The No. 13 LSU softball team was behind No. 11 Washington 3-0 in the sixth, and with no rally possum in sight at Tiger Park, the outcome seemed bleak.
It didn’t matter.
Despite night and day performances in the circle, the Tigers (42-14, 13-11 Southeastern Conference) claimed its series against the Huskies, defeating the visitors 5-4 (33-13, 13-8 Pac-12) in Game 3 in a nine inning affair, after multiple comeback rallies.
“It felt like we were on our way to the [Women’s College] World Series, after winning that game. It was just so intense,” said LSU coach Beth Torina. “It had that postseason atmosphere. We practiced that. We are ready for that now.”
The Tigers offense consistently got hits during Game 3, but couldn’t turn them into runs in the early frames. The team stranded 12 runners throughout the contest and left the bases loaded twice.
Despite the lack of a marsupial, the Tigers’ junior right fielder Bailey Landry stepped up to the plate and blasted a ball right of the center field wall for a three-RBI home run.
Huskies sophomore second baseman Taylor Souza responded with a leadoff solo longshot to put the visitors back on top, 4-3, in the seventh. LSU came back again to knot the game at four to send the game to extras.
In the ninth, sophomore designated player Allie Walljasper stepped up to the plate and proceeded to fall behind in the count. She didn’t care and belted a 1-2 pitch straight over the left field wall. She said she knew the ball was gone when it left the bat.
“It give us such great confidence going into the postseason,” Walljasper said. “It’s great that we are coming together as one.”
After taking Game 1, pitching woes nearly doomed the Tigers against the Huskies in the final two games.
In the first matchup, LSU freshman hurler Sydney Smith allowed only three hits in a complete game shutout. Tiger sophomore gunslinger Carley Hoover and Walljasper were shelled in Saturday’s night cap for nine runs combined, as Washington evened up the series at a game a piece.
Hoover started the series finale and retired six of the first seven batters she faced. But the wheels came off in the third. The Clemson, South Carolina native allowed three straight hits and two runs, which ended her day in favor of Smith.
Smith picked up where she left off in Game 1.
She tossed 6.2 innings and allowed one run in the Game 3. The freshman hurler did give up eight hits but they were of little consequence.
“Syd did a phenomenal job on the mound,” Walljasper said. “We couldn’t have done it without her. She really stepped up this weekend. Everything provided a little bit of something to win each game.”
The Tigers have a quick turnaround and will be back in action against Texas A&M at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday in Starkville, Mississippi for the SEC Tournament.
LSU battled the Aggies in College Station, Texas earlier this season and lost two of three games.
“It’s tough to play them at home. It’s a smaller park. They swing big,” Torina said. “We’ll go in with a different plan attacking them on the mound and defensively and hopefully we can capitalize.”
