LSU softball couldn’t overcome an early seven-run deficit to top No. 3 Texas A&M in a high-scoring affair.
The Aggies didn’t lay down after their Game 1 victory and made LSU battle to prove their top-10 rank. Freshman Jayden Heavener returned as the Saturday starter for four of the five SEC series.
Heavener struggled early to find the strike zone. In the first inning alone, she walked five batters but only allowed one hit before she was pulled for Ashley Vallejo to come in to relieve her.
Vallejo came in in relief in Game 1 after Sydney Berzon allowed a four-run lead in the bottom of the fourth inning, and after allowing one hit in the first inning, she was shut down. Vallejo played a key part in the Tigers’ victory.
The purple and gold didn’t lay down once they faced the large deficit. LSU continued to make big plays and play the Game 1 pitch at a time. They even turned to their speed game to get the momentum going for the offense.
Going into the third inning, LSU battled back. The Bayou Bengals continued to fight, showing no challenge was too big to overcome.
Texas A&M has been LSU’s biggest match so far this season. No other team has beaten them with their energy, and the Aggies worked their walks and had a big hit to put the Tigers down as they have yet to be this season.
Tori Edwards hit her fifteenth home run of the season. It was a four-run shot that moved the deficit to two runs.
LSU couldn’t find a break early in the game. Game 2 was one of those games where it was hard for the Tigers to catch a break early. The good luck that appeared to favor LSU was nowhere to be found during the first two innings.
Ground balls struggled to find a hole early, little bloop base hits didn’t fall in until the third inning, and Texas A&M’s pitching didn’t give many freebies. The little things that went in LSU’s favor early in the season didn’t go their way Saturday, and that’s just a part of the diamond sports.
Even the bigger swings that had the potential to create a massive momentum shift were run down by the Aggie outfielders in the first two innings.
The Tigers’ third-inning shift was massive, and it changed the momentum for the rest of the game, but it wasn’t enough to get the job done.
Texas A&M topped the Tigers 9-7 in seven innings. LSUs will try to avoid the sweep in game three at 1 p.m. Sunday.
