BATON ROUGE — In front of the largest regular season crowd in Tiger Park history, Andrea Smith came up with a walk-off RBI double in the bottom of the eighth inning to give the eighth-ranked LSU softball team the doubleheader split with No. 2 Alabama, 5-4, after falling, 6-0, in game one, on Saturday afternoon.
Behind an attendance of 1,371, the third largest crowd in Tiger softball history and the largest non-NCAA Regional attendance in LSU history, the Tigers picked up their 30th win of the season with the victory to improve to 30-5 overall and 6-2 in Southeastern Conference play. The Crimson Tide lost only their second game of the year, falling to 31-2 on the season and 10-2 in league action. The pair will meet in the rubber match on Sunday at 1 p.m.
“It was great to see all the fans come out today,” said LSU head coach Yvette Girouard. “They were into the game and we just appreciate that so much and hope to see them all back here on Sunday.”
The game will be televised on SEC-TV in Baton Rouge on Fox Sports Southwest, cable channel 38. In addition the game will be broadcast on the LSU Sports Radio Network in Baton Rouge on The X ? 104.5/104.9 FM and in the Geaux Zone on LSUsports.net. It will conclude the annual “Bark in the Park” weekend as dog owners are encouraged to bring their family friendly canines to Tiger Park on a leash.
With the game knotted at four apiece in the bottom of the eighth, Smith came up to the plate with Vanessa Soto standing at first base. Smith proceeded to drive the 2-1 pitch deep into left center field, allowing Soto to come all the way around from first and score the game-winning run. It marked the third hit, and second double, of the game for Smith, who knocked in three of LSU’s four runs.
“After the first game, we just wanted to take the second game one pitch at a time,” said Girouard. “Everyone was so emotional with their family’s here for “Family Weekend” and they all know how big this series is, but shame on us because we made it even bigger. We made this game out to be like the College World Series and we can’t do that. All of the weekends are important. We just had to settle down and play.”
“After feeling dejected after the first game when Alabama’s hits seemed to have eyes, our hits started to have eyes in the second game and I think that gave our team energy.”
Dani Hofer earned the win to improve to 12-1 on the season. She allowed four runs, three earned, on seven hits with three walks and seven strikeouts in the complete-game effort. Allowing only one earned run through six, she gave up back-to-back home runs to start the seventh. The sophomore then retired the next two batters before giving up a single to Lauren Parker, who was then caught stealing to end the inning.
In the top of the eight, she got a strikeout before allowing her final walk of the game. With the go-ahead run on first, she got a foul out to left field before striking out Kellie Eubanks to end the threat and send the game to the bottom half of the eighth with the chance to win it.
In the second contest, Dee Dee Henderson and Jazz Jackson also recorded multiple-hit games, coming up with identical 2-for-4 performances, while Henderson scored a run. Leslie Klein recorded a two-RBI double in the fifth for her only hit of the game, extending her hitting streak to seven.
Charlotte Morgan took the loss for Alabama in relief in game two to fall to 6-2 on the year. She allowed one run on two hits with two walks and two strikeouts in an inning and two-thirds. Blair Potter started and went four innings, giving up three runs on five hits with a walk and a strikeout. Allison Moore pitched the middle two innings, giving up a run on three hits with a strikeout.
The Crimson Tide got on the board first in game two. With two outs, Parker singled up the middle. She stole second and scored on an RBI single through the left side by Dani Woods.
In the bottom of the second, the Tigers took the lead. With one out, Rachel Mitchell singled up the middle. An infield single by Soto put runners on first and second. With two outs, Smith doubled down the right field line to score both Mitchell and Soto.
Alabama came back to tie it up in the top of the fourth. With one out, Mandy Burford drew a walk. A single to left center by Morgan moved Burford to third. She came around to score as the throw from Klein in center field sailed away from Tayl’r Hollis at third and into the LSU dugout.
The Tigers rallied back for two more in the bottom of the fifth. Smith led off with a full-count walk. With Erika Sluss pinch running for Smith, Sluss moved to second on a single by Henderson. Klein then came up with a two-RBI double to center field that scored both Sluss and Henderson to put LSU ahead, 4-2.
With the Tigers needed only three outs to close out the game, Ashley Holcombe and Kelley Montalvo came up with back-to-back home runs for Alabama to tie it up.
In the bottom of the eighth, Mitchell led off with a walk. On a sacrifice attempt by Soto, Mitchell was out at second. With two outs, Smith came up with her walk-off double as Soto slid across the plate well ahead of the throw from center field for the 5-4 win.
In game one, LSU and Alabama were scoreless heading into the top of the sixth. The Crimson Tide then got timely two-out hitting to score a pair of runs. Alabama put the game away with a three-run home run by Morgan in the top of the seventh that gave it the 6-0 win.
“In the first game we tried to make some things happen and it was like we had some “at-em’s” disease. Not to take anything away from Chrissy Owens because she did pitch well, but when they scored their first two runs, that ball had eyes, but it finally developed for us in the second game.”
Emily Turner took the loss in game one to fall to 10-4 on the season. She allowed four runs on eight hits with two walks and five strikeouts in six innings. Tiffany Garcia came on in relief and allowed two runs on one hit, the Holcombe homer, with a walk in an inning.
Owens earned the complete-game win for the Crimson Tide to improve to 16-0 on the year. She allowed three hits with five strikeouts her eighth complete-game shutout of the season.
Having played the Crimson Tide more than any opponent in school history, the pair also have the most played rivalry in SEC history. The Tigers hold the 27-20 all-time series advantage against Alabama, including an 12-7 record in Baton Rouge. LSU took 2-of-3 in Tuscaloosa last year.