LSU Athletics
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – No. 17/16 LSU fell to No. 1 Tennessee, 8-5, in the series finale Sunday afternoon at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium.
LSU (17-7, 0-3 SEC) jumped out to a 4-0 lead for the second consecutive game, but Tennessee (23-0, 3-0 SEC) withstood the storm and rallied back with five unanswered runs. LSU tied the game at five in the sixth inning, but the Lady Vols walked it off in the seventh with a three-run home run by Gabby Leach to sweep the series.
Jayden Heavener has a 6-4 record after pitching her eighth complete game this season. Heavener struck out four batters and allowed eight hits, seven earned runs, and five walks in the setback.
Five different Tigers recorded a hit in the game, highlighted by Rylie Johnson’s first collegiate home run and Jalia Lassiter’s third homer of the season and second of the series. Alix Franklin, Avery Hodge, and Tori Edwards each had one hit in the contest.
Tennessee pitcher Erin Nuwer was credited with the win, improving to 10-0 in the circle this year. Nuwer started the game and pitched 2.1 innings overall. She faced only eight batters, where she only surrendered a walk, no runs, hits, or strikeouts. Sage Mardjetko did much of the work over 3.2 innings. She gave up three runs on two hits, walked five batters, and recorded both of the Lady Vols’ strikeouts.
Heavener had two strikeouts through the first two innings and worked a 1-2-3 second to set the stage for a big offensive inning for the Tigers. LSU pieced together another four-run inning in the series, highlighted by a pair of home runs that scored three runs in the top of the third. Johnson struck first with a leadoff home run to right field, and Hodge followed with a double to left center field, enticing Tennessee to make a pitching change. Lassiter welcomed the new arm with a moonshot to left center field that increased LSU’s margin to 3-0 with no outs. The Tigers pushed one more run across home plate with a two-out, run-scoring single up the middle by T. Edwards, scoring Lorenz, who reached on an error. The Lady Vols threatened with two runners in scoring position in the home half, but the defense stood tall, and LSU led 4-0 after three frames.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Tennessee made it a one-run game at 4-3, thanks to a three-run home run from Emma Clarke, and Ella Dodge tied it up in the fifth with a leadoff blast to right field. The Lady Vols captured the lead off Maddie Rutan’s sacrifice fly, making the score 5-4.
LSU loaded the bases at the top of the sixth off three consecutive two-out walks, and Nuwer, who re-entered the game, walked the fourth consecutive batter to tie the game, 5-5.
With the game knotted at five entering the seventh, LSU went out in order in the top half, and Tennessee recorded a walk and a single to get into scoring position. Leach then stepped to the plate and took a 3-2 pitch deep to right field to walk off LSU in the series finale.
Up Next
LSU will play against Nicholls at 6 p.m. CT on Tuesday, March 10, in Thibodaux, La., before jumping back into SEC play and hosting No. 14/15 Texas A&M at Tiger Park on March 14-16.
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