OXFORD, Miss. — With a 5-1 win over Ole Miss, the third-ranked LSU softball team completed the Southeastern Conference series sweep of the Rebels and secured a bid to the SEC Tournament in May.
With their 15th consecutive win, the Tigers improved to 42-7 overall and 19-4 in league play. Ole Miss dropped to 13-31 overall and 6-15 in the SEC.
After throwing 17 innings and picking up both wins on Saturday, Kristin Schmidt came back to earn the complete-game victory to improve to 25-4 on the season. The senior All-American allowed just one unearned run on six hits with six strikeouts.
“It’s great to come in and get the sweep to close out the road series,” said LSU head coach Yvette Girouard. “Kristin was a workhorse for us this weekend and really did a great job in the circle when we needed her. That’s what makes her an All-American. We took the early lead today, got some timely hits and took care of business the rest of the game.”
With Leslie Klein’s single in the first inning, she extended her hitting streak to 15 consecutive games, tying Stephanie Hill’s 15-game hitting streak earlier this season for the longest in school history.
Sophomore Lauren Castle posted a 3-for-4 day, including two runs scored, to move her season average to .400. Junior Leigh Ann Danos also went 3-for-4 on the day, knocking in a team-best three runs.
The Tigers jumped out early with three runs in the top of the first inning. LaDonia Hughes led off with a bunt single. After stealing second, she advanced to third on a single through the left side by Lauren Castle. On the play, Hughes attempted to score as Castle was caught in a rundown between first and second, but was thrown out at the plate, as Castle took second.
Klein then singled through the left side as Castle advanced to third. After Klein stole second, the Rebels intentionally walked Stephanie Hill for the sixth time in the series. With two outs, Leigh Ann Danos singled up the middle, scoring Castle and Klein.
A single to right field by Emily Turner loaded the bases once again. Sara Fitzgerald then singled through the left side to score Hill and give LSU the 3-0 lead.
In the bottom of the third, Ole Miss got on the board. Britte Hardy led off with an infield single. She advanced to second on a bunt single by Brittany Warner. On a strikeout by DeDe Justice, Hardy and Warner moved to second and third on a passed ball.
After Kristen Hobbs came in to play third for the Tigers, she made a great stop on a ball hit by Jill Bandhauer, but threw the ball away at first. The error allowed Hardy to score from third and move Warner to third and Banhauer to second. Schmidt then induced a foul out and a strikeout to end the inning.
In the top of the seventh, the Tigers got the run back and added one. Castle led off with a single. She advanced to second on a foul out to left field. A single up the middle by Hill scored Castle as Hill took second on the throw. Hill moved to third on a ground out by Lauren Delahoussaye. A single to center field by Danos scored Hill from third to extend the lead to 5-1.
After the third inning, the Rebels had two base runners the remainder of the game. Only one runner reach scoring position and no one reached as far as third.
Mary Jane Callahan took the complete-game loss for Ole Miss to fall to 9-14 on the season. She allowed five runs on 13 hits with three walks and three strikeouts.
After nine road games, the Tigers return home for a non-conference game against Southern Miss on Wednesday at 6 p.m. The game will be televised on Cox Sports Television, Baton Rouge cable channel 37.
LSU will then host nationally ranked Auburn in a three-game series next weekend. The Tigers will match-up in a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 2 p.m. before closing out the series with a single game on Sunday at 1 p.m.
LSU 300 000 2
Ole Miss 001 000 0
Schmidt and Danos. Callahan and Warner. W – Schmidt (25-4). L – Callahan (9-14). T – 2:08. A – 143.