The LSU softball team finished the Paradise Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii on Saturday with a loss to Alabama-Birmingham and a victory against host team Hawaii.The No. 19 Tigers tried to rally late against the Blazers, scoring three runs in the top of the seventh inning to pull ahead 3-2, but a walk-off three-run homerun by UAB’s Amanda Allen in the bottom of the inning gave the Blazers the victory.”The pitcher controlled us,” said LSU softball coach Yvette Girouard. “We didn’t wake up until it was too late.”The Lady Tigers’ pitching continued to play a factor during the tournament. “We didn’t get it going right off the back like we should have,” said junior pitcher Kirsten Shortridge. “I was definitely struggling.” LSU managed to salvage the day by rallying from behind to score four runs in the bottom of the 7th to send the game against Hawaii into extra innings.The Lady Tigers held off the Warriors, 6-5, and scored the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth when Hawaii’s Courtney Baughman walked sophomore Ashley Applegate. Freshman Brittany Mack earned her first victory in the circle when she pitched five innings, striking out six and allowing four runs.”Brittany Mack stepped up huge,” Girouard said. “The tiebreaker rule, that’s where they put a runner on second base in the 8th inning, so they change the game dramatically. She answered the call and shut them down.”
 
 
 
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Contact Jarred LeBlanc at [email protected]