AUBURN, Ala. — Kirsten Shortridge and Rachel Mitchell combined for a 9-for-12 effort at the plate as the No. 20 LSU softball team split a doubleheader against Auburn Saturday at Jane B. Moore Field.
LSU (31-15-1, 14-10-1 SEC) won game one 3-2 before dropping a 6-1 decision to Auburn (29-25, 9-18 SEC) in the second game.
“Kudos to Kirsten because she wasn’t feeling good,” head coach Yvette Girouard said. “She was absolutely phenomenal in all facets of her game. Rachel loves this ballpark. I was having d?j? vu moments of the 2007 SEC Tournament. It’s really conducive to her swing. Hopefully, she can continue on this streak because we need her bat.”
The rubber game of the series is slated for Sunday at 1 p.m. and will be broadcasted live on The X 104.5/104.9 FM. Patrick Wright and Matt Dunaway will call the action and live stats also will be available on LSUSports.net
Game 1 ? LSU 3, Auburn 2
LSU fired out to a 1-0 advantage in the third inning as Rachel Mitchell settled for a RBI-double after nearly connecting on a home run that bounced back off the top of the wall back onto the field.
Tatiana Fernandez responded for Auburn with a two-out, RBI-double of her own in the home half of the frame to even the score at 1-1. The Tigers nearly took a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning on a Cassie Trosclair sacrifice fly, but Taryn Gray was ruled for leaving early at third base as Jessica Mouse alertly appealed the play.
LSU immediately cashed in and loaded the bases in the fifth inning. Shortridge slapped an infield single coupled with Jazz Jackson getting hit-by-a-pitch and a Juliana Santos walk. Mitchell cranked a 3-2 offering down the left field line to plate Shortridge and Jackson to give the Tigers a 3-1 edge.
Fernandez pulled Auburn back to 3-2 with a RBI-single in the bottom half of the inning. The Tigers put the tying run at third base in the seventh inning, but Cody Trahan got Kyndall White to pop out to Mouse to end the game.
Trahan scattered two runs on four hits and allowed six walks against three strikeouts to improve to 10-5, while Jenee Loree fell to 12-10 for Auburn.
Shortridge joined Ashley Applegate as the only Tigers to notch four hits in a game this season.
“Cody gutted it out in the circle,” Girouard said. “She’s at a stage where she’s not throwing in the bullpen during the week and did an excellent job of getting the tough outs when we needed them.”
Game 2 ? Auburn 6, LSU 1
Auburn jumped out to a 3-0 edge in the first inning aided by a Rachel Mitchell error and an Elizabeth Eisterhold two-run home run to chase Brittany Mack from the game.
Myesha Finney tacked on a RBI-single in the second inning and added a two-run double in the fourth inning to push Auburn’s advantage to 6-0.
Anna Thompson surrendered three hits and recorded nine strikeouts to move to 14-13. Rachel Mitchell broke up Thompson’s bid for a shutout with a homer to centerfield in the seventh inning.
“Thompson threw a great game,” Girouard said. “We have a lot of respect for her as a pitcher. At the same time, we have to make adjustments and be far more focused at the plate tomorrow.”