The LSU softball team has had a knack for coming back from behind to win games recently.The No. 21 Tigers earned their first Southeastern Conference road series victory after sweeping Mississippi State in three games during the weekend.LSU rallied from behind in two of those contests and also came from behind in both games of its doubleheader against Alabama on Wednesday.”[Mississippi State] was an opponent that we felt like we needed to sweep all three,” said LSU coach Yvette Girouard. “It was one of those sweeps that we had circled in there in the beginning of the year.”The Tigers (20-6, 7-2) rallied from behind in game three against the Bulldogs, scoring 6 unanswered runs after trailing, 5-1, through four innings.LSU orchestrated a similar comeback against Alabama during Wednesday’s doubleheader after trailing 5-1 in the fifth inning.Girouard said her team doesn’t give up, and the ability to come back from large deficits is a big advantage.”That’s a trait that fortunately we have,” Girouard said. “They are not panicking.”LSU freshman first baseman Anissa Young sparked the offense with a leadoff home run in the fifth inning. LSU junior right fielder Rachel Mitchell turned the spark into fire when she hit a two-RBI single up the middle, scoring junior centerfielder Kirsten Shortridge and sophomore third baseman Jessica Mouse.The Tigers produced 10 hits in the last three innings of the game for the 7-5 come-from-behind victory.LSU sophomore pitcher Casey Faile (4-2) earned her fourth victory in relief after she came in for sophomore Cody Trahan in the fifth inning and allowed only one hit and struck out three.”She hasn’t thrown very much,” Girouard said. “She made the most of her opportunity today and got us out of a jam.”
Mouse supplied the game-winning two-out home run in the top of the seventh for a 5-4 LSU victory in game one.The Bulldogs (14-15, 0-9) jumped on top early, scoring 2 runs in the first inning on a single by Mississippi State freshman left fielder Kaili Smith.The Tigers fought back with 4 runs in the third, highlighted by Mitchell’s 3-run home run.Mississippi State tied the game up, 4-4, after 2 runs scored on a Smith double to right center field.LSU’s 4-run inning in the third was all it took to propel the Tigers past the Bulldogs in game two, 4-1.
The Bulldogs scored 1 run on two hits in the bottom of the third inning but could only produce one single for the rest of the game.LSU freshman pitcher Brittany Mack (7-1) earned victories in the first two games, giving up 1 run in nine innings on four hits and 10 strikeouts.
“She was a showstopper,” Girouard said. “She came in and saved the game in the first one and pitched well in the second.”Mitchell continued her hot hitting during the series. Mitchell went 5-for-11 at the plate with eight RBIs, two doubles and one home run.”She was absolutely phenomenal this weekend,” Girouard said. “That’s the reason she’s First Team All-SEC and is on the Player of the Year watch. She’s starting to look like the real Rachel Mitchell and is catching fire at the right time.”
The Tigers travel to Oxford, Miss., on Tuesday for a doubleheader against the Ole Miss Rebels.   
—
Contact Jarred LeBlanc at [email protected]