LSU softball allows only two hits to No. 1 Oklahoma, but Sooners still prevail

Against the top pitching staffs in the country, the LSU softball hitters struggle.

That was the case in the middle of March, when Tennessee traveled to Baton Rouge and swept the Tigers, allowing only six hits across three games. And it was true again in Tiger Park on Tuesday night.

This time, it was No. 1 Oklahoma and pitcher Jordy Bahl who quieted the LSU bats. The Sooners (37-1) allowed only three hits and won 3-0 in front of a sell-out crowd of 3,073, the fourth-largest in Tiger Park history.

No. 12 LSU (33-8) is not the first team to struggle against Oklahoma’s arms. The Sooners’ 0.91 ERA ranks second in the country, a step above Tennessee on the leaderboard. They lead the nation in shutouts. And this season, they’ve pitched a perfect game and three no-hitters.

Bahl, their Tuesday night starter, has the highest ERA on the team, but at 1.42 she still sports one of the 30 best marks in the country, and it’s lower than the marks of each qualified LSU pitcher. On Tuesday, she struck out 12 and allowed only three hits in a complete-game effort.

All three of LSU’s hits were infield singles. Danieca Coffey was responsible for the first two, and Ali Newland recorded the third in the seventh inning. Ciara Briggs and Karli Petty, with a fielder’s choice in the first inning and a walk in the sixth, were the only other hitters to reach base. The rest of the LSU lineup went 0 of 20 at the plate.

Oklahoma, meanwhile, needed only a single pop of offense to prevail. In the second inning, the Sooners took advantage of Raeleen Gutierrez’s error at first base, put a runner in scoring position and batted her home with a base hit. Then the Sooners’ eight-hole hitter, Alyssa Brito, cranked a two-run homer. Her line-drive shot over the wall in right-center extended the Oklahoma lead to three.

Outside of those two hits, the LSU pitching staff and defense held their own. Raelin Chaffin stepped in for starter Sydney Berzon after the home run and retired all six batters she faced across two innings. Then, Emilee Casanova and Alea Johnson took the circle and pitched the rest of the way, finding similar success.