BATON ROUGE — The 19th-ranked LSU softball team dropped a pair of Southeastern Conference games to No. 10 Alabama, 13-0 in five innings and 7-1, on Saturday afternoon at Tiger Park.
With the losses, the Tigers fell to 17-11 overall and 1-8 in SEC play. The Crimson Tide improved to 36-7 on the season and 9-3 in conference play, completing the series sweep.
“We’re going to see what we’re made of after this weekend,” said LSU head coach Yvette Girouard. “Nothing went right – from Alabama walking in here and dominating us, to their fans dominating this ballpark – it was an Alabama weekend in Tiger Park.”
In the first game, LSU got in an early 1-0 hole in the first inning before giving up five runs in the second, four in the third and three in the fourth to get run-ruled for only the fifth time in the program’s nine-year history.
“We didn’t play bad in Georgia, but we played bad this weekend,” Girouard said. “We’ve got to turn this thing around some kind of way. We need a spark. We need leadership and we need someone to do something good.”
In the second game, things seem to turn around for the Tigers as LSU got on the board in the bottom of the first with a 1-0 lead. Emily Turner carried a one-hit shutout into the fifth inning before LSU gave up six runs in the fifth and one in the seventh. The Tigers left eight runners on base in the game, including six in scoring position and three at third base.
“We can’t leave runners on base, we’ve got to score first and we can’t give up the big innings. These are the things we need to keep working on. Our practices have been going well, we just have to get it done in a game. You have to bring the pitching in from the bullpen to the mound and bring the practice to the games.”
Camille Harris and Leslie Klein each led LSU at the plate on the day with 2-for-6 efforts. Harris recorded both hits in the second game, while recording her seventh double of the season. Klein posted a hit in each game for the Tigers. In the second game, Lauren Castle recorded her second triple of the year, while Stephanie Hill posted her fifth double of the season.
Tiffany Garcia took the loss for the Tigers in game one to fall to 5-2 on the season. She allowed eight runs, seven earned, on six hits with seven walks and three strikeouts in three and a third innings. Garcia started the game and went for one and a third innings before being relieved. She came back on in the fourth inning and closed out the final two innings. Megan Jolly came on in relief in the second and allowed five runs, four earned, on four hits with two walks in an inning and two-thirds.
Stephanie VanBrakle earned the complete-game win to improve to 16-4 on the season for Alabama. She allowed two hits with seven strikeouts in five innings.
In the second game, Emily Turner took the loss to fall to 8-6 on the season. She allowed six runs on six hits with a walk and three strikeouts in five and a third innings. Turner started the game and went four and two-thirds before being relieved. She came back on in the seventh and pitched the final two-thirds innings. Garcia came on in relief in the fifth and allowed one run on three hits with two walks in an inning and two-thirds.
Girouard was ejected in the top of the second inning of game two after arguing several illegal pitch calls against Turner. The calls continued to go against Turner, including one that started the fifth inning and delayed the game several minutes as the umpires reviewed the NCAA rule book.
“They were being pretty technical with the illegal pitch calls,” said Girouard. If they wanted to, they could call an illegal pitch on almost every pitch if they are going to be that technical.”
Jennifer Wright earned the complete-game win to improve to 13-2 for the Crimson Tide. She allowed one run on six hits with three walks in six and a third innings. Chrissy Owens came on in relief in the seventh and faced two batters, striking out one, to close out the game.
LSU now travels to Starkville, Miss., for a three-game SEC series against Mississippi State. The Tigers will face the Bulldogs in a doubleheader next Wednesday beginning at 3 p.m. before closing out the series on Thursday at 5 p.m.
Alabama 154 30 – 13 10 1
LSU 000 00 – 0 2 1
Garcia, Jolly (4) and Hobbs. VanBrakle and Courtney. WP – VanBrakle (16-4). LP – Garcia (5-2). HR – Accetturo, Praytor. T – 1:56.
Alabama 000 060 1 – 7 9 0
LSU 100 000 – 1 6 1
Turner, Garcia (5) and Roessner. Wright and Courtney. WP – Wright (12-3). LP – Turner (8-6). T – 2:40. A – 761.