BATON ROUGE, La. – No. 1 Louisiana State scored eight runs on seven hits and held No. 24 University of South Alabama softball to only a pair of hits as the Tigers run-ruled the Jaguars, 8-0, in five innings on Tuesday at Tiger Park.
 
LSU (31-1) scored in all four innings in which it batted and recorded three runs on a passed ball, illegal pitch and wild pitch in the game.
 
The Tigers put up a three spot in the opening frame, before scoring two runs apiece in the second and third innings, with a solo home run in the fourth serving as the final blow. South Alabama (21-7) suffers its second run-rule defeat this season, following a loss by similar scoreline in six innings to Sun Belt Conference opponent Louisiana-Monroe on March 15.
 
"We've got to do a better job of creating opportunities for ourselves," said USA head coach Becky Clark. "This is a game we can go back and watch to figure out how to get better. There were some things in that game that we could control and some things we couldn't. We have to look at what we can control, because we're going to continue to face quality opponents through the rest of the year, and we can't make the same mistakes against them that we did tonight."
 
LSU RBI leader Savannah Jaquish drove in Bailey Landry from second with a single to center field for the first Tiger score in the opening frame after Landry and Bianka Bell supplied back-to-back one-out singles. Tiger catcher Kellsi Kloss fouled out to Jaguar senior left fielder Blair Johnson before Bell came around on a USA passed ball to make it 2-0. Jaquish advanced to third on the play and then earned a free pass home on an illegal pitch called on Jaguar senior right-hander Farish Beard for LSU's third run in the first inning.
 
The Jaguars went down in order for a second time before A.J. Andrews scored Dylan Supak, who drew a leadoff walk, with an RBI triple to right center for LSU's fourth unanswered run. Andrews then came around on a wild pitch to give the Tigers a 5-0 lead after two complete.
 
USA freshman second baseman Kaleigh Todd drew a two-out walk in the top of the third and stole second before the chance was gone on junior third baseman Emily Messer's fly out to center field.
 
After dealing a leadoff walk to Jaquish and surrendering a Kloss double down the left field line, Beard was replaced in the circle by freshman Kalen McGill. A fielder's choice off the bat of Tiger first baseman Sandra Simmons saw Todd throw to USA sophomore catcher Chloe Rathburn for a tag out of Jaquish at home to preserve the five run deficit, but LSU second baseman Constance Quinn supplied the hosts a two run single to right center, scoring Simmons and Kloss to make it 7-0.
 
Rathburn accounted for USA's first hit of the game with a two-out single through the right side in the top of the fourth, with senior Gwen Jones coming on to pinch run, but Johnson poked a dribbler to Bell at shortstop for a force out at second.
 
Jaquish lifted a homer to right center for the eighth and final run of the evening. USA freshman Haleigh Lowe doubled to right center with two outs in the top of the fifth, but Todd's check swing went too far for the third out.
 
Rathburn and Lowe were each 1-for-2 for USA, held to its lowest hit and run total in six games. Rathburn has now reached safely in 15 straight contests, hitting safely in her last six.

LSU extends its all-time advantage over USA to 7-2, while the Jags fall to 3-2 on the road and 1-2 versus Southeastern Conference opponents this season.
 
Beard (4-2) suffered her second loss in seven appearances this season after giving up a career-high seven runs (five earned) on five hits and three walks. The senior from Fairhope, Ala., failed to record a strikeout in a complete-game performance for the first time in her career.
 
McGill gave up one run (earned) on a pair of hits with a walk and a strikeout in two relief innings.
 
Jaquish was 2-for-2 with a pair of hits, a walk and two RBI to lead the Tigers on Tuesday. Quinn chipped in with a pair of RBI, as all but two LSU starters recorded a hit and a run apiece.
 
Kelsee Selman was credited with the win for the Tigers after striking out seven to one walk and scattering a pair of Jaguar hits in five shutout innings, improving her record to 7-0.
 
USA returns to SBC play this weekend when it travels to Atlanta, Ga., for a three-game league set versus Georgia State. Saturday's doubleheader, which begins at noon, precedes Sunday's 11 a.m. finale. Links to live stats, play-by-play audio, provided free-of-charge as part of Jaguar All-Access and ticket information can be found by accessing the Jaguar softball schedule page. In-game Twitter updates are provided via the program's official handle, @USAJagsSoftball.
 
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).