As dominant as University of Tennessee pitcher Monica Abbott has been this season, she proved Sunday afternoon at Tiger Park that an off inning from any pitcher can decide a game, and possibly a conference championship. The 6-feet-3-inch hurler, who entered Sunday’s game with a 39-1 record, walked three batters and hit another in LSU’s three-run second inning. No. 1 Tennessee (51-4, 21-4) never fully recovered from the spurt and dropped game three of the weekend series to the Tigers, 3-2. Sunday’s victory clinched the series for the Tigers (48-4, 21-4), who split a doubleheader with the Volunteers on Saturday afternoon, losing to Tennessee 2-1 before winning Saturday’s nightcap, 5-1. LSU’s series win against Tennessee, along with No. 2 University of Alabama’s three-game sweep of the University of Kentucky, creates a three-way tie atop the Southeastern Conference standings heading into the final weekend of conference play. LSU, Tennessee and Alabama are each 21-4 against SEC competition this season. The Tigers took two of three games from each team this season, and the Volunteers and Crimson Tide face each other this weekend in a three-game series in Knoxville. Although Abbott only gave up two hits against the Tigers, she looked inconsistent at times, repeatedly shaking off signs from catcher Shannon Doepking and twice committing one of the rarest infractions seen in softball. NCAA rules state that after a pitcher and batter assume their respective positions and the home plate umpire declares ball ready for play, the pitcher has five seconds to begin her pitching motion. If the five seconds pass without the ball being pitched, an additional ball is awarded to the batter. Abbott took more than her allotted time on two occasions in the second inning, leading to the Tigers’ first run and keeping the inning alive for the Tigers to manufacture two additional runs. Abbott’s first infringement came with the bases loaded and a full count to LSU third baseman Tayl’r Hollis to walk in center fielder Leslie Klein from third base. “Just like any pitcher, when things aren’t going your way you get a little bit rattled,” Klein said of Abbott’s second inning meltdown. “I think we rattled her. We just weren’t chasing her pitches.” A sacrifice fly from designated player Kristen Hobbs and a single by left fielder Jazz Jackson later in the second inning scored right fielder Rachel Mitchell and pinch runner Erika Sluss, respectively. The Tigers’ series clincher, which was Tennessee’s second straight loss after a 26-game winning streak, came in the last regular season home game for Klein, Hobbs and pitcher Emily Turner. Turner (17-5) started the final two games of the series for LSU. She pitched 6 1/3 innings Sunday, scattering four hits and striking out three. Sophomore Dani Hofer, who took the loss in game one of the series, came on in relief of Turner and recorded the final two outs of game three. Turner said she did not become emotional about senior day until after the game. “It didn’t hit me until the ceremony,” she said. “Then Klein kind of got me when she started crying. My dad started crying, [and] I’d never seen my dad cry before.” Turner said the Tigers’ motivation for beating the Volunteers went far beyond capturing an SEC title. She said she believes winning two of three games from Tennessee clinched an NCAA Super Regional series at Tiger Park. “I think we got it,” Turner said. “With that win over No. 1 Tennessee, we got it.” Both LSU coach Yvette Girouard and multiple Tigers’ players felt the increase in fan support this past weekend gave LSU a significant advantage over Tennessee. Saturday’s attendance of 2,326 fans set a Tiger Park record. Sunday’s attendance of just more than 1,300 people ranked No. 2 all time in Tiger Park attendance. “[The fans] were the 10th girl out there,” Girouard said following Sunday’s game. “This is the atmosphere that when I came here seven years ago I was kind of shocked that it wasn’t like this all the time. So I’m very appreciative that it is like this now.”
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