FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — With Emily Turner‘s first career no-hitter and a school record for combined hits in the Southeastern Conference doubleheader, the sixth-ranked LSU softball team shut out Arkansas, 5-0 and 7-0, on Saturday afternoon at Lady’Back Yard.
With the wins, the Tigers improved to 45-6 on the year and 18-3 in league action, having now won eight-straight games. The Lady Razorbacks fell to 20-36 on the year and 4-16 in conference play. The pair will close out the series with a single game on Sunday at 1 p.m. LSU assured itself of the series win with the doubleheader sweep, avenging last season’s series loss to Arkansas at Lady’Back Yard.
“This was a great day in Fayetteville,” said LSU head coach Yvette Girouard. “We came away with two wins. The key is we need one more tomorrow and then it will be mission accomplished.”
Turner earned her first career no-hitter in the second game of the series. The senior All-American allowed just three walks and hit one batter in facing four over the minimum in the game. From the second inning until the sixth inning, she retired 12 straight batters before allowing two walks in the final six batters. In addition, she struck out seven in the first Tiger softball conference no-hitter since Britni Sneed no-hit Ole Miss in 2002.
“The pitchers threw very well, obviously with Emily’s no-hitter,” said Girouard. “It was great to see her get back on track.”
LSU also had an amazing day at the plate. The Tigers combined for 33 total hits, a school record for an SEC doubleheader. LSU got 18 hits in the first game before coming back with 15 in game two. The Tigers topped the 29 hits LSU recorded in a doubleheader against Georgia in 1998.
Junior Tayl’r Hollis also recorded a hit in both games, finishing the day 4-for-8 with two runs scored. With those hits, Hollis extended her hitting streak to 15 games, tying the school record. Junior Dee Dee Henderson recorded a 15-game hitting streak earlier in the season, while senior Leslie Klein and former Tiger Stephanie Hill had 15-game streaks in 2004. Hollis now has the chance to break the school record with a hit in Sunday’s game.
Junior Killian Roessner had an amazing day at the plate. The catcher went 7-for-8, including hits in her first six at-bats, to record a .875 batting average. She recorded a double, an RBI and three runs scored, which included a steal of home as part of a double steal. Freshman Jazz Jackson was 5-for-8 with three RBIs, while freshman Rachel Mitchell was 4-for-8 with a triple, a home run, three RBIs and two runs scored.
“Several players had an outstanding day at the plate,” said Girouard. “Killian continues to be solid and it was great to see Tayl’r continue to hit very well. Jazz came up with some timely hits for us at the bottom of the lineup and Rachel had the big bomb in the second game.”
As a team, the Tigers hit .452 on the day to increase their team batting average six points to .332 for the season. Four players pushed their season averages over .400 for the season, including Roessner, Jackson and Henderson, who all still trail the team-leading Leslie Klein, who is hitting .411 for the year. Only one LSU starter is hitting below .300 for the season.
In game one, the Tigers recorded a season-best 18 hits, which is tied for the seventh most in a single game in school history. LSU got a 4-for-4 performance from Roessner and three-hit marks from Henderson and Hollis. The Tigers jumped out with a run in the top of the first. LSU added two more in the third and a pair in the seventh for the 5-0 win.
Sophomore Dani Hofer recorded her 10th complete-game shutout of the season. She scattered just four with a walk while striking out five to improve to 20-1 on the year. Hofer has now 12 straight decisions, with her only loss this season coming at nationally ranked Washington on March 4.
Katy Henry started and took the loss to fall to 13-18 for Arkansas. She allowed three runs on nine hits with two strikeouts in two and a third innings. Miranda Dixon came on in relief in the third and allowed two runs on nine hits with a strikeout in four and two-thirds.
In the nightcap, LSU recorded 15 hits, including three by Roessner and Mitchell, who posted her seventh home run of the year, tying her for the team lead. Klein and Jackson also posted multiple-hit games, while Mitchell and Jackson each had two RBIs. The Tigers took the lead with a run in the second. Five runs in the fifth broke the game open before LSU closed out the scoring with a run in the top of the seventh.
Dixon started and took the loss for the Lady’Backs to fall to 4-14 on the year. She allowed six runs, two earned, on 11 hits with three strikeouts in four and two-thirds innings. Henry came on in relief in the fifth and gave up two hits with two strikeouts in an inning and a third. Brandy Foust gave up one run on two hits with a strikeout in the seventh innings, her first career collegiate pitching appearance.
After a mid-week game at Southeastern Louisiana on Wednesday at 6 p.m., LSU’s final regular season home games will be a three-game series against No. 1 Tennessee next weekend. The series begins with a doubleheader on Saturday at 3 p.m., in a game time that was pushed back two hours for television, and concludes with a single game on Sunday at 1 p.m. The first and third games of the series will be broadcast live nationally on ESPN2, in Baton Rouge on cable channel 36.