Game #28: No. 17 Louisiana State 7, No. 16 Texas A&M 6
Records: Texas A&M (19-9, 2-1), Louisiana State (19-9, 1-5)
WP: Tatum Clopton (6-1)
LP: Sydney Lessentine (8-2)
Box Score
After back-to-back road victories, No. 16 Texas A&M failed to complete the sweep in Baton Rouge, dropping Monday night’s matchup 7-2 against No. 17 LSU.
The loss brings the Aggies to 2-1 in SEC play and prevents a three-game sweep of the Tigers, a feat the Ags have yet to accomplish in Baton Rouge.
A&M struggled offensively, recording five hits and stranding 10 on base.
Three of those hits came in a last-chance seventh-inning effort, but KK Dement struck out swinging with the bases loaded to end the game.
Kennedy Powell went 2-for-4, crossing the plate in the fifth and seventh innings to account for the Aggies’ only runs of the night.
The Maroon & White struggles came at the hand of LSU’s senior pitcher Tatum Clopton, who pitched a complete game, recording six strikeouts, five hits, five walks and two runs.
Clopton avoided the power-hitting Mya Perez, who walked in each of her four plate appearances on 16 straight balls. Perez went 5-for-6 with two home runs in the first two games of the series.
On a particularly cold night in East Louisiana, Tiger bats were the only thing sparking heat.
Facing sophomore pitcher Sydney Lessentine, LSU’s sophomore right fielder Alix Franklin powered a solo shot over the left field fence in the second, making the score 1-0.
The home run granted LSU its first lead of the series and marked Lessentine’s eighth homer allowed on the season.
The bottom of the third came with hysteria, as LSU’s senior catcher Maci Bergeron reached on a fielder’s choice, sending senior third baseman Avery Hodge home.
On Hodge’s route around the bases, Bergeron’s ball grazed across Hodge’s leg and took a bounce over the third baseline.
After umpire deliberation and a Texas A&M challenge, an obstruction call was issued against LSU, erasing a run and keeping the score at 1-0.
The drama did not affect the Tigers, as they continued to catwalk the bags in the fourth.
Freshman Ci’ella Pickett hit an RBI single to second, scoring Franklin. Kylee Edwards advanced to third on a fielding error and stole home, increasing the LSU lead to 3-0.
The sixth inning saw no mercy for the Aggies, as sophomore pitcher Kate Munnerlyn and senior pitcher Grace Sparks dealt back-to-back bases-loaded walks, pushing the Tiger lead to 5-1.
Bergeron then doubled down the left field line, driving in two for LSU’s sixth and seventh runs of the night.
The Tigers had more runs Monday night than their combined total from the first two matchups.
A&M rotated three different pitchers in the circle, beginning with Lessentine, who was tagged with the loss. She recorded six strikeouts, four hits, three runs and one walk in four innings.
Munnerlyn relieved Lessentine in the fifth, recording two strikeouts, three hits, and four runs in 1.1 innings of work. Sparks finished for the Aggies, recording one walk and one hit in 0.2 innings.
A&M will push forward in SEC play, traveling back home to face Kentucky at Davis Diamond. The first matchup of the three-game series is set for Friday, March 20, at 6 p.m. CT
