Tag: Tempe Regional

LSU softball’s season ends after dropping second game in Tempe Regional

LSU’s postseason run came to an underwhelming end in Tempe on Saturday night against Cal State Fullerton.

For the first time since 2014, LSU softball will not be advancing to a super regional.

LSU dropped the opener at the Tempe Regional to San Diego State on Friday, and it was the same story on Saturday in a 3-2 loss to Cal State Fullerton in the elimination game, which ended the Tigers’ postseason run.

LSU jumped out to a 2-0 lead, scoring two in the top of the first. The Titans responded by one-upping the Tigers with three in the bottom of the inning. That 3-2 score held tight the rest of the way and just like that, it was over for LSU.

Down to the last out, [autotag]Taylor Pleasants[/autotag] reached in the seventh with a double down the third baseline. That brought slugger [autotag]Georgia Clark[/autotag] to the plate, who walked after a full count. CSF put an end to the threat the next batter after a [autotag]Shelbi Sunseri[/autotag] strikeout.

It’s a disappointing end of the year for Beth Torina’s group. Arizona State was always going to be the favorite to advance out of this regional, but LSU went 0-2, dropping both games to lower seeded teams.

There were a lot of things to like about this LSU team, but it was never able to put it all together. There’s talent there, but there was far too much inconsistency for a program of this stature.

There will be speculation about Torina’s at LSU. She is one of the few holdovers from the previous administration, and [autotag]Scott Woodward[/autotag] has moved to instill his coaches at many of LSU’s popular athletic programs.

Softball could be next.

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How to watch LSU softball’s elimination game vs. Cal State Fullerton at the Tempe Regional

The Tigers will try to keep their season alive against the Titans on Saturday evening.

The season will be on the line on Saturday evening for coach [autotag]Beth Torina[/autotag] and the Tigers.

They entered the NCAA Tournament as the No. 2 seed in the Tempe Regional but suffered an upset in their first game on Friday night against the No. 3-seeded San Diego State Aztecs in a 10-5 loss.

Now, LSU draws an elimination game on Saturday evening against the Cal State Fullerton Titans, the No. 4 seed in Tempe who held a 2-1 lead against top-seeded Arizona State heading into the bottom of the six before they allowed a four-run bottom of the sixth that let the Sun Devils capture a 5-2 win.

The winner of this game will survive and advance to take on the loser of the winner’s bracket game between ASU and SDSU, which will be played first at 4 p.m. CT. Here’s everything you need to know to follow what could be the Tigers’ final game of the season if they can’t pull off a win.

LSU softball drops first game in Tempe Regional, will face elimination on Saturday

The Tigers will look to keep their season alive on Saturday after a 10-5 loss to open the postseason.

The Tigers headed out to the desert this weekend looking to emerge victorious while playing on the road at the Tempe Regional to open the NCAA Tournament. But after a 10-5 Game 1 loss against the San Diego State Aztecs, LSU’s stay in the postseason could be brief as it faces an elimination game on Saturday.

Much of this game was a back-and-forth affair, but it was bookended by poor play from the Tigers. [autotag]Ali Kilponen[/autotag] got the start at pitcher in this one, but she allowed a pair of one-run homers in the first as her team fell behind early.

The Tigers got their answer in the form of a two-run homer from [autotag]Morgan Smith[/autotag] in the bottom of the second to even the game, but a trio of base hits and a fielding error led to three Aztec runs to open the third as the deficit grew for LSU.

Once again, though, it had an answer. [autotag]Ali Newland[/autotag] came up clutch with a three-run homer in the bottom of that inning to tie the game at five runs apiece, and it looked like we were heading to a thrilling finish.

That’s not exactly how it played out, though. The Tigers swapped pitchers, and [autotag]Shelbi Sunseri[/autotag] allowed a run to score on a wild pitch before giving up a two-run blast as LSU found itself down three once again.

Unlike before, it had no answer. It couldn’t get much going on offense down the stretch and squandered the opportunities it did have, stranding runners in the fifth and seventh innings. SDSU added to its lead after an error in the sixth and another homer allowed by Sunseri in the seventh as it completed the upset.

The Tigers will play an elimination game on Saturday against the loser of the matchup between regional host Arizona State and four-seeded California State Fullerton. They will try to keep their season alive as they face a do-or-die situation after just one game.

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