BATON ROUGE — Despite the abnormally cold, overcast weather, the fifth-ranked LSU softball team earned its sixth Southeastern Conference series win of the season with a 2-0 shutout victory over South Carolina on Saturday afternoon at Tiger Park.
With the temperatures never getting to 50 degrees and the forecast threatening rain the entire day, the Tigers gutted it out and earned the win to take the series, 2-1, and improve to 39-6 on the year and 14-3 in conference play. The loss dropped the Gamecocks to 26-14 overall and 4-10 in league action, as LSU earned its seventh series win over South Carolina in 11 years.
“We got the breaks early, which was something we didn’t get in yesterday’s first game,” said LSU head coach Yvette Girouard. “They got them yesterday and we didn’t. But, we won the series and that is what we aimed to do when we came out today.”
The win also kept the Tigers in first place in the SEC Western Division, remaining percentage points ahead of Alabama. LSU dropped out of first place overall with its loss in the first game of the series to the Gamecocks on Friday, but are just percentage points behind Tennessee.
Senior centerfielder Leslie Klein tied the Tiger softball career RBI record with one in the bottom of the first. For her career, she now has 174, which ties her with Tara Asbill from 1997-2000. In addition, the two-time All-American moved into a tie with Asbill for eighth in career RBIs in SEC history. The LSU record holder for career doubles, that first-inning double gave her 59 for her career, which is tied with former Florida Gator Ashley Boone for fifth in league history.
“Leslie also has the highest career batting average at LSU and when you consider the people who have played in this program, that is quite an achievement,” said Girouard. “All of these accomplishments from a player who has had two blown ACLs makes it even that much more impressive.”
A day after throwing a one-hit shutout, Dani Hofer came back to throw a two-hit shutout in the series finale. The win moved her to 17-1 on the season as she earned both wins in the series. In the final game, she allowed just two hits and a walk and struck out nine.
After giving up a leadoff infield single to open the game, she retired 17 straight before an error by Kristen Hobbs at first put a South Carolina runner on base. Hofer’s only other base hit allowed was a bloop single to center field to open the seventh. After a two-out walk in the seventh put the tying run on base, she struck out Gamecock pitcher Melissa Hendon to end the game.
“I can’t imagine that it is too much fun to pitch in this kind of weather because I’m shivering in the dugout with two jackets on,” said Girouard. “It’s what we play in sometimes. It’s not like we haven’t played in conditions like this or that we haven’t practiced in weather like this, because we have, and when the umpire says play ball, the elements can’t be a factor.”
LSU got all the scoring it would need in the bottom of the first. After not being able to capitalize against Hendon on Friday, the Tigers got two quick runs on four hits and a walk in the first. Jazz Jackson led off with a four-pitch walk. On a double to left center by Rachel Mitchell, Jackson was thrown out trying to score from first as Mitchell advanced to third.
The SEC leader in doubles, Klein, then pounded out her 17th double of the year, three shy of the LSU single-season record, to score Mitchell for the 1-0 lead. With two outs, Tayl’r Hollis came up with a single down the right field line that scored Klein to score Klein. A single by Hobbs and a walk by Vanessa Soto loaded the bases, but South Carolina shortstop Lindsay Walker made a fantastic running, over the shoulder catch going out into the outfield off the bat of Shannon Stein that saved at least one run to end the inning.
Hendon then settled down and scattered three hits in the next five innings as the Tigers got singles in the second and fourth and a double in the fifth, but could not push another run across. After earning the win in game one of the series, Hendon took the loss in the finale to fall to 11-10 on the year. She allowed two runs on seven hits with two walks and seven strikeouts in the complete-game effort.
“Hendon had my attention because I had seen what she did against Alabama and Tennessee and they legitimately struggled against her,” said Girouard. “I think they are a much better team with her on the mound than they show. If they could get a little more run production, she would be quite effective.”
LSU will conclude its six-game home stand on Wednesday against Southeastern Louisiana at 6 p.m. The game will be televised on Cox Sports Television in Baton Rouge on cable channel 37, and 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.
The Tigers will then travel to Starkville, Miss., for an SEC doubleheader against Mississippi State next Saturday at 1 p.m. The series, originally scheduled for the mid-week, was pushed back to the weekend and will serve as LSU’s final doubleheader series.