In a rubber match, No. 10 Texas A&M defeated No. 4 LSU, 9-5, on Sunday at Aggie Softball Complex in College Station, Texas. The loss clinched the series for the Aggies (27-3, 2-1 SEC), marking the first time the Tigers (25-5, 3-3 SEC) have dropped a series this season.
After only allowing four hits in a 6-1 victory on Saturday, sophomore Allie Walljasper started again in the circle for LSU.
The Manteca, California native only tossed one and ⅓ innings, allowing six hits and four earned runs before being replaced by sophomore pitcher Carley Hoover.
After Texas A&M’s three-run first inning and one-run second, the Aggies led throughout the entire game, with their largest lead being 7-1 in the bottom of the fifth. LSU’s attempt at a late-game comeback failed as the Tigers only scored four runs in the top of the sixth to cut the Aggies lead to 7-5.
The Aggies were able to add two insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth to put them up 9-5, further securing the victory.
Dominant pitching and a potent offensive attack have been key all season for the Tigers, neither of which the Tigers could put together to win the series against Texas A&M.
Before this series, LSU outscored its opponents 229 to 59 and averaged 8.48 runs per game. LSU batters combined to hit a poor 10-for-51 clip versus the Aggies, and only scored 13 runs all weekend.
Texas A&M freshman pitcher Samantha Show kept the LSU batters at bay in both of the Tigers’ defeats. Show (16-3) pitched in a total of 14.1 innings and gave up 13 hits this weekend.
When the Tigers did have offensive production, they failed to capitalize and convert hits into runs as a total of 23 runners were left on base for LSU against the Aggies.
Hoover (10-1), LSU’s ace, struggled this weekend, and suffered her first loss of the season after allowing nine hits and nine earned runs in a start and a relief appearance against the Aggies.
Beyond the offensive inefficiency, the Tigers committed six defensive errors throughout the three-game series, bringing their season total to an SEC-leading 39 errors.
Amid the darkness, freshman outfielder Elyse Thornhill shined for LSU against the Aggies. The Baton Rouge native started in all three contests at the left field position, landed on base four out of seven times and added five RBI’s behind the plate.
Thornhill came into the series with only four hits and two RBI’s in her six starts this year.
The Tigers next challenge will be against Nicholls State University at 6 p.m. on Tuesday in Tiger Park before facing the No. 1 Florida Gators on Friday.
You can reach Josh Thornton on Twitter @JoshT_TDR.