Auburn pitcher Holly Currie pitched seven scoreless innings as the LSU softball team fell to Auburn 2-0 Sunday at Jane B. Moore Field.
With the loss, LSU (27-18, 9-15 Southeastern Conference) has dropped three straight games after winning six in a row.
LSU coach Yvette Girouard said the loss can be blamed on a lack of hitting.
“We could not get the timely hit we needed,” Girouard said. “We left too many runners in scoring position and did not take advantage of our opportunities.”
LSU managed only two hits against Currie, who struck out six batters and walked two.
Currie jump-started Auburn offensively in the bottom of the first inning after leading the inning off with a walk.
A single by Sara Dean and a wild pitch then put runners at second and third as Paige Jones loaded the bases with LSU pitcher Emily Turner’s second walk of the inning.
Sara Ghezzi then put Auburn on the board with a bloop-single down the left field line, which scored Currie and Dean and giving Auburn the 2-0 advantage.
LSU’s best scoring opportunity would come in the top of the second after junior Lauren Delahoussaye led the inning off with a double. After a ground out by sophomore Leslie Klein put Delahoussaye at third, LSU failed to capitalize. Freshman Quinlan Duhon grounded out and Vanessa Soto ended the inning with a pop out.
After Turner was removed the next inning after pitching just 1.1 innings, freshman Megan Jolly shut Auburn down for the rest of the game, allowing two hits with three walks and two strikeouts.
In the second game of the series, Auburn pounded out eight runs on eight hits as LSU fell 8-0 in five innings. Currie got the win for Auburn, pitching five innings and giving up no runs on two hits with four walks.
In the first game of the series on Saturday, Auburn jumped out to an early lead in the bottom of the third after back to back home runs put LSU down 3-0.
After tying the game in the top of the fourth after five consecutive singles, Auburn got the lead right back in the bottom of the inning.
With Auburn’s Amy Shaw on first base, a fielding error by freshman Andrea Smith put runners at first and second. Auburn then loaded the bases when Kristina McCain sent a ground ball to second base. Soto’s attempted throw to second was too late as Auburn loaded the bases.
LSU then committed its second error of the inning when a fielding error by Delahoussaye scored two runs. A single up the middle scored McCain as Auburn completed the four-run inning, which put LSU down 7-3.
LSU was only able to get one run back in the top of the sixth after a single by Camille Harris and a double by Lauren Castle put the score at 7-4.
“Auburn was the better team today,” Girouard said after the game two loss Saturday. “On the bright side, our bats continue to come around, but when you out hit a team two to one, you should win. We just didn’t get it done today in the circle or in the field.”