Hits and runs were difficult to come by for the the LSU softball team this weekend at Tennessee, as the Tigers split their weekend series with the Volunteers at Tyson Park.
Third-ranked LSU (22-4, 4-1 Southeastern Conference) had their 17-game winning streak snapped, as the No. 13 Volunteers (19-5, 1-1 SEC) defeated the Tigers in game two of Sunday’s doubleheader 4-0. LSU defeated the Volunteers 2-1 in Sunday’s first game.
LSU came into the series hitting an SEC-leading .358, but were held to only 10 hits and two runs in the two games.
On the weekend, the Tigers had only two players with multiple hits, Stephanie Hill (2-for-5) and Sara Fitzgerald (2-for-5).
Freshman pitcher Emily Turner (9-2) started for the Tigers in game two, but ran into trouble early as the Volunteers scored four runs in the first inning.
Tennessee shortstop Lindsay Schutzer and right fielder Ashley Cline started the bottom of the first with back-to-back hits. Turner then walked catcher Lauren Mattox to load the bases with no outs in the inning.
Amber Rhinehart’s fielder’s choice scored Schutzer from third, and gave UT an early 1-0 lead. Two batters later, first baseman Angela Brewer banged a double to center field to score three more and run the Volunteer lead to 4-0.
Turner escaped the first without any additional damage. In the inning she faced 10 batters, allowing three hits, four walks and four runs.
The inning proved to be too much for the Tigers to overcome, as Volunteer pitcher Stacey Jennings (2-3) would stymie LSU batters. Jennings pitched a complete game five-hitter, striking out four and walking three.
LSU’s only serious offensive threat came in the third as Camille Harris and Sara Fitzgerald both drew walks, putting runners at first and third with one out. Left fielder Leslie Klein’s one-out fielder’s choice to shortstop put out Harris at home, killing any threat of a Tigers run.
Jennings would allow only one more runner to reach scoring position throughout the final four innings to preserve the Volunteers’ 4-0 victory.
Turner pitched six innings, allowing four runs on eight hits, striking out two while walking six batters.
In game one, Kristin Schmidt (12-2) built upon her national Player of the Week status by shutting down a potent Volunteer offense. Schmidt scattered six hits through seven innings while striking out six batters.
For Tennessee, Monica Abbott (17-2), who is the SEC leader in wins, received the loss. Abbott struck out six Tigers and allowed only five hits in seven innings of work.
LSU came out of the chute firing as Klein blasted her seventh home run of the season over the center field wall in the first to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead.
The Volunteers answered right back with a run of their own in the first on a Rhinehart single to right, which scored Sarah Fekete from third.
After the Tennessee run in the first, Schmidt shut down the Volunteer offense, allowing no runs on two hits through the next six innings to close out the game.
The winning run for the Tigers came in the fourth as catcher Leigh Ann Danos’s two-out single to center field scored Lauren Uhle from second. Danos went 1-for-2 in the game with an RBI and a walk.