BATON ROUGE – Ashley Langoni matched a season-high with three hits, but the No. 25 LSU softball team dropped a 6-1 decision to No. 24 Kentucky during its third annual breast cancer survivor recognition game Friday at Tiger Park in front of 1,118 fans.
Prior to the game, the Tigers (15-12, 0-6 SEC) acknowledged and paid tribute to breast cancer survivors during team introductions on the field.
The Wildcats (19-4, 5-1 SEC) received a complete game gem from southpaw Erin Weaver in her first career SEC start. She racked up nine strikeouts against one walk to improve to 5-0 on the season.
The top seven hitters in the Kentucky lineup provided 11 of the squad’s 13 hits highlighted by Brittany Cervantes’ 2-for-3 effort and three RBIs.
“God bless us, we’re trying. It’s not very pretty, but we’re trying,” head coach Yvette Girouard said. “The players aren’t giving up, and they’re battling. We have no RBIs coming through in primetime situations. There just weren’t many adjustments by us. Kentucky came out confident, and we had plenty of opportunities to get back in this game. We just don’t have anybody delivering for us right now.”
In the first inning, leadoff batter Megan Yocke deposited the fourth pitch of the game onto the left field berm to vault Kentucky ahead 1-0.
Two batters later, Meagan Aull singled and moved to second base on an illegal pitch. She advanced to third on a Cervantes sacrifice bunt and scored on a Lauren Cumbess RBI single to make it 2-0.
Kentucky added a pair of runs during the third inning on a Cervantes single that squirted through the middle to extend the advantage to 4-0.
LSU drew back to 4-1 in the home half of the frame on a Langoni RBI single to plate Alex Boulet, who was hit-by-a-pitch to open the inning.
The Tigers filled the bases in the sixth inning as Lauren Houston singled followed by Cassie Trosclair and Simone Heyward reaching on a fielder’s choice and hit batter, respectively. However, Weaver escaped the jam and got Tiffany Shaw to strike out on three pitches to keep the score at 4-1.
Kentucky tacked on two insurance runs in the seventh inning sparked by a Cervantes home run for the final margin of 6-1.
“We still have a chance to win the series, the players are still trying to get it done,” Girouard said. “There were some bright spots, we made some nice defensive plays. It was nice to see Ashley Langoni swinging the bat and hitting the ball hard. We need more of that in our lineup.”
The middle game of the three-game set is set for Saturday at 1 p.m. and will be televised on CST with Lyn Rollins and Cheri Kempf. Fans also can follow the action live on ESPN 104.5 FM in the Baton Rouge area with Patrick Wright and Kent Lowe on the call.
Live audio and live stats 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.
LSU will honor 23 former Alumnae leading into Saturday’s contest. Stephanie Hastings, Jennie Reeves, Jennifer Schuelke, Britni Sneed-Newman and Julie Wiese-Hawkins represent the 2001 Women’s College World Series squad by throwing out the ceremonial first pitch.
The Tiger Park Ticket Booth opens at 11:30 a.m. and fans can purchase tickets on-site starting at $5 for adult general admission. Triple play packages featuring a trio of SEC games are available for $12 at www.LSUtix.net.
LSU Softball Postgame Quotes
No. 24 Kentucky at No. 25 LSU
March 18, 2011
Head Coach Yvette Girouard
On tonight’s game…
“God bless us, we’re trying. It’s not very pretty, but we’re trying. The players aren’t giving up, and they’re battling. We have no RBIs coming through in primetime situations. There just weren’t many adjustments by us. Kentucky came out confident, and we had plenty of opportunities to get back in this game. We just don’t have anybody delivering for us right now.”
On the rest of the weekend…
“We still have a chance to win the series, the players are still trying to get it done. There were some bright spots, we made some nice defensive plays. Tomorrow is another day.”
On Ashley Langoni‘s 3 hits…
“It was nice to see Ashley Langoni swinging the bat and hitting the ball hard. We need more of that in our lineup.”