The LSU softball team knew it needed to make a statement Sunday, with its recent slump drawing the Tigers further down the Southeastern Conference standings.
But the Tigers fell victim to inconsistent hitting as they often have this season, dropping them to the bottom of the conference.
LSU (19-15, 2-7 SEC) registered just four hits through seven innings, and a five-run third inning keyed Alabama (31-5, 11-1 SEC) to a 5-1 victory against the Tigers on Sunday in Tuscaloosa, Ala. The win finished a three-game sweep for the Crimson Tide and marked LSU’s fifth consecutive loss.
“This is a tough place to play. Alabama is a tough team and a tough program, and they did a lot of things really well,” said coach Beth Torina. “I think the key for us is to continue to work and grind it out.”
The sweep marks a brutal stretch for the Tigers, in which eight of their past nine games have come against the defending national champions and two teams in the top-10 nationally. Their 2-7 conference record drops them to a tie for last in the SEC with Mississippi State.
The star of the game was Alabama pitcher Jaclyn Traina, who went the full seven innings allowing one run and only five runners on base. The victory marked Traina’s team-leading 13th win of the season and 10th complete game.
Senior pitcher Ashley Czechner got the start for the Tigers and produced another disappointing performance to an up-and-down season. Czechner flew through the first two innings unscathed, but a flurry of hits in the third doomed the Pawley’s Island, SC, native.
The Tide led off the third with three consecutive singles, two of which never left the infield. Sophomore outfielder Andrea Hawkins cleared the bases with a double, and Torina had seen enough, sending in freshman Baylee Corbello to replace Czechner.
The pitching change did not stop the bleeding completely. A walk and two-run single by sophomore utility player Leona Lafaele pushed Alabama’s lead to five, and it was Traina’s game to close out from there.
The Tigers’ only sign of offensive production came in the seventh and final inning, as three consecutive base runners gave LSU its lone run of the game. But with one out and the tying run on deck, senior second baseman Allison Falcon grounded into a double play, mercifully ending a tumultuous trip to Tuscaloosa.
LSU will play a midweek game in Monroe against UL-Monroe on Tuesday and then make a much-needed return to Tiger Park for a three-game series against Tennessee. Torina said the return to Baton Rouge should give the team some newfound confidence.
“Schedule-wise, it doesn’t get much easier for us, but the good thing about it is that we get to go back home to Tiger Park, and there we feel like we can compete with anyone,” Torina said.