COLUMBUS, Ga. — Ashlee Ducote’s school record 86th hit of the season drove in two runs in the top of the seventh inning to lead LSU to a 5-2 win over Alabama and advances the Tigers to the championship game of the Southeastern Conference softball tournament here Saturday night.
The Tigers eliminated Alabama from the tournament and will play in the championship game at Noon CDT in a game to be televised on Fox Sports Net. The game will also be available on radio on the LSU Sports Network (107.3 FM in Baton Rouge) and on the internet at www.LSUsports.net.
LSU’s opponent is still to be determined as Arkansas, who was defeated by LSU on Friday night, moved to the other bracket and knocked off Florida, 2-1, and undefeated South Carolina, 3-1. That left South Carolina and Arkansas with one loss each in the double-elimination portion of the tournament and those two teams will meet in the final elimination game at 9 a.m. CDT.
Alabama advanced to the LSU game with a dramatic seventh-inning rally of its own against Mississippi State, scoring three runs in the seventh to win, 4-3.
LSU’s seventh inning winning rally started when lead off hitter Stacey Newton reached on a bunt single. Dee Douglas flew out before Stephanie Hastings singled and Tara Asbill was hit by a pitch by Alabama starter Julie Linder. At this point, Alabama coach Patrick Murphy brought in ace pitcher Shelley Laird to the circle to face Ducote.
Ducote lined an 0-1 pitch to right field, scoring both Newton and Hastings. The hit broke the school record of 85 set in 1998 by Tara Asbill.
“I felt comfortable the whole game at the plate,” Ducote said. “I know she has got to throw to me because if she walks me it could be the winning run. The runner on second (Hastings) giving me the location helps out a whole lot and knowing ahead of time where the ball is going to be. I was very confident and I know if nothing happens, I got Shaunte’ (Fremin) behind me. It goes back to just believing. Tonight I was seeing the ball very well.”
Fremin, as Ducote predicted, would reach on an infield error to bring in Asbill to complete the scoring.
Britni Sneed would get the Tide in order in the bottom of the seventh to send LSU to its second consecutive championship game. For Sneed it was her 25th win of the season, tying the school mark of 25 wins set last year by Ashley Lewis.
LSU is now on the verge of repeating for the second straight year of winning the SEC Western Division title, the regular season SEC championship and the SEC Tournament title.
The team traded runs in the first inning of the contest. Douglas opened the LSU first with a walk and was sacrificed to second by Hastings. Ducote brought her in on a towering triple that went off the temporary fence in left field to give LSU a 1-0 advantage.
But Alabama got it right back in the bottom of the inning. Kelly Kretschman opened the game for the Tide and reached on an infield error by Shaunte’ Fremin at first. She was sacrificed to second, advanced to third on a ground out and scored on Sneed’s 11th wild pitch of the season, ending Sneed’s SEC Tournament scoreless streak at 15 1/3 innings.
LSU would come back to take a 2-1 advantage in the top of fifth after Newton turned a shallow hit in to right center in to a double. Douglas moved her to third on a bunt single. Hastings lifted a fly ball to shallow left field for the first out of the inning. Newton tagged but did not come to the plate as Kiersten Arntsen threw a perfect strike to the plate. But catcher Lacy Prejean let the ball go threw her legs to the fence, allowing Newton to score from third on the error.
Alabama would tie it at 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth inning when Tide first baseman Ginger Jones, whom LSU pitchers hit three times last weekend in the regular season finale series in Tuscaloosa, blasted a 1-0 pitch over the right field fence for her 15th home run of the year. That proved to be the first earned run LSU had allowed in the SEC Tournament since 1998, a string of 41 2/3 innings.
LSU is now 56-10, equaling its final record of a year ago and two shy of the school record 58 wins in 1998. Alabama, which will receive an NCAA at-large bid on Sunday, stands at 61-12.