SEC Tournament Game 3 Recap: LSU 2, South Carolina 0
5/14/2004 12:00:00 AM | Softball
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TUSCALOOSA, ALA - Two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning propelled No. 2 ranked LSU past South Carolina in a tight seven innings in game three of the Southeastern Conference Softball Championships being held here at the Alabama Softball Complex this week.
The No. 1 seeded Tigers came away with six hits and one error to better the No. 8 seed Gamecocks. LSU goes to 47-9 on the season while South Carolina falls to 27-21.
"We were a little slow in getting started tonight," LSU head coach Yvette Girouard
said. "But (Stacey) Johnson for South Carolina always presents problems for us. I was a little concerned because we hadn't played in awhile, but (Kristin) Schmidt started for us and had a great game and has had a phenomenal season for us."
The game got off to a late, 8:40 p.m. start due to rain delays earlier in the day. Senior Kristin Schmidt gave up four hits and struck out 14 batters on her way to the win, bettering her record to 29-5. Senior Stacey Johnson falls to 16-10 on the season after giving up six hits and two runs.
On Friday, LSU will play the winner of the late-late game, Alabama-Auburn, which got underway at 11:05 p.m. while South Carolina will face the loser.
LSU NOTES
--Kristin Schmidt ties SEC Tournament single-game record for strikeouts with 14
--Schmidt records 11th double-digit strikeout game of the season
--LaDonia Hughes 11-game hitting streak broken
--Leslie Klein broke LSU's single season home run record with her 13th of the season
SOUTH CAROLINA NOTES
--Nancy Crane recorded start in centerfield and as leadoff in every game this season
--Jenilee Garner records hit in fourth straight game
LSU QUOTES
LSU Head Coach Yvette Girouard
"We were a little slow in getting started tonight. But (Stacey) Johnson for South Carolina always presents problems for us. I was a little concerned because we hadn't played in awhile, but (Kristin) Schmidt started for us and had a great game and has had a phenomenal season for us. Leslie Klein has had a great freshman season for us as well. I was pleased with the win."
"I've said for the last two years that this conference was about to take off."
LSU Pitcher Kristin Schmidt
"This conference is so much stronger than it had been in the past. Every game is like a championship game."
SOUTH CAROLINA QUOTES
Head Coach Joyce Compton:
"It was a good game, well-fought and we had one bad inning. I didn't think our at-bats were as clean as they could have been. We had opportunities early and didn't take advantage."
"I thought we played better than we had been the last week of the season. A swing here and there and it's totally different."
On the closeness of the game:
"Sometimes you just match up, I think. Our kids are excited when they play (LSU)."
