LSU knocks Vols out of SEC tournament, 6-2
KNOXVILLE — The Tennessee softball team’s postseason debut started with promise and ended in frustration Thursday night at Lee Stadium in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference tournament.
The third-seeded Volunteers could not hold an early lead against the resurgent bats of sixth-seeded LSU, which won a 6-2 contest that quickly ended the host team’s chance at a third conference tournament championship.
A strong regular season means that Tennessee likely will return to Lee Stadium next week to host an NCAA regional for the 13th consecutive season.
Tennessee is nearly assured to be among the group of 16 teams that will host regionals starting next Thursday. The Vols will learn their official seeding Sunday at 10 p.m., but they entered the SEC tournament ranked ninth nationally.
A top-eight seed in the tournament would position Tennessee to host a super regional, should it advance that far. A deep run in the conference tournament would have improved the Vols’ chances of cracking that category.
LSU soundly silenced any chance of that.
Tennessee used small ball to jump out to a quick start against the Tigers, who went 1-2 against the Vols in the regular season. Aubrey Leach and Jenna Holcomb laid down bunt singles to lead off the bottom of the first for Tennessee. Brooke Vines smacked a sacrifice fly to center field to score Leach for a 1-0 lead.
Vines came through again in the third inning with a single to score Holcomb and make it 2-0.
Pitcher Matty Moss did not allow an LSU hit through three innings. Then, Bailey Landry led off with a double for the Tigers (39-17) in the fourth and started a long inning. The Tigers scored two, and the Vols went to freshman pitcher Cayland Arnold. LSU had her number, too. Moss re-entered for Arnold in the fifth inning, when LSU extended its lead to 6-2. LSU pitcher Allie Walljasper retired 12 of 13 Tennessee batters in the final four innings.
The league’s parity was on display during Thursday’s quarterfinals, when the first three games of the day were decided by a total of five runs.
Bailey Hemphill lifted fifth seed Alabama to a 2-1, 10-inning win over fourth seed Texas A&M in the opener. The upset of the day came when eighth-seeded Ole Miss beat the tournament’s top seed and top-ranked Florida 2-0. Second-seeded Auburn beat seventh seed Kentucky 2-0.
Alabama and Ole Miss play at 3 p.m. today in the first semifinal. Auburn and LSU play in the second semifinal at 5:30. Both games will be televised by ESPNU.