LSU softball failed to get a win over the weekend through three contests against No. 1 Tennessee in Knoxville, losing 5-0, 11-6 and 5-8.
LSU now drops to 17-7, snapping the squad’s 10-game win streak.
The Tigers showed some flashes against the top-ranked Volunteers, but ultimately struggled to control the games. LSU lost the pitching and batting duels in each contest, allowing 31 hits and 24 runs across three games while only recording 14 hits and 10 runs.
With the first, and debatably hardest SEC matchup out of the way, here are three things we learned from LSU’s losses.
LSU needs to close out games better
This team has shown a tendency to start games strongly, recording 17 first-inning runs through 23 games. The Tigers continued this trend, scoring four early runs in two of this weekend’s contests, but still allowed the Volunteers to come back late in each contest.
Pitching let the Tigers down late, giving up all five runs in the final five innings of Friday’s contest against the Vols, before another 14-hit and 11-run contest Saturday. It also featured a six-run third inning given up to Tennessee, which quickly erased LSU’s four-run lead.
In Game 1, LSU’s starting pitcher, Jayden Heavner, only recorded one strikeout, which was not nearly enough to hold off such a strong offensive team.
In Game 2, Cece Celura, Tatum Clopton and Paytn Monticelli again failed to hold the Vols off. The group of three managed only one strikeout, compared to Tennessee’s eight.
On Sunday, Heavner let Tennessee come back after a 4-0 start. She would let up five runs and four hits through the fourth and fifth innings, again screwing up a great LSU start. Heavner held off Tennessee bats in a dramatic sixth inning, but let up a three-run homer on a 3-2 count, allowing Tennessee to get the series sweep in the seventh inning.
Batting late in each contest also did not help LSU’s chances, with the Tigers failing to get a hit while down three in the last three innings of Friday’s game. It would be a similar story in Saturday’s contest, where the Tigers failed to get a hit in the last two innings, giving Tennessee an easy path to their first two wins.
Overall, if LSU could bolster its defense late in contests while batters stay consistent at the plate, they would likely not be under as much pressure as they were over this weekend. As LSU’s less-experienced pitchers and batters get more adjusted to SEC play, the team may look stronger in these situations.
Veteran batters still lead the team, while others struggle
Despite the losses, there were still glimpses of strong LSU batting.
Senior captain Maci Bergeron had some of her best performances this season over the weekend. She recorded two of LSU’s four hits on Friday before hitting a three-run home run on Saturday.
Bergeron hadn’t had the best performances for her standards through non-conference play, but looks to be finding her feet again against tougher competition.
Jalia Lassiter and Char Lorenz also looked strong as always, especially in the second game, where each recorded two runs. Lassiter was LSU’s top batter as well on Saturday, recording two hits on four at-bats. She’d cap off her weekend with another big day on Sunday, hitting a two-run homer.
Other key batters did not perform well under pressure. Captain Tori Edwards, who leads LSU in home runs while being a key hitter, failed to record a hit in six at-bats throughout the first two contests. Edwards would record a clutch one-run single on Sunday, but did not provide her expected output through the contests.
Other strong hitters like Sierra Daniel did not record a hit through the weekend, letting LSU’s offense down when they needed a spark.
Against top teams like Tennessee, LSU’s big names need to provide the offensive force to keep up with the nation’s best. Hopefully, Edwards and company can get back to the elite batting of last season.
This was an early SEC reality check
In no way was LSU’s first SEC series a success, but getting such a tough game out of the way early has its positives.
It cannot be forgotten that this was many of the roster’s first real matchups against a top-sec team. A matchup with the best SEC team likely served as a great test for the underclassmen on LSU’s roster and will prepare them for a long and tough season.
The change from easy non-conference wins while playing at home to being swept by an SEC foe will likely make the whole team increase its intensity for the rest of the season, knowing what it takes to beat teams like Tennessee. Following the losses, Torina hopefully will spot the issues in the squad and make adjustments.
There’s no need to panic yet, but the Tigers cannot keep losses like this one a trend throughout the season. LSU will likely face Tennessee or another top-ranked SEC team again come playoff time, and the Tigers will need to perform better.
LSU still only has one ranked win to its name this season, and will have to bounce back next week against No. 15 Texas A&M to recover from the impending rankings drop.
There’s still a lot of season to be played, but the Tigers will need to find a way to beat other top teams if they want to be seen as a legit title contender.
