LAS VEGAS — After falling 5-1 to second-ranked California, the 14th-ranked LSU softball team came back to defeat Utah, 2-0, on Saturday afternoon in the UNLV Softball Classic.
With the split, the Tigers moved to 6-3 on the season and completed the tournament at 3-1. California improved to 9-0 on the season, while Utah dropped to 4-3 overall.
Kristin Schmidt got the decisions in both games for LSU to move to 3-2 on the season. Against Utah, she got the complete-game shutout. She allowed just three singles with six strikeouts.
Stephanie Hill went 4-for-5 on the day with one run scored and a sacrifice hit. For the tournament, she hit .727 and now leads the team with a .571 average. Leslie Klein went 3-for-6 on the day with a home run, two RBIs and a run scored.
The Tigers broke through in the bottom of the third inning against the Utes. With two outs, Leslie Klein drilled a 2-0 pitch over the right center field fence to give LSU the 1-0 advantage.
Utah broke up the perfect game with two outs in the top of the fourth inning as Glennis Donnelly singled to left field. After a single to right center by Melissa Stahnke that just fell out of the reach of a diving LaDonia Hughes, Donnelly stole third. Schmidt then got out of the inning on a fly ball to left field.
In the bottom of the sixth, Julie Wiese led off with a rip to left field that was caught for the first out. Three-straight singles by Stephanie Hill, Lauren Delahoussaye and Leigh Ann Danos loaded the bases. With two outs, Camille Harris came through with a single through the left side, scoring Uhle, who was pinch running for Hill at third to give the Tigers the 2-0 lead.
Heather Bowlin took the loss for Utah to fall to 0-2 on the season. She allowed two runs on nine hits with three strikeouts.
With two outs in the top of the first against California, the Tigers mounted their first scoring threat, but could not convert. Julie Wiese ripped a single to right field. Stephanie Hill then recorded an infield single on a hard ground ball to shortstop. Lauren Delahoussaye loaded the bases as she reached on a single by the shortstop. A popup to the shortstop then ended the inning with the bases loaded for LSU.
California struck first with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first. With one out, back-to-back singles put runners on first and second. A double steal sent the pair to second and third. Haley Woods then singled up the middle to score both runs as Woods moved to second on the throw. Schmidt worked her way out of trouble in the inning by getting a harmless infield pop out and a strikeout looking.
With two outs in the bottom of the second inning, Alex Sutton singled to right field. Vicky Galindo then tripled off the right center field fence, scoring Sutton from first. Lindsay James then reached on a fielder’s choice as Wiese checked the runner back to third. A single to right by Kaleo Eldredge scored Galindo and sent James to third. Klein then made a diving catch on a line shot to left field by Haley Woods to end the inning with the Bears leading 4-0.
In the top of the third, LSU got a runner into scoring position again. Klein led off with a single to right field. LaDonia Hughes then reached on a fielder’s choice as Klein was put out at on a close play at second. As Hughes attempted to steal second, Wiese was called out at the plate for batter’s interference. With two outs, Stephanie Hill singled to right field, sending Hughes to second. With a runner in scoring position, Delahoussaye grounded out to second to end the inning for the Tigers.
California added one more in the bottom of the fourth. Galindo led off the inning with a first-pitch solo home run to right center field to extend the Bear’s lead to 5-0.
Lauren Castle led off the fifth inning with a double down the left field line for the Tigers, but she could get no farther. Klein flew out to left field for the first out. Hughes and Wiese then grounded out to end the inning.
Camille Harris led off the top of the seventh with a double to left center for LSU after just missing a home run on a foul ball down the left field line. She advanced to third on an infield groundout by Lauren Castle. A deep fly ball to center by Klein scored Harris from third to cut the lead to 5-1. The Tigers could get no closer however, as Hughes grounded out to second to end the game.
Kelly Anderson got the complete-game win for the Bears to improve to 5-0 on the season. She allowed one run on seven hits with one walk and two strikeouts.
Schmidt allowed five runs on nine hits with one walk and five strikeouts in five innings. Emily Turner came on in relief and allowed just one hit with a strikeout in an inning of work.
The Tigers now return home to host the Purple & Gold Challenge. LSU will begin play on Friday against Alcorn State at 2 p.m. before taking on Texas-San Antonio at 6 p.m. Southern Miss and Louisiana Tech will also participate in the three-day tournament.