GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Behind solid pitching and timely hitting, the LSU softball team swept a pair of games from 16th-ranked Florida, 4-3 and 3-0, on Saturday afternoon at the Florida Softball Stadium to clinch a berth in the Southeastern Conference Tournament.
The two wins, combined with a pair of losses by Ole Miss, clinched a spot for the Tigers (29-18, 11-15 SEC) in the eight-team tournament in Gainesville in two weeks. The Gators dropped to 36-18 overall and 15-11 in league play. The pair will complete the series with a single game on Sunday at 11 a.m. (CT). The game can be heard on the LSU Sports Network in Baton Rouge on Country Legends 107.3 FM and on in the internet at www.LSUsports.net.
“An opportunistic day for the Tigers,” said LSU head coach Yvette Girouard. “I thought that both Emily (Turner) and Megan (Jolly) pitched well. Emily went as far as she could in the first game and Megan came in and shut the door. Emily came in and was in control in the second game.
“It was timely hitting for us today,” Girouard continued. “We played good defense when we had to and made some good pitches when we needed to. I am really happy for the team that we swept on a Saturday on the road.”
Turner started both games for the Tigers, going four and a third innings in the first game with no decision before earning the complete-game win in game two. She allowed three runs, one earned, on five hits with two walks and six strikeouts in four and a third innings in her first outing. In the second game, she threw a four-hit shutout to improve to 15-12 on the year. She struck out seven and did not allow a walk.
In the first game, Jolly came on in relief in the fifth inning. She allowed just two hits with three walks and three strikeouts in two and two-thirds scoreless innings. With the win, she improved to 7-4 on the season and allowed just one earned run in her last 20 innings.
At the plate, juniors Camille Harris and Stephanie Hill and sophomore Leslie Klein, all posted multiple hits for the LSU on the day. Harris went 3-for-7 with an RBI and a run scored. Hill posted a 3-for-8 day with an RBI and a run scored, while Klein was 3-for-6 at the plate with an RBI and a run scored.
In the top of the third inning of game one, the Tigers capitalized on two Florida errors to put up three runs. Andrea Smith led off with a single down the left field. On a sacrifice attempt by Kristen Hobbs, the play to second was not in time to get Dee Dee Henderson, running for Smith. A passed ball put runners on second and third.
A single through the left side by Harris scored Henderson before a throwing error by the Gator left fielder scored Hobbs and allowed Harris to take second. A sacrifice bunt by Lauren Castle moved Harris to third before an infield single by Hill scored Harris from third for the 3-0 LSU lead.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Florida got on the board. Lauren Roussell was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning after Lauren Delahoussaye dropped a foul ball on the previous pitch for an error. With Nikki Baldwin running for Roussell, she moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Savana Kelly.
A single through the left side by Michelle Diaz pushed Baldwin to third. With one out, an infield ground out put runners on second and third. Stacie Pestrak then doubled to right field, scoring Baldwin and Diaz to cut the Tiger lead to 3-2.
The Gators tied the game up in the bottom of the fifth inning. Melissa Zick led off with a solo home run to left center field, her seventh home run of the season.
LSU came back to take the lead for good in the top of the sixth inning. Klein led off with a double to left center and advanced to third on an error by the pitcher. After Delahoussaye reached on a fielding error by the pitcher. Quinlan Duhon hit a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Klein from third for the game-winning run.
Stacey Stevens took the complete-game loss for Florida to fall to 21-11 on the season. She allowed four runs, one earned, on six hits with a walk and four strikeouts.
The Gators threatened early in the second game. In the bottom of the first inning, Shelley Stevens reached on a throwing error by Smith at shortstop and advanced to second. She moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Diaz. On a fly ball to center field by Zick, Stevens was called out at third after failing to tag at third base on the sacrifice fly attempt.
LSU took the lead in the top of the third. With one out, Harris singled up the middle. A single down the left field line by Castle put runners on first and second.
With two outs and Castle on second and Hill on first after a fielder’s choice, Vanessa Soto hit an RBI single up the middle. On the play, Castle scored as Hill moved to third as Soto took second on the throw. Klein then singled through the left side, scoring Hill from third before Soto was thrown out at the plate with the Tigers leading 2-0.
In the top of the sixth inning, LSU added a run to its lead. Hill led off with a single up the middle. With Henderson running for Hill, se moved to second on a foul out by Soto to left field. Klein then reached on a fielding error by the second baseman as Henderson moved to third. On a fielder’s choice by Delahoussaye, Klein advanced to second as the play held Henderson at third.
With the bases loaded, Heidi Robin came in to pinch run for Delahoussaye. Stacey Stevens came in to relieve Mandy Schuerman in the circle for Florida. On a fly ball to center field by Duhon, the throw home got away from Zick, allowing Henderson to score and give the Tigers the 3-0 advantage.
Schuerman took the loss for the Gators to fall to 10-6 on the season. She allowed three runs, two earned, on six hits with a walk and two strikeouts in five and a third innings. Stacey Stevens came on in relief in the sixth and allowed one walk with a strikeout in an inning and two-thirds.