HAMMOND, La. — With a pair of two-out errors on the final play of the game, the fifth-ranked LSU softball team fell to Southeastern Louisiana, 1-0, on Wednesday night at North Oak Park.
The loss snapped the Tigers’ nine-game winning streak as LSU dropped to 46-7 on the season. The Lady Lions improved to 28-26 overall as Southeastern snapped the Tigers’ 55-game winning streak over in-state opponents dating back to April 2001.
With two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, LSU committed a pair of errors on the final play of the game that gave the Lady Lions the game-winning run. After a strikeout and a fly out to start the inning, Kaley Christy reached on a two-out single to left field.
On a bloop out into left center by Arica Rodriguez, Tiger shortstop Andrea Smith went back to make a nice catch, but dropped the ball, allowing Christy to advance to third as the ball came back into the infield. Cody Trahan attempted to make a play on Christy going to third, but sailed the ball out into foul territory in left field, allowing Christy to score the only run of the game.
“Congratulations to Southeastern for their win,” said LSU head coach Yvette Girouard. “We didn’t do enough to earn the win. Southeastern got the one break and won the ballgame, but that is usually what happens when you don’t do enough to earn the victory.”
Trahan took the loss to fall to 4-1 on the season. She gave up the one unearned run on four hits with a walk and tied her career high with 11 strikeouts. Rachel Ray earned the complete-game shutout win for Southeastern to improve to 18-10 on the year. She gave up eight hits, but held LSU scoreless with a walk and just one strikeout.
Jazz Jackson led the Tigers offensively as the freshman went 3-for-3 in the contest. It marked the seventh time she has recorded three or more hits in a game this season and the 20th multiple-hit game of the year. Tayl’r Hollis recorded a pair of hits in going 2-for-3 in the game, giving her a hit in 16 of the last 17 games.
In the bottom of the first inning, Southeastern got something going, but could not push a run across. With one out, Michelle Lemons drew a walk. Carolann Wenisch then singled for the first hit of the game as Lemons moved to second. With two outs, Brooke Lockhart was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Trahan then struck out Heather Sherrill to get out of trouble and end the inning.
In the top of the second, Killian Roessner knocked a single with one out. On a wild pitch, Roessner moved to second and then took third as Allyson McCubbins throw to second sailed into right field. Unfortunately, the Tigers could not take advantage as a pair of ground outs ended the inning.
In the top of the fifth, LSU put a runner on third once again, but could not convert. With one out, Shannon Stein was hit by a pitch. On a single through the right side by Jackson, Stein moved to third with two outs. The Lady Lions got out of the inning with a pop out to third base by Quinlan Duhon.
The Tigers threatened once again in the sixth, but still could not get on the scoreboard. With one out, Leslie Klein drew a walk. She moved to second on an infield single by Tayl’r Hollis. On an infield ground out by Roessner, Klein moved to third and Hollis advanced to second. Kristen Hobbs then drilled a ball deep to left field, but it fell just short of the fence and into the glove of Lockhart to end the inning.
LSU had runners on base again in the top of ht seventh, but one single was erased by a runner left early call at first and the other was stranded at first as the inning ended. The Tigers finished with eight hits, but left seven on base in the game.
LSU’s final regular season home games will be a three-game series against No. 1 Tennessee this 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.