The LSU and Georgia softball teams put on Oscar-worthy performances Friday after a lack of dramatics in Thursday’s contest.
The teams split the games, with LSU (41-11, 19-6) taking game one, 5-3, while the Bulldogs (41-10, 18-8) took game two, 3-2.
The first contest had no shortage of heroics. Down 3-1 entering the sixth inning, LSU rallied to tie the game at three on senior right fielder Rachel Mitchell’s sacrifice fly.
Senior center fielder Kirsten Shortridge did the rest.
Shortridge, on third base with the bases loaded, darted home while Bulldog catcher Ashley Razey tossed the ball back to pitcher Alison Owen.
“I looked at coach Girouard and said, ‘Coach Girouard, they’re not paying attention to me,'” Shortridge said in a news release. “She said, ‘Shorty, you’re fast, but you’re not that fast. You can’t steal home.’ I really trusted the hitters that were coming up, so it made me think twice about it, but I just took off.”
Shortridge’s steal was enough. LSU added another run in the inning to push the lead to its final tally.
LSU coach Yvette Girouard said she had no doubt that when Shortridge took off, she would score.
“She timed it just right,” Girouard said in a news release. “She planned it just right. They kind of lobbed the ball back. They weren’t paying attention, and I know how fast she is. She timed that one perfectly.”
Freshman right-hander Rachele Fico hurled 4 2/3 spectacular innings in the circle. Fico only allowed two hits with six strikeouts in relief of sophomore right hander Brittany Mack.
Junior designated player Ashley Applegate led LSU at the plate in game one, going 3-for-4 with a run. Shortridge went 2-for-4 with a run as well.
The Tigers weren’t so fortunate in the evening game. But it was just as entertaining.
Owen silenced the LSU bats for most of the game. LSU put up goose eggs in their first six trips to the plate. The Tigers made their stand in the seventh.
Down 3-0, the Tigers boarded two runners on base by way of an error and a hit by pitch. Shortridge single plated sophomore shortstop Courtney Hollier to put LSU on the scoreboard. Applegate drove in a run on a groundout to close the gap to one.
It wasn’t to be. Mitchell flied out to left to end the game.
LSU senior pitcher Cody Trahan filed a loss in the second game after a stellar outing Thursday. Trahan pitched all seven innings and scattered six hits with one earned run. She struck out eight Bulldog batters.
Shortridge was crisp at the plate again with a 3-for-4 outing with one RBI. Besides her and Mitchell, who went 2-for-4, no one registered more than one hit.
The series win puts LSU in third place in Southeastern Conference play with one weekend to go. Alabama sits atop the standings with a 20-4 conference record, while Florida resides in second at 17-4.
The Tigers will travel to Knoxville, Tenn., next weekend to play the Volunteers.
“I’m very proud of the team — we are all exhausted,” Girouard said. “This has been a long weekend. It’s been a while since we’ve won a series against Georgia, so we’re glad we had the opportunity to do that and that the weather didn’t stop us.”
Contact Chris Branch at [email protected]