Naomi B. Jones
March 11, 2008Exhibits
March 13, 2008
Things on the LSU baseball and softball diamond this weekend were much better than the hardwood.
In softball action, the No. 12 Lady Tigers posted their first sweep of No. 16 Georgia since 2002 with a pair of wins Saturday (8-1 and 1-0) and then a 5-2 victory on Sunday in Baton Rouge.
The baseball team improved to 11-2 overall after winning a series against Stetson in Baton Rouge. The Tigers won both games on Saturday (9-3 and 6-5) before falling on Sunday, 7-2.
The women’s basketball team (27-5) did manage to advance to the finals of the SEC Tournament, but fell to Tennessee, 61-55, on Sunday in Tennessee. The men’s basketball team (13-17, 6-10) dropped its regular-season final contest against Mississippi State, 84-75, in Starkville.
Lady Tigers softball wins
In the final game of the series, Dani Hofer (10-2) tossed a one-hit complete game.
Offensively, Casey Faile’s three-run home run in the fifth put LSU (19-4 overall and 3-0 in SEC) up 5-0 in the contest. Killian Roessner added two RBIs in the fourth inning to break a scoreless tie. Hofer allowed no earned runs and struck out nine.
In the first game on Saturday, Hofer also tossed a complete game. She struck out 12 and allowed four hits.
Cody Trahan (6-1) picked up the win in the second game after allowing one hit and eight strikeouts in the complete-game performance. Jazz Jackson had an RBI single in the fifth for the only scoring in the game.
In the first game on Saturday, LSU got a solo home run from Jessica Mouse and three RBIs from Roessner.
Earlier in the week, the Lady Tigers posted a 3-0 victory over Nicholls State in Thibodaux. Faile (2-0) earned the complete-game victory after allowing four hits and striking out five.
Rachel Mitchell had a home run, while Shannon Stein had two hits and an RBI against the Lady Colonels.
LSU took a break from SEC play to host Troy State on Tuesday. The team will participate in the USF Under Armor Classic with Fordham, Oklahoma State, Purdue and South Florida over the weekend in Clearwater, Fla.
LSU improves to 11-2 on the diamond
The baseball team improved to 11-2 overall after winning a series against Stetson in Baton Rouge. The Tigers won both games on Saturday (9-3 and 6-5) before falling on Sunday, 7-2.
In the Friday win, Jared Bradford improved to 3-0 after eight hits, two runs and striking out eight. Austin Ross got his first save of the season after allowing five hits and a run in the final three innings of the game. Jared Mitchell (home run) and D.J. LeMahieu each had two RBIs in the game.
In the second game of the doubleheader, LSU jumped out to a 4-0 lead after one inning and coasted to the win.
Starter Ryan Verdugo improved to 3-0 after allowing six hits, three runs and striking out five in five innings. Daniel Bradshaw picked up his second save with a hit and three strikeouts in two innings of work. Leadoff hitter Ryan Schimpf launched a solo home run in the contest.
On Sunday, the Tigers jumped out to a 2-0 lead after three innings, but were limited to three hits for the rest of the game and added four errors in the field. Blake Martin (1-1) suffered the loss after allowing seven hits and two earned runs in the first 4.2 innings. Schimpf had another homer.
Earlier in the week, LSU swept a rare two-game midweek series at home over Michigan State (5-3 on Tuesday and 12-1 on Wednesday).
On Tuesday, Michael Hollander’s two-run single broke a 3-3 tie in the eighth inning. On the mound, Bradshaw got the win in relief after allowing no hits in the final 1.2 innings of the game. LeMahieu finished with two hits and three RBIs in the game.
On Wednesday, the Tigers collected 14 hits while starter Ryan Byrd allowed four hits and a run in five innings of work. LSU put the game away with a six-run seventh inning that featured a grand slam by Matt Clark. Blake Dean also had a two-run homer in the three-run third inning for the Tigers, who will go on the road for the first time this season when they play Tennessee (Friday, 6 p.m.; and noon Saturday and Sunday).
Lady Tigers fall to Tennessee
The Lady Tigers were outscored 10-1 in the final 3:35 by Tennessee in the final of the SEC Tournament in Tennessee.
LSU routed Ole Miss, 80-36, on Friday and then topped Kentucky, 66-59, on Saturday to advance to the tournament final.
The loss in the tourney’s final game marked the fourth time in four years for the Lady Tigers, who have also advanced to four consecutive Women’s Final Fours.
Sylvia Fowles and Quianna Chaney each made the All-Tournament team. Fowles scored 19 points and 13 rebounds in the finals, while Chaney added 13 points.
Against Ole Miss, Chaney had 17 points, while Fowles had 10 points and 10 rebounds. Against Kentucky, Fowles had 20 points and 13 rebounds, while Chaney had 18 points. Ashley Thomas was a big factor in the game scoring 11 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.
The Lady Tigers will now await an at-large bid to the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament. The 64-team field will be announced on March 17 at 6 p.m. on ESPN. LSU will play host to the first and second round of the tournament on March 22 and 24.
LSU men to face South Carolina in SEC play
The Tigers had their season-high four-game winning streak snapped at Mississippi State on Saturday in the final regular-season game for both teams. LSU will now take on South Carolina in the first round of the SEC Tournament on Thursday.
The Tigers defeated South Carolina, 62-55, earlier this season (Feb. 27 in South Carolina).
LSU beat Alabama, 80-74, on Wednesday in the final game of the season at home. In that victory, Anthony Randolph had 29 points and Marcus Thornton added 27 points. Chris Johnson chimed in with 11 points and 10 rebounds against Alabama.
In the loss to Mississippi State, which will represent the SEC West as the top seed in the league tournament, Thornton registered 38 points. Johnson had 17 points and Randolph added 14 points and 10 rebounds.
LSU?pitcher Jared Bradford improved to 3-0 in Friday’s matchup against Stetson, after eight hits, two runs and eight strikeouts. * Photo courtesy of STEVE FRANZ / LSU
