LSU softball drops its fourth straight game in Texas.
After a rough weekend in College Station, the Tigers pulled everything together and played a better game despite the 7-3 outcome.
In Game 1, LSU was down a routine starter. Fourth-year starter McKenzie Redoutey was out of the lineup for the Tigers.
Redoutey had a .300 career batting average in SEC play entering the season and is known for her arm in right field. There is no word on where she was during Game 1.
Without Redoutey, LSU didn’t suffer as much as one would think, and the defense got the job done. The typically electric Tiger offense was stunted again in Texas; the Longhorns pitcher Teagan Kavan held purple and gold off for most of the game.
Backing LSU in its pitchers’ duel was ace Sydney Berzon. Berzon returned to her proper form following the rough start at Texas A&M. In College Station, she allowed eight hits and walked four batters, which proved costly due to the high-scoring Aggies’ offense.
Berzon regrouped after the rough start and backed the Tigers during this game when hits and runs were hard to come by for the offense. Despite her stronger performance, it wasn’t enough for LSU to pull through.
It wasn’t until the fourth inning that LSU could string hits together to push a run across, courtesy of an Avery Hodge two-out single.
Unlike most games this season, Kavan kept the Tiger offense from electrifying. LSU pushed two runs across in the fourth inning, but the hits didn’t multiply like they have in the past. Once Hodge got her two RBIs, there wasn’t another hit in the inning.
Berzon did the same. Even when Texas threatened and eventually tied the game, Berzon dialed in and remained effective. Until the last out of the ballgame, she got the Longhorns to put easy-to-handle balls in play for her defense.
Reese Atwood walked it off for the Longhorns with a grand slam as Texas neared their final out.
After the rough weekend at Texas A&M, many people doubted the Tigers, but this team did what they have all season: came together and rallied in the face of adversity.
The youth of this LSU team have allowed them to play the best when they have something to prove. When everyone questioned this team at the beginning of the season, this team went undefeated for the first several weeks. After their first loss, they didn’t lose another game until the second week of SEC play.
Game 1 in Austin should have lit a more significant fire until the Tigers. This team might have needed Texas’ kick in the teeth to pull it together and finish the season strong.
LSU will try to fight for the series in Game 2 in Austin at 4:30 p.m. Friday.
