TUSCALOOSA, Ala. โ LSU softball hung around the Tuscaloosa super regional longer than expected Saturday but only because of four hours of rain delays.
The Tigers were overmatched again by the Alabama pitching staff and fell in their bid for the Womenโs College World Series after a 4-1 loss at Rhoads Stadium.
The loss ended a season of improved play for LSU (40-19) with a second super regional berth in three seasons, and it sends the No. 1-seeded Tide (54-7) to its 16th WCWS.
The Tigers, who outhit Alabama 7-6, gave a better account of themselves after getting one baserunner and having 21 consecutive batters retired by ace Jocelyn Briski in Fridayโs 8-0 loss.
LSU broke a nine-inning scoring drought when Alix Franklin doubled and scored on a single by Tori Edwards in the third inning off Alabama starter Vic Moten to tie the game at 1-1.
The inning before LSU loaded the bases on two hits and a walk, but Jalia Lassiterโs long drive to the warning track was caught by Kristen White. After those innings, LSU had only three runners and struck out 12 times overall after whiffing 11 times the night before.
โWe talked before the game and our media team had a hype video for us reminding us why weโre playing, why weโre here,โ Franklin said. โThe energy was awesome, we were light, the mood was great. Alabama is a really good team, competitive.โ
Said LSU outfielder Char Lorenz: โWe tried to learn from what we didnโt do so well yesterday, trying to build off of those things. At the end of the day, theyโre a good team, we werenโt supposed to win. We didnโt have anything to lose, and thatโs the mindset we were trying to win with.โ
Briski replaced Moten after the second rain delay and pitched the final three innings for her fourth save. Sierra Daniel broke the Briski spell with a one-out single in the fifth. The only other runners for the Tigers were on a one-out walk to Lorenz in the sixth and a double by Lassiter in the seventh.
โThey have one of the best pitchers โ if not the best โ in the country, and she showed up this weekend and did a great job,โ LSU coach Beth Torina said.
LSU starting pitcher Jayden Heavener retired the first eight batters she faced with four strikeouts before running into a fit of wildness in the third inning. Nine-hole hitter Kristen White walked on four pitches with two outs, then Heavener threw three consecutive wild pitches to send White home.
There was more trouble in the next inning. Alexis Pupillo homered over the right-field fence, her second of the series and 19th of the season, to make it 2-1. Heavener seemed ready to right herself against the next two batters, but Audrey Vandagriff singled, Ambrey Taylor doubled her to third and both scored on a single to left by Salen Hawkins. Hawkins was in a 2-for-30 slump before that hit.
Heavener allowed four runs on six hits with eight strikeouts and four walks.
โI thought she was a good matchup all along,โ Torina said. โPaytn (Monticelli) had just thrown so well for us down the stretch is why I went with her (on Friday). Jayden was a good match and it proved to be true. I thought she threw really well and I was proud of her. It was a solid finish for her.โ
LSU could return six of nine in the starting lineup and two of its top three pitchers for next season.
Torina hopes her team takes a lesson from the Alabama series.
โItโs a good reminder for our team that being in the top eight is a huge deal and playing at home (in the super regional) is a huge deal,โ she said. โThis stadium and everything they have here is a huge advantage. Everybody wants to play at home. Itโs a good reminder, fight through the regular season and play well early on so you can be in that top eight.โ