The No. 1 Florida Gators clinched the Southeastern Conference regular season title Saturday with a pair of shutout wins against No. 18 LSU.
The Tigers (27-12-1, 10-8-1) failed to score a run for the first time in conference play – opening the double header with a 3-0 loss – and repeated the feat later, dropping a 1-0 decision to the Gators.
“We had our chances with the right people at the plate, but we just couldn’t get it done today,” said LSU coach Yvette Girouard. “Give Florida credit because they were opportunistic and had awesome pitching.”
Pitching did indeed carry the day for the champion Gators (45-3, 22-1), as pitchers Stacey Nelson and Stephanie Brombacher combined for 12 strikeouts and allowed just seven hits on the day.
The Gators opened the afternoon with a two-run homer from Florida left fielder Francesca Enea in the first inning. Florida added a run in the third inning off a sacrifice fly from center fielder Michelle Moultrie.
LSU managed a pair of singles to scare the Gators in the seventh inning, but Florida recovered to seal the first win.
“I thought we played well, and today would have been totally different if we would have taken advantage of some of the prime time situations we had,” said LSU sophomore third baseman Jessica Mouse.
LSU freshman pitcher Brittany Mack threw a complete game in the afternoon’s outing, giving up just five hits and one run – but that was enough for the Florida pitching staff.
Mouse and freshman catcher Morgan Russell were the only Tigers to manage hits in the 1-0 defeat, and no LSU players advanced past second base.
The Tigers and Gators complete the series Sunday at 1 p.m.
 
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