LSU sweeps its way to SEC West title; faces South Carolina next

No. 16 LSU wrapped up the Southeastern Conference West title and won its 16th game in the process after sweeping the final regular-season series at Auburn.

The LSU Tigers (39-16-1 overall, 18-11-1) won Saturday’s game, 11-7, with a five-run seventh inning. The 16-game win streak is the third-longest in LSU history, trailing only a 19-game streak in 1997 and an 18-game streak in 1986. LSU has won 12 consecutive SEC games, the longest single-season conference streak in school history.

Trailing 7-5 Saturday, LSU sent nine men to the plate in the seventh inning, scoring five runs on four hits. Buzzy Haydel led off the frame with a single and later scored on centerfielder Jared Mitchell’s double to reduce Auburn’s lead to 7-6.

The LSU Tigers loaded the bases before Matt Clark hit a sacrifice fly to deep center field, scoring Michael Hollander from third base and Mitchell all the way from second base. Micah Gibbs hit a pinch-hit double and Johnny Dishon ripped an RBI triple to complete the rally and give LSU a 10-7 advantage.

The Tigers added a run in the ninth on second baseman Ryan Schimpf’s RBI single.

Right-hander Austin Ross (3-1), the second of three LSU pitchers, earned Saturday’s win as he worked three innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on four hits with no walks and one strikeout. Right-hander Louis Coleman picked up his second save of the season after working the final three innings. Coleman allowed a hit, two walks and six strikeouts.

Right-hander Anthony Ranaudo, making his first career collegiate start, allowed three runs (none earned) on a hit in three innings with three walks and five strikeouts.

LSU posted a 15-6 victory on Friday and a 6-4 win on Thursday. The LSU Tigers started the week with a 15-inning 7-6 won on Tuesday in Metairie.

In the victory over Auburn on Friday, Ryan Byrd got the win after notching six scoreless relief innings. LSU totaled 18 hits and were led by Jared Mitchell (two hits, two runs batted in), Blake Dean (two hits, two RBIs) and Leon Landry (three hits). All three players had home runs in the game.

On Thursday, Ryan Verdugo improved to 8-2 after throwing 5.2 innings. Verdugo allowed six hits, three runs and struck out six. Jared Bradford notched his fourth save of the season with three innings of work. Offensively, D.J. LeMahieu (three hits) and Matt Clark (two hits) each had two RBIs.

LSU started off the week with victory that ended UNO’s 12-game winning streak. The contest took almost 5.5 hours and came to an end when Sean Ochinko ripped an RBI single to left field plating Michael Hollander, who started the 15th inning with a double. The extra-inning victory was the third of the current winning streak and the longest game LSU has played in 12 years.

Micah Gibbs had four hits and a pair of RBIs to lead the Tigers at the plate.

LSU plays today at 10 a.m. against South Carolina in the first game of the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Ala. The Tigers swept then No. 12 South Carolina in Baton Rouge in late April to start their four-series league sweep to end the season.

If LSU beats South Carolina, it will play the winner of Florida-Vanderbilt contest on Thursday at 5 p.m. If LSU loses to South Carolina, it will play on Friday at 3 p.m. against the loser of the Vanderbilt-Florida contest.

The SEC championship game is scheduled for Sunday at 3 p.m. All games will be televised by Fox Sports Network.

SOFTBALL TEAM FALLS TO LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE

The LSU comeback came up short in the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional championship game as the No. 9 nationally seeded Tigers fell to Louisiana-Lafayette, 6-3, on Sunday afternoon at Tiger Park.

With the loss, LSU concludes the 2008 campaign at 44-18 while falling in the NCAA Regionals for just the first time since the format went to the Regionals and Super Regionals in 2005.

The Ragin’ Cajuns improved to 49-12 on the season and advance to face No. 8 National Seed Houston in Houston next weekend.

Seniors Tayl’r Hollis and Erika Sluss sent their careers out on high notes as Hollis was 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI and a run scored while Sluss was 2-for-2 with an RBI and was hit by a pitch. Senior Killian Roessner also knocked in a run on a double, her team best 17th of the season, finishing one ahead of sophomore Rachel Mitchell, who recorded her 16th double of the year in the contest.

Dani Hofer took the loss for the Tigers to fall to 19-7 on the year. Despite battling tendonitis in her throwing wrist that had limited her action over the last month, she came out and allowed one earned run in five innings. In total, she gave up four runs (three unearned) with three strikeouts. However, the usually steady Hofer allowed nine walks, which led directly to all three unearned runs. Cody Trahan came on in the sixth and allowed two runs on three hits with a walk and two strikeouts in the final two innings.

LADY TIGERS WIN SEC OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIP; MEN FINISH SECOND

Dominating performances on the track paired with key points in the field lifted the LSU women’s track and field team to the 2008 Southeastern Conference Outdoor Championship on Sunday in Auburn, Ala.

The Lady Tigers registered 157.5 points, which was 16.5 better than second-place Florida. The Tigers finished second, 9.5 points behind Arkansas.