The crowd of 1,531, second only to
Saturday’s record 2,326, witnessed LSU earn its third win over a No. 1-ranked
team in the last two seasons and move into a tie for the Southeastern Conference
championship with an overall record of 48-8 and a 21-4 mark in league play.
Following the conclusion of the game, the Tigers honored their three seniors –
Kristen Hobbs, Emily Turner and Leslie Klein – who all played an important part
in LSU’s win on Sunday, in a ceremony on the field.
“It was great the way we did Senior
Day at the end because this group is so loved and we were able to give them
their due,” said LSU head coach Yvette Girouard. “The whole atmosphere was so
emotional, so it was great we did it at the end. And it was a whole lot sweeter
with the win.”
The Tigers are now tied with the
Lady Vols, who dropped to 51-4 on the year and 21-4 in SEC play, and
Alabama, who swept Kentucky this weekend and
stands at 51-4 and 21-4 in conference play. Tennessee and Alabama
play next weekend in Knoxville, while the purple
and gold travel to Athens, Ga., for a three-game series with Georgia to
conclude league play. LSU controls its own fate for the SEC Championship as the
Tigers hold the tie breakers over both the Crimson Tide and Lady
Vols.
“We’ve got to finish this and
that’s the tough part,” said Girouard. “We’ve got to remain very focused and do
our job in Athens next weekend.”
LSU used a loss of control by
pitcher Monica Abbot to their advantage as it put up three runs in the bottom of
the second inning. Three Tiger players reached on walks and one was hit by a
pitch in the inning, marking just the second three-walk inning for Abbott in her
career and the first since her second career appearance as a
freshman.
“Sometimes that’s the game of
softball,” said Girouard. “A lot of times you are not on the receiving end of
breaks and we got some breaks. She (Abbott) ran into some control problems and
we took full advantage of that.”
Klein led off the second with a six
pitch walk, coming back from an 0-2 count to draw the free pass. Freshman Rachel
Mitchell then earned the second walk of the inning as she also battled back from
an 0-2 count to take her base and send Klein to second. Junior Killian Roessner
was then hit by a pitch to load the bases.
After junior Erika Sluss came in to
pinch run for Roessner at first, junior Tayl’r Hollis came to the plate. With a
3-1 count, Hollis was awarded a ball by home plate umpire Rodney Roth after
Abbott continued to take too much time in the circle. The result was a bases
loaded walk by Hollis for the first run of the game.
Hobbs then came through with a sacrifice fly to
center field that scored Mitchell from third and sent Hollis and Sluss to second
and third. With two outs, freshman Jazz Jackson earned her second RBI of the
weekend on a single down the left field line just over the head of the
Tennessee
third baseman, giving LSU the 3-0 lead, which would eventually hold
up.
In the top of the fifth, the Lady
Vols got on the board for the first time. Erinn Webb was hit by a pitch to start
the inning. Danielle Pieroni then drew a walk as Turner worked herself into a
little trouble. A sacrifice bunt by Liane Horiuchi sent Webb and Lillian
Hammond, running for Pieroni, to second and third. On a fly ball to left center
by India Chiles, Webb was able to score from third on the sacrifice, which cut
the lead to 3-1.
Tennessee got its final run in the seventh as
the Lady Vols stranded the tying run at third. With one out, Jennifer Griffin
drew a walk. A double to right center by pinch hitter Anita Manuma, the first
pinch hitter to earn a hit against LSU all season, Griffin came around to
score.
Sophomore Dani Hofer then came on
in relief of Turner and got Chiles to ground out to her in the
circle as Horiuchi, re-entering for Manuma, moved to third. Kenora Posey then
popped out to Shannon Stein at second base to end the game.
Turner improved to 3-2 all-time
against No. 1-ranked teams as the Chula
Vista, Calif., native
started and earned the win to improve to 17-5 on the season. She allowed two
runs on four hits with three walks and three strikeouts in six and a third
innings. Hofer came on to earn her second save of the season, the first coming
in the series finale against No. 2 Alabama, and retired both batters she faced
to end the game.
“This weekend kind of ran into form
of what’s been happening all season,” said Girouard. “One pitcher starts the
first game on Saturday, the next one starts the second game and then it’s a team
effort on Sunday. Perhaps I should have pulled her (Emily) sooner, but Dani came
in and did a great job.”
Abbott took the complete-game loss
to fall to 39-2 on the season. She allowed three runs on two hits with four
costly walks and five strikeouts. After striking out 13 on Saturday, she was
held to only five on Sunday, as she moved into a tie with former Texas hurler Cat Osterman
for the NCAA career strikeouts record, but was unable to break it.
The Tigers have now faced No.
1-ranked teams on nine occasions. LSU has recorded a 3-6 record in those games,
with all three wins coming in the last two seasons. The Tigers defeated No. 1
Arizona in the second game of the NCAA Super Regionals last year to force a
decisive third game, marking the Wildcats’ first and only loss in the program’s
history in a game at home that would have sent Arizona to the Women’s College
World Series.
LSU will now close out the regular
season with a trip to Athens, Ga.
The Tigers will face Georgia in a three game series,
beginning with a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 p.m. CT and concluding with a
single game on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT.
LSU will then participate in the
SEC Tournament the following weekend in Auburn, Ala.,
which has currently yet to qualify for the postseason tournament. The three-day
single elimination tournament will give one of the eight participating teams an
automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament before the field is announced on Sunday,
May 13.
Saturday
Game 1: Tennessee 2, LSU
1
Game 2: LSU 5, Tennessee
1
In front of the largest crowd in
Southeastern Conference softball history, the fifth-ranked Tigers split an SEC
doubleheader with No. 1-ranked Tennessee, losing the first game, 2-1, before
coming back to win the nightcap, 5-1, on Saturday afternoon at Tiger Park.
Besting the previous LSU attendance
record by more than 800, the crowd of 2,326 saw the purple and gold earn its
second win over a No. 1-ranked team in two years, handing the Lady Vols their
worst loss of the season, tying an 0-4 loss to nationally ranked Florida. Last year, LSU
earned a win at No. 1-ranked and eventual national champion Arizona in the NCAA Super
Regionals. The Tigers improved to 47-8 on the year and 20-4 in league play.
Tennessee
moved to 51-3 overall and 21-3 in conference play.
“First of all, I have to thank our
fans for showing up today and being so effective, giving us a boost and making
these players feel like they matter,” said LSU head coach Yvette Girouard. “I
thought we battled all day long.”
In the nightcap, Klein tied former
Tiger Julie Wiese for the LSU career home run record with her 31st blast. The
Sunrise, Fla., native knocked in all five of the
Tigers’ five runs as part of a 3-for-3 outing with a double. In addition, the
center fielder made a run-saving catch as she went into the wall in left center
field to pull down what would have been at least a two-run double in the top of
the fifth.
“I thought we played outstanding
defense all day long and you are never going to see a better catch than
Klein’s,” said Girouard. “That was one of the prettiest catches you will ever
see. Tayl’r (Hollis) also played unbelievable at third base.”
LSU had nine hits in the contest,
the most allowed by Tennessee all season, which included Klein’s
outing and a 3-for-3 performance by freshman Rachel Mitchell with a pair of runs
scored by both Mitchell and freshman Jazz Jackson.
Turner earned her second career
victory over a top-ranked team with the complete game effort. She improved to
16-5 on the season, limiting the Lady Vols to one run on five hits with three
walks and four strikeouts. Last season, she earned LSU’s first win over a No.
1-ranked team after knocking off Arizona in the
NCAA Super Regionals on the road in Tucson, Ariz.
“Tennessee is a very good offensive team in
that they put the ball in play,” said Girouard. “Their slappers are as pretty a
slapping group as you’ll ever find because they are mechanically so smooth. They
are so fast that they put pressure on you all the time.”
In the top of the first inning,
Tennessee got
its only run of the game. Kenora Posey recorded a one-out walk. She moved to
second on an infield ground out. After Tonya Callahan was hit by a pitch,
Tiffany Huff blooped an RBI single into right field that scored Posey for the
1-0 Lady Vol lead.
In the bottom of the third, LSU
jumped back on top to stay. The Tigers got a one out single by Jackson. A single through
the right side by Mitchell sent Jackson to third. Klein then doubled to right
center, allowing both Jackson and Mitchell to score.
Klein put the game away in the
bottom of the fifth with her three-run home run. Kristen Hobbs led off with a
single up the middle. After a fielder’s choice by Jackson put her on first with one out, Mitchell singled
once again, sending Jackson to third. Klein then nailed a 1-2 pitch
over the right center field wall to put LSU ahead, 5-1.
Megan Rhodes took the complete-game
loss, just her second of the year, to fall to 12-2 on the season. She allowed
five runs on nine hits with two strikeouts.
In the first game, the Lady Vols
got one break in the fifth inning and used it to earn the win. LSU took the 1-0
lead in the bottom of the third on an RBI single by Jackson that scored
Shannon Stein from second after a double. Stein finished 2-for-3 with two of the
Tigers’ four hits in the game.
Tennessee came back in the fifth with two runs
to take the lead that would prove to be the final. Liane Horiuchi reached on a
fielding error by Stein to lead off the inning. A sacrifice bunt sent her to
second. On a single by India Chiles, Horiuchi moved to third.
Chiles then stole second to put a
pair in scoring position. With two outs, Lindsay Schutzler singled on a bloop
into right center that allowed both Horiuchi and the speedy Chiles to
score.
“They put a bunt down when they
needed to and then they executed,” said Girouard. “That was the difference in
the first game, along with (Monica) Abbott. In a game of this magnitude,
everything little thing counts and it did count today, but it counted against
us.”
Dani Hofer took just her second
loss of the season and first in conference play to fall to 21-2 overall.
Allowing just two unearned runs on six hits with a walk, she also recorded five
strikeouts. Abbott earned the win for Tennessee. She allowed a run on four hits with
a walk and 13 strikeouts in the complete-game effort.
“Dani threw very well today, but
Tennessee got
the hits when they needed to,” said Girouard. ‘It’s very hard to keep that
offense from scoring because, again, they have a lot of weapons and put the ball
in play a lot.”