BATON ROUGE — Dodging the rain, the second-ranked LSU softball team split a doubleheader with Auburn on Saturday afternoon at Tiger Park, losing game one, 2-1, before winning game two, 11-0 in five innings, to clinch the Southeastern Conference Western Division title.
Although the Fighting Tigers (44-8, 20-5 SEC) allowed just one hit in the first game, that one hit, combined with three LSU errors, proved to be its undoing as AU (35-13, 16-10 SEC) snapped the purple and gold’s 16-game win streak. LSU came back to pound out 11 runs on 13 hits in the second game, while once again allowing just one hit.
“I told them we didn’t do a very good job of coaching in the first game and to bounce back in the second game,” said LSU head coach Yvette Girouard. “I asked them to only do what they could do. We were motivated and prepared today, but we tried to make too many things happen.
“What a tough loss for (Kristin) Schmidt, allowing just one hit,” said Girouard. “I thought we should have made the play. Again, we were just trying to create too many things. We need to just stay with what we do best and that is usually just hitting people in, but we just didn’t get any primetime hitting. We had all the right people up but we let that one get away from us.”
The win in game two secured the purple and gold its seventh SEC Western Division championship in eight seasons. LSU is now four and a half games ahead of Auburn in the West with four games remaining. The Fighting Tigers are a game and a half ahead of Georgia in the overall standings.
“We won nothing last year and we’ve won a few things already this year,” said Girouard. “Obviously we want the big prize, but we have to take it one game at a time. “
A year removed from having her arm broken by a pitch against Auburn, sophomore Camille Harris came out on fire against AU on Saturday. The right fielder knocked her fifth home run of the season in the first game, giving the purple and gold 53 on the season and a new team record. In the second game, she nailed LSU’s first grand slam of the season as part of a five-run fourth inning to finish the day at 3-for-6 with two home runs, two runs scored and six runs batted in.
Schmidt took the hard-luck loss in game one to fall to 26-4 on the season. The senior All-American allowed two unearned runs on just one hit with a walk and eight strikeouts.
She faced the minimum through the first three innings, despite an error in the third that ended the perfect game. In the fourth, the leadoff batter, Kristina McCain, reached on Schmidt’s error. McCain advanced to second on an error by Lauren Delahoussaye at shortstop as Shannon Anderson reached on the fielder’s choice.
A double steal then put runners on second and third. With two outs, Ashley Griffin recorded Auburn’s only hit of the game, a bloop single to right field that fell just short of a diving Harris. The hit proved the game winner as it scored both runners and gave AU the 2-0 lead.
LSU had runners on second and third in the first before having the leadoff runner on third in the third but could not push a run across. With one out in the fifth, Harris hit the solo home run to left field to cut the Auburn lead to one, 2-1.
In the sixth, the purple and gold had runners on first and second with no outs, but a failed double steal attempt, a pop out and a strikeout ended the inning and LSU’s best chance to tie the game as the Fighting Tigers went down in order in the seventh.
Kristen Keyes earned the complete-game win for Auburn to improve to 21-9 on the season. She allowed one run on three hits with three walks and four strikeouts.
In game two, LSU dominated AU from start to finish on both sides of the ball. After Auburn got its only hit of the game on a bloop single to left field, Emily Turner shut down the blue and orange the rest of the way, retiring the final 14 batters in order.
Turner earned the complete-game win to improve to 17-3 on the year, allowing just one hit while striking out three. It was the first one-hitter of the freshman’s collegiate career.
In the bottom of the second inning, Julie Wiese got LSU on the board with a leadoff home run to center field. In her first game since fouling a ball off her face in the first game of the Ole Miss series, she now has seven home runs on the season.
The purple and gold broke the game open with five runs in the bottom of the third. Lauren Castle led off with a bunt single. She advanced to second on a groundout by Leslie Klein. An infield single deep in the hole at shortstop by Stephanie Hill scored Castle from second. Lauren Delahoussaye then singled to left field, moving Hill to second. With one out, a walk to Leigh Ann Danos loaded the bases.
In a steady downpour, Sara Fitzgerald worked a full count and the fouled off five pitches before finally knocking a single up the middle that scored Klein and Hill and sent Danos to third. Harris ended the scoring in the inning with a single to left field that scored Danos from third with LSU leading 6-1.
“Sara battled and battled and battled,” said Girouard. “They very easily could have pulled the tarp at that time but they didn’t and we got this one in.”
After a 12-minute lightening delay to start the bottom of the fifth inning, Klein led off with a single through the right side. A second infield single by Hill sent Klein to second. Delahoussaye singled up the middle to score Klein and send Hill to second. A walk to Wiese loaded the bases. With two outs, Harris pounded a grand slam to left center field to run the final to 11-0.
Holly Currie started and took the loss for Auburn to fall to 8-2 on the season. She allowed six runs on seven hits with two walks and a strikeout in two and two-thirds innings. Jenny Diaz came on in relief in the third to allow five runs on six hits with a walk in an inning and a third.
The series will conclude with a single game on Sunday at 1 p.m. The LSU Sports Network will broadcast the game in the Baton Rouge area on Country Legends WJHN 107.3 FM. The game will also be televised on Cox Sports Television in the Baton Rouge area on cable channel 37.
“We’ve got to come back out with fire tomorrow,” said Girouard,” and I think we will.”
Auburn 000 200 0 – 2 1 2
LSU 000 010 0 – 1 3 3
Keyes and Dean. Schmidt and Danos. W – Keyes (21-9). L – Schmidt (26-4). HR – Harris. T – 1:55.
Auburn 000 00 – 0 1 0
LSU 015 5x – 11 13 0
Currie, Diaz (3) and Dean. Turner and Danos. W – Turner (17-3). L – Currie (8-2). HR – Wiese, Harris. T – 1:27. A – 1,128.