For the fourth time this season, the No. 10 LSU softball team battled against No. 6 Alabama. But this time the stakes were higher, as one team’s season was coming to an end after the Women’s College World Series elimination game in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
The Tigers (51-17) defeated the Crimson Tide (51-14) 6-4 to claim their third victory against Alabama this season and ended their rival’s campaign in OKC for the second straight year.
In its opening game on Friday, LSU managed only four hits and were shutout by Michigan. Senior first baseman Sandra Simmons made sure the Tigers wouldn’t be shut out again.
Simmons was batting leadoff and launched a full count pitch over the right field wall for a solo homer to open the scoring.
Later in the game, she notched an RBI-single and sparked a four-run Tigers fourth to blow open the contest. The production put the Tide in a 6-1 hole that they couldn’t completely crawl out of.
The entire LSU offense stepped up to avoid being sent home. They recorded nine hits from seven different players and notched five total RBIs.
But Alabama wouldn’t go away quietly.
In the sixth, LSU starting pitcher Carley Hoover allowed a solo home run cutting the Tiger lead to 6-2. After a RBI-single, sophomore gunslinger Allie Walljasper replaced Hoover with runners on first and second and no one out.
An infield single and fielder’s choice loaded the bases and put the tying run on base with one out. The Tide plated another run thanks to an error, but Walljasper settled in and rallied to end the frame.
After a one-out single, Alabama had the tying run at the plate. She proceeded to ground into a double play to end the game.
LSU’s next game will be another elimination game and will face the loser of the Auburn-Georgia matchup, which is slated for 6 p.m. on Saturday. Regardless of opponent, the contest’s first pitch is set for 2:30 p.m. on Sunday.
The Baton Rouge Tigers took two of three from the Bulldogs in an early April series played in Athens, Georgia. LSU was defeated 7-1 in its lone matchup with Auburn, the Southeastern Conference Tournament Championship Final on May 14.
