For the second straight day at Tiger Park in Baton Rouge, the team that got the fewest hits won. This time, it was the No. 12 Arizona Wildcats, who salvaged the final game of the series with a 4-2 win over No. 21 LSU. LSU won the series 2-1.
LSU and Arizona both had five hits in Friday’s opener. The Tigers won 4-1. Arizona outhit LSU 7-3 on Saturday but fell by the score of 3-1. On Sunday, the Tigers outhit the Wildcats 8-4 and ended up with the two-run loss.
In every case, the difference was free
passes. Arizona pitching surrendered five walks and a wild pitch in the opener to just two walks by LSU. On Saturday, it was three walks and three hit batters by Jalen Adams versus just one walk by Cece Cellura. On Sunday, Arizona gave up two walks and one hit batter while LSU’s three pitchers combined for four walks and a wild pitch.
The wild pitch was key. It allowed Regan Shockey to move to third in the top of the sixth. Arizona trailed 2-1 at the time. A fielder’s choice back to the circle by Tele Jennings tied the game. LSU tried to double up Shockey, but her superb slide got in early enough to be called safe. It held up on review.
The walks also came up big in the sixth. LSU had an open base with one out when Sydney Stewart came up. Shockey was standing on second after a close out by Sereniti Trice at first. Arizona challenged the call, but she was out by about half a step.
The Tigers did what most teams do. They walked Stewart. It made a lot of sense considering that Stewart fought the high winds in Tiger Park to hit one out to left field in the fourth. After the walk, LSU starter Payton Monticelli was replaced by Jayden Heavener.
Stewart had moved to second on the Jennings groundout. Heavener then walked Jenna Sniffen to put two on. Designated player Emma Kavanagh drove in Sniffen and pinch runner Molli Daley to put the go-ahead runs on the board.
That ended Heavener’s day, and she was none to happy about the outcome. ESPN’s cameras caught her throwing things around in the LSU dugout.
Adams, who had relieved starter Jenae Berry in the third inning with the bases loaded and one out, allowed singles in the bottom of the sixth and seventh. Neither amounted to anything. She slammed the door with Arizona’s only strikeout of the day.
Adams got the win to improve to 17-6. She threw 4.2 innings of shutout ball, allowing four hits. Her defense also committed an error behind her. Berry went 2.1 giving up two earned runs on four hits and a hit batter.
LSU took the 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third. Two singles and a walk loaded the bases with one out. Berry allowed one to score on a third single and forced in another run with a bases-loaded HBP. Adams entered and induced a double play.
Arizona turned three double plays in the game. It gives the Wildcats 34 this season, setting a program record.
The Wildcats will return home for practice after being away for the past 10 days. They then travel to Stillwater for another road series before playing at home again at the end of April.
