BATON ROUGE, La. – No. 10/12 LSU (23-4, 2-3 SEC) was defeated 9-2 by No. 4/5 Tennessee (23-1, 5-0 SEC) Sunday afternoon at Tiger Park to conclude the three-game series.
“It wasn’t our weekend,” said Head Coach Beth Torina. “We didn’t match up well against them. I don’t know who would match up well against them. Their pitching staff is pretty incredible. They’re going to be tough to beat and it wasn’t our weekend to do it.”
Senior pitcher Ali Kilponen (8-2) was charged with the loss where she threw four strikeouts and allowed four runs on five hits and four walks in 5.0 innings. Freshman pitcher Sydney Berzon entered the game in the sixth stanza and recorded three strikeouts while allowing four runs on five hits in 1.1 innings. Sophomore pitcher Raelin Chaffin closed out the game by retiring the last two batters including one strikeout.
Freshman infielder McKaela Walker went 1-for-3 on the day with two RBIs while Junior infielder Danieca Coffey went 1-for-4 from the plate with a leadoff triple in the first frame. Graduate outfielder Savannah Stewart finished 1-for-2 at the dish to round out the total hits for LSU.
Tennessee freshman pitcher Karlyn Pickens (6-1) earned the win Sunday afternoon tossing three strikeouts and allowing no runs on one hit and two walks in 1.2 innings.
An RBI single from Tennessee’s sophomore infielder Lair Beautae put the Lady Vols on the board and the visiting team brought another runner home to build a 2-0 lead after the first inning.
UT’s freshman designated player Jamison Brockenbrough extended Tennessee’s lead with a solo shot to right-center field in the top of the fourth. The Tigers responded by loading the bases in the home half after a hit-by-pitch and a pair of walks. That set the stage for Walker to record her first career hit with a two-RBI single that cut into the deficit, 3-2 at the conclusion of the fourth inning.
After a scoreless fifth frame for both clubs, the Lady Vols put up three runs in the sixth and seventh innings, highlighted by two home runs that accounted for four of the six runs in the final two innings to win it, 9-2.
(LSU Athletics Press Release)
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