice at first look, but each year she’s played she’s gotten better and better.”
Simmons and seventh-seeded LSU will play third-seeded Tennessee at 1:30 p.m. today (ESPNU) in the semifinals. Tennessee beat LSU 7-5 in their only game in last season’s tournament in Baton Rouge.
“I’m proud of the effort we got from Sandra,” Torina said. “I think she’s worked really hard for everything she gets and deserves a lot of success.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.