Softball Weekend Recap: Kentucky Blues

The positive momentum the Tigers had built over the ten days leading up to the Kentucky series did not travel to Lexington as LSU dropped two games to the Wildcats in a rain-shortened series.

LSU’s losing weekend was a result of both poor offense, and also some poor pitching. In game one, Carley Hoover surrendered two runs in the first inning to give UK the early lead. Hoover would complete the game, striking out ten, but also allowing two more runs in a 4-1 Tiger loss. The only offense of note from the Tigers was Michaela Schlattman RBI single in the top of the seventh inning.

Allie Walljasper took the circle on Sunday and pitched a competitive game. She wasn’t automatic, surrendering six hits, walking three, and allowing two earned runs, but she was tossing a shutout in the first three innings of the game. LSU’s offense was nondescript, scattering five hits and two walks on the afternoon.

The Tigers dodged a potential bullet on Monday, with rain ending the game in the fourth inning, after Walljasper and Hoover combined to put LSU in a 7-0 deficit.

If there was a theme from over the weekend it was the inability of the top of the lineup to generate offense. Aliyah Andrews had just two hits on the weekend, Amber Serrett was dropped in the lineup for games two and three, and Amanda Doyle had just two hits on the weekend. The series highlighted the importance of hitting depth and why, if the Tigers can’t locate consistent hitters in slots five through nine, scoring runs will continue to be a problem.

Up next for the Tigers is a slight break in SEC play for the LSU Round Robin. Starting Thursday, Tiger Park will host BYU, Baylor, and North Dakota State for a weekend series.