The break was not kind for the No. 14 LSU softball team. The Tigers played three Southeastern Conference opponents during the week and could not maintain their 24-game winning streak, losing five of eight games.”It was a tough week for us,” said LSU freshman pitcher Rachele Fico. “We played two of the best teams in the country.”LSU (32-9, 11-5) lost a combined five games to No. 4 Florida and No. 6 Alabama, but the Tigers salvaged the week by sweeping Mississippi State (22-21, 3-12) in the weekend’s three-game series.The Tigers won a come-from-behind victory Sunday in game three, 6-1.The Bulldogs jumped out to an early 1-0 lead when senior catcher Chelsea Bramlett doubled to lead off the inning, stole third base and scored on a throwing error by LSU sophomore catcher Morgan Russell.LSU answered by scoring six unanswered runs and by shutting out Mississippi State through the next six innings.LSU sophomore first baseman Anissa Young highlighted the Tigers’ scoring surge with a solo home run to left-center field.Senior right fielder Rachel Mitchell enjoyed her second straight game as leadoff hitter for the Tigers by going 2-for-3 with two RBIs.”We had bad luck on the road,” Mitchell said. “It feels good that we can get back into the groove of winning.”Fico (12-4) picked up the victory after pitching seven innings, striking out three batters and giving up four hits, one run and three walks.Senior pitcher Cody Trahan (9-2) shut down the Bulldogs in game one, when she limited Mississippi State to two hits during her seven innings to lead the Tigers to a 2-1 victory.”We’re playing good defense,” said LSU coach Yvette Girouard. “We still have some bats struggling, but hopefully all those will start coming around.”Bramlett picked up both of Mississippi States’ hits against Trahan and went 8-for-10 during the series, increasing her SEC-leading hit total to 76.LSU gave up 12 hits in game two against the Bulldogs but still managed to pull out the 8-3 victory.Young and sophomore left fielder Ashley Langoni went a combined 4-for-7 for five RBIs in the win.LSU started the week on the road against Florida (30-4, 12-2) and lost three straight games in Gainesville, Fla., to the Gators.Florida struck early in game one, racking up two runs in each of the first two innings on its way to a 4-1 victory.Florida senior outfielder Francesca Enea led the Gators with two RBIs in game one, and she leads the SEC with 48 RBIs on the season.The Tigers almost came away with a victory in game two, but two late runs by Florida gave the Gators the 2-1 victory.LSU scored a run in the third inning, but the Gators used three singles to score a run in the sixth inning to tie the game.Florida took the lead for good in the bottom of the seventh inning with a walk-off home run by senior third baseman Corrie Brooks.”Everybody was so down after the weekend, especially the way we lost when we were ahead and with a walk-off home run,” Girouard said. “Everyone was extremely disappointed.”Florida ran away with a 7-1 victory in game three.The Gators combined for 10 hits and held the Tigers to four.Florida powered six hits in the bottom of the sixth inning to score the team’s final four runs.The Tigers traveled to Tuscaloosa, Ala., on April 7 and lost two games to Alabama (31-9, 12-4), 3-1 and 4-3, respectively.Alabama junior pitcher Kelsi Dunne (18-4) dominated game one from the circle.The Port Orange, Fla., native pitched seven innings, struck out 14 batters, walked three and gave up one hit and one earned run.LSU carried a 3-2 lead into the final inning of game two against Alabama. But the Crimson Tide came up big in the bottom of the seventh inning when sophomore center fielder Jennifer Fenton hit a two-run walk-off home run to give Alabama the 4-3 victory.The Tigers slid into second in the SEC West following the week’s losses, but LSU won’t face its next ranked opponent, No. 15 Georgia, until April 29 when the Bulldogs travel to Baton Rouge.—-Contact Jarred LeBlanc at [email protected].