ATHENS, Ga. – Lauren Houston and Juliana Santos belted back-to-back home runs to start the seventh inning, but the No. 21 LSU softball team dropped a 6-3 decision to No. 1 Georgia during the series opener Friday at Jack Turner Stadium.
The Tigers (15-8, 0-3 SEC) put another runner on base in the final frame, but Katie Murphy was able to record the final three outs for her first save of the season.
“It’s not the outcome that any of us want, but I saw some very good things against a very talented Georgia team,” head coach Yvette Girouard said. “Lauren has been swinging the bat very well, and I’m happy for Juliana because she continues to fight at the plate as well. Am I happy that we lost? Absolutely not, but I was encouraged that the team showed resolve and didn’t give up.”
Alisa Goler turned in a 2-for-3 performance and drove home a season-best five RBIs, while Alison Owen tossed six innings en route to five strikeouts for the Bulldogs. With the win, Owen improved to 7-0.
Georgia (19-1, 1-0 SEC) broke a scoreless tie with a quartet of runs in the third inning. Ashley Pauly connected for a leadoff single, while Taylor Schlopy and Megan Wiggins drew back-to-back walks to fill the bases.
On the first pitch of the sequence, Goler smacked a grand slam down the right field line to vault the Bulldogs to a 4-0 lead.
LSU took advantage of a Houston leadoff double off the right centerfield wall to open the fifth inning. Santos dropped a bunt and reached safely on a Goler throwing error which allowed pinch runner Heidi Pizer to cross the plate to make it 4-1.
With two outs and a runner on second base in the sixth inning, Wiggins knocked a RBI single through the right side. Goler followed with a RBI double in the left centerfield gap to push the UGA advantage back to 6-1.
Rachele Fico went the distance in the circle for the Tigers. She tallied four Ks against three walks to fall to 5-6 on the season.
“Great teams like Georgia make you pay when you make a mistake,” Girouard said. “You can’t walk batters to face an All-American in her own ball park. Fico is fighting through some things right now, but she’s going to be fine.”
The middle game of the three-game set is set for Saturday at 1:30 p.m. CT. Fans can follow the action live on ESPN 104.5 FM in the Baton Rouge area with Patrick Wright and Matt Dunaway on the call.
Live stats also are available on LSUsports.net along with in-game updates via the program’s social media pages at www.Facebook.com/lsusoftball and www.Twitter.com/LSU_Softball.