The No. 18 LSU softball team came up blank this weekend in just about every way imaginable.The Tigers (27-13-1, 10-9-1) failed to win a game against No. 1 Florida (46-3, 23-1) and failed to score a single run, being outscored 16-0 during the three-game series.”It was all Florida. What else do you want me to say? It was all Florida,” said LSU coach Yvette Girouard. “There aren’t many bright spots for the Tigers when you can’t touch home plate.”LSU played Florida to close 3-0 and 1-0 losses in a Saturday doubleheader, but they weren’t quite ready for the bombardment that beset them in Sunday’s series finale. The Gators launched four home runs in five innings on the way to a 12-0 win to secure the sweep.The loss marks only the second time the Tigers have lost by eight-run rule all season long.”We didn’t show up today … You just have to move on. Florida’s phenomenal,” Girouard said.The Florida pitching staff completely shut down the Tigers’ lineup in a dominant defensive effort.Florida pitchers Stacey Nelson and Stephanie Brombacher starred in all three games for the Gators, holding the Tigers to no runs and just 12 hits for the entire series.”I told [Florida coach Tim Walton] to go rest [Nelson] up and go win a national championship,” Girouard said.LSU was able to advance runners to third base just twice all weekend long.”They gave base hits up at all the right times,” said LSU junior outfielder Kirsten Shortridge. “We had to capitalize on their errors, but they don’t make many errors – they hit all their spots.”Florida’s 12-run outburst, the most the Gators have ever scored against LSU, was the exclamation point after Saturday’s pair of pitching duels.Junior and freshman pitchers Cody Trahan and Brittany Mack were able to limit Florida to nine hits in two games, but the Gators capitalized on all of their opportunities in a pair of close wins.”We were putting the ball in play. We just missed out on a couple of prime time opportunities,” Shortridge said. “Execution is not easy against the No. 1 team in the nation. We took a lot of pride in ourselves, but things just didn’t go our way.”Florida entered the weekend with just two all-time wins in Baton Rouge and left with three. The Gators’ second victory Saturday afternoon clinched the Southeastern Conference regular season championship with two SEC series left to play.”They ran away with the SEC this year,” Girouard said. “We’re not the only ones that they skulldrug – they beat Georgia, 15-0, and they run-ruled Alabama twice. We played bad. They’re much better than us, and that’s the bottom line. What else can you say?”——Contact David Helman at [email protected]