A fifth-inning grand slam by freshman Bianka Bell wasn’t enough to pull the LSU softball team out of an 11-run hole, as South Alabama toppled LSU, 12-5, for the Tigers’ second loss in three games.
No. 25 South Alabama (28-5, 5-1 Southland Conference) seemingly had the game wrapped up in the fifth inning, leading 11-0. South Alabama pitcher Farish Beard held No. 13 LSU hitless through four innings, and with three more outs she would complete a five-inning no-hitter.
LSU (28-7, 7-2 Southeastern Conference) blew up Beard’s no-hitter in the fifth with five runs to continue the game, but that was all the Tigers could manage. South Alabama added one run in the bottom of the fifth inning and closed out the comfortable, seven-run victory.
“I have no idea what went wrong,” said LSU coach Beth Torina. “We just weren’t good on any aspect. We didn’t pitch well. We played terrible defense. We didn’t swing the bats well. The only bright spot is they fought to keep us in it.”
LSU starter Rachele Fico suffered her second consecutive poor outing for the Tigers, surrendering six earned runs on eight hits in four-and-two-thirds innings of work.
South Alabama managed one run off Fico in the second inning, but in the third the Jaguars teed off on the Tigers’ ace. Fico allowed four straight hits to start the third and gave up four runs before being pulled in favor of junior Ashley Czechner.
Czechner allowed the next three South Alabama runs in just two-thirds of an inning. Junior Meghan Patterson relieved Czechner in the sixth inning and gave up two more runs in two-thirds of an inning.
“I have no question that [Fico] will bounce back from it,” Torina said. “I don’t think we expect her to be perfect every time she comes out, and our defense has to play better behind her.”
Bell’s grand slam in the fifth inning forced Beard from the pitching circle, but South Alabama junior Hannah Campbell held LSU scoreless in the final three innings of the game with only two hits.
LSU will play a two-game series against Samford this weekend and a doubleheader against Florida State on Wednesday before returning to SEC play against Arkansas.
Torina said putting forth the same effort as Wednesday night against an SEC opponent is not an option if LSU expects to win.
“We just need to get back to where we were,” Torina said. “Hopefully we can just write this off as a bad day.”
