The LSU softball team fell to Stephen F. Austin, 1-0, Sunday, and won 3-of-5 games over the weekend to finish fourth in the Tiger Classic.
SFA scored the only run in the top of the third, after Carrie Woydziak struck out, but reached base on a past ball. Meryl McGuire then singled to give the Lady Lumberjacks their lone run.
Pitchers Crissy Autry and Nicole Carter took care of LSU’s lineup, allowing only three hits and one extra base hit.
LSU head coach Yvette Girouard said the team played passively in the last game of the series and enough players did not come through in prime-time situations.
“I’m not thrilled with today’s performance,” Girouard said. “But this is going to be a good team.”
Kristen Schmidt threw a complete game Sunday for the Tigers, giving up two hits, one unearned run and struck out seven batters. For the weekend, Schmidt went 1-2 with a 0.63 ERA.
“She [Schmidt] has done everything she can to win ball games,” Girouard said. “Pitchers need runs for a team to win, so we’ve got to swing the bat.”
The Lady Tigers fared better in Friday’s games, with Tessa Lynam throwing a complete game. Lynam, who was not expected to pitch for three weeks, got clearance to play from LSU doctor Brent Bankston.
      Lynam threw a complete game, scattering five hits and giving up one run in LSU’s 3-1 win over Stephen F. Austin on Friday.
Outfielder LaDonia Hughes went 3-for-4 in the game, but was 1-of-13 in the next four games.
The night game was a pitcher’s duel between Schmidt and Baylor’s Joni Miller, with LSU getting the edge 1-0 and Schmidt throwing a no-hitter.
“I felt really good tonight,” Schmidt said. “It was a lot of fun tonight to play and watch the defense behind me.”
LSU scored the only run on a RBI single from second baseman Sarah Fitzgerald.
“It was textbook softball to get that run,” Girouard said. “If we don’t bunt the girl over, she doesn’t score.”
Girouard said she was pleased with the bat production from the players in the bottom of the lineup and she expects them to continue their hitting success.
“You’ve got to respect those little bats,” she said. “They’re capable of hitting, they’ve just got to swing the bat.”
LSU beat SFA, 3-1, Saturday on a combined pitching effort from Lynam and Schmidt. Lynam (2-0, 1.20 ERA) pitched 4 2/3 innings and gave up one earned run.
Third baseman Julie Wiese provided all the offense for the Lady Tigers. She went 2-for-3 with a single and double off the top of the outfield wall and knocked in three runs, batting .308 for the series.
“Julie looked like her freshman self,” Girouard said. “She’s on fire right now.”
After winning its first three games, LSU ran into No. 11 DePaul and its pitcher Lindsay Chouinard Saturday night, losing 4-0. Chouinard only allowed one hit and brought a perfect game into the seventh inning before Fitzgerald broke it up with a single up the middle.
“Obviously when you get that far you’re disappointed, but it’s the win that matters more,” Chouinard said.
Girouard said she expected DePaul, a team that nearly reached the Women’s College World Series last year and is still intact, to give LSU fits.
“We ran into a very good pitcher,” she said. “We got exactly what we expected from them.”