March 12, 2005
Columbia, S.C. – South Carolina rallied in the seventh to tie the game but fell short in the eighth as a home run by Camille Harris lifted No. 12 LSU over the Gamecocks 4-3 in game two and squelched USC’s hopes to sweep the doubleheader Saturday afternoon. USC fell to 19-10 and 4-1 in SEC play while the Tigers improved to 17-4 and 1-1 in conference play. Aleca Johnson (2-1) took the loss while Tiffany Garcia (5-0) recorded the win.
The Gamecocks were down 3-2 going into the bottom of seventh and with no outs, loaded the bases with a leadoff double by Chrissy Schoonmaker and back-to-back walks by Kristin Hall and Jessica Josker. Meghan Cornett hit a hard liner to first base for the first out and McKenna Hughes then reached on a fielder’s choice as a play was made at home and Schoonmaker was thrown out. Two outs and the bases still loaded, a wild pitch by Garcia allowed the runners to advance and USC tied the game 3-3 when Hall came home.
USC’s next batter Stefanie Norman then struck out but was safe on a wild pitch as Josker ran home from third. With the ball in the backstop, Tiger catcher Killian Roessner retrieved the ball and scurried back to home just as Josker was sliding in. Josker was called out on the play to end the inning and eliminated the Gamecocks’ chance to take the lead and end the game.
After a hard fought inning, LSU returned in the top of the eighth and after Andrea Smith struck out for the first out, Harris homered to center field and the solo shot put the Tigers back in the lead 4-3. Johnson recorded another strikeout in the inning and gave up another hit before a fly out by Vanessa Soto ended the inning.
In the eighth, Lisa Longo led off with a walk but was thrown out on a fielder’s choice on Ashley Smith’s at bat. Becky Martinez was then walked to give the Gamecocks two base runners. With runners at second and first, LSU then changed pitchers and brought in Emily Turner. Turner got Schoonmaker to pop up to first base and Hall to ground out to second to clinch the 4-3 win for the Tigers and record her first save of the season.
LSU scored first in the third inning on an RBI single by Stephanie Hill to go up 1-0. After Garcia retired the next six USC batters, the Gamecocks came up in the fifth and scored two runs to take the 2-1 lead. Pinch runner Darcy Norem scored on a two-base error and Cornett hit an RBI single to drive in Becky Martinez, who singled earlier in the inning.
In the sixth, Starter Kate Pouliot gave up one hit but retired the other three batters to preserve the lead. It was in the seventh inning, where the Tigers started to chip away. Pouliot gave up four straight hits, including an RBI single by Soto to tie the game 2-2. USC then brought in Johnson for Pouliot. Johnson got Lauren Delahoussaye to pop up to second base for the first out but Leslie Klein flied out to deep center field for a sacrifice and pinch runner Heidi Robin scored and put LSU in the lead 3-2. USC got out of the inning when Roessner fouled out to left field.
Pouliot threw six innings and got the no decision as she gave up three earned runs on 10 hits. Johnson pitched two innings and gave up one run on two hits to take the loss. The Gamecocks managed three runs on six hits off of Garcia.
Game three of the series is scheduled for Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.
Team 123 456 78 R H E
LSU 001 000 21 4 12 1
USC 022 000 10 3 6 2
WP: Garcia (5-0)
LP: Johnson (2-1)
Save: Turner (1)
