In the longest game by innings in SEC tournament history, the No. 8-seeded LSU softball team held on against No. 9-seeded Alabama as [autotag]Taylor Pleasants[/autotag] hit a walk-off single to deep center field in the 14th inning.
The Tigers won 3-2 and now advance to the quarterfinal round to face top-seeded Tennessee.
Alabama took control early in the game, scoring a pair of runs in the top of the first inning off an RBI double, but LSU pitcher [autotag]Sydney Berzon[/autotag] settled in after that.
The issue was the lack of offensive support. In the first five innings, the Tigers managed just one hit, which came in the first. Finally, though, the bats woke up in the sixth.
LSU loaded the bases in the frame with two outs, and Alabama ultimately allowed it to tie the game after walking home a run and hitting a batter with a pitch the next at-bat.
The Tigers had a chance at a walk-off in the seventh, putting runners at the corners, but they ultimately stranded both on base. Alabama did the same with a pair of runners in the top of the eighth, and that brought the Tigers back up to bat again.
But hits were hard to come by in extras, and chances to score a run even harder. The dam didn’t break until the bottom of the 14th, when LSU turned in four hits. The final one came from Pleasants with the bases loaded and one out as the Tigers survived and advanced.
Berzon pitched an unthinkable 14 innings, tossing an SEC tournament-record 208 pitches. She allowed eight hits and six walks, but she only gave up the two earned runs in the first inning.
LSU will be back in action again on Thursday morning against the Volunteers in a game that’s set for 10 a.m. CT.
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