What started as a two-hit shutout quickly turned into a scare for the LSU softball team Wednesday night.LSU outlasted Southern Miss, 3-1, after a patchy seventh inning in which the Golden Eagles loaded the bases on walks and errors.The No. 20 Tigers (11-4) mustered just seven hits and stranded 10 batters after averaging 7.5 runs per game in four games during the weekend.”It’s going to come back and haunt us,” said LSU coach Yvette Girouard. “Somebody’s got to step up and get a hit when we can put a game away … This game could have been long over.”LSU junior pitcher Cody Trahan (2-0) fueled the Tigers’ defense early. Trahan allowed just one hit and earned eight strikeouts in five innings of work.”It was kind of a narrow strike zone, so we had to be careful,” Trahan said. “But everything was somewhat there tonight, if not perfect … We were able to mix it up enough to shut them down.”LSU sophomore pitcher Casey Faile entered for Trahan in the sixth inning, allowing two hits and striking out two batters. Faile ran into trouble in the game’s final frame when she walked two batters and gave up a run, but she recovered to earn her second save of the season.”The pitching staff hasn’t been the problem,” Girouard said. “The runs on the board are very concerning because the competition is going to step up greatly. We just need the people we expect to produce.”LSU’s most notable offensive highlight of the night was a base-running error by LSU sophomore third baseman Jessica Mouse. Mouse knocked a base hit into the right field gap, scoring LSU freshman shortstop Juliana Santos in the third inning for the Tigers’ final run. But Mouse overran second base in an attempt to earn a triple and was thrown out.”I was running, and I thought [freshman first baseman] Anissa [Young] had already rounded to go home,” Mouse said. “As soon as I looked up as I rounded second I saw her standing [at third base], so I was kind of out of luck.”The Tigers’ win streak now sits at five after an undefeated weekend. LSU won the Easton Purple and Gold Classic during the weekend, outscoring the opposition 30-5.LSU freshman pitcher Brittany Mack was named the tournament’s MVP, pitching her first-career no-hitter against Texas State. Mack went 2-0 in two appearances with 10 combined strikeouts, two allowed hits and no earned runs.The performance bumped the Tigers up to No. 20 in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Top 25 and No. 23 in the USA Softball Top 25.—-Contact David Helman at [email protected]