Six hours worth of softball, including a 3-hour, 21-minute marathon that required 11 innings concluded for LSU with a draining defeat around midnight .
The Tigers awoke Wednesday, trudged through a day of classes and tried to camouflage the disappointment of the Tuesday's final game.
It took four innings but No. 5 LSU successfully shook off the effects of its first loss to Mississippi State in 17 games, defeating the Bulldogs 4-0 Wednesday to secure the Southeastern Conference series at Tiger Park.
The Tigers (21-7, 6-2) won the two-of-three series, but remained a half game behind Western Division leader Alabama (23-11, 7-2), a 7-1 winner over Florida.
"It's such an emotional game," LSU coach Yvette Girouard said. "We lost the marathon game the night before and we knew we threw it away and that's tough. My hope was that they would get rid of it. But we came out flat for four innings."
LSU All-America pitcher Britni Sneed rebounded after allowing eight hits and three earned runs in Tuesday's 9-3 victory, to silence Mississippi State's offense.
Sneed (11-4) tossed a three-hit shutout, walked one and struck out eight -- nearly four below her season average.
"My attitude today was to cut down on their number of hits," Sneed said. "I tried to focus on hitting my spots better as opposed to getting strikeouts. I thought the defense was awesome and I give them the credit for me only giving up three hits."
Sneed retired 13 of the first 14 batters she faced before Kate Jaspers' one-out single in the fifth inning.
The Bulldogs, playing without two of their top hitters in Kellie Wilkerson (sprained ankle) and Lindsay Nelson (concussion) managed to get only one baserunner to third base the entire game.
Shortstop Jennifer Jessup, who led off the sixth with a single, reached third after a groundout and wild pitch. But Sneed struck out designated player Tyeah Patterson swinging to end the inning.
"You can't take away anything from Britni because she's one of the top pitchers in college softball," State coach Kathy Arendsen said. "She really moved the ball around, changed speeds. I don't know if it would have helped to have Kellie and Lindsay today. But I was proud of our effort."
State starter Melissa Massey (3-6) only allowed a pair of infield singles to LSU before the Tigers finally erupted in the fourth and fifth innings and finished with eight hits.
Freshman designated player Tessa Lynam drove a 0-1 pitch from Massey over the right-center field wall with Julie Wiese aboard for a 2-0 lead and reclaimed the team lead with 19 RBIs.
Aleisha Perry (2-for-2) set the table for LSU's next two runs, beating out an infield single.
Center fielder Trena Peel, who finished 7-of-12 with five runs scored in the series, crushed Massey's 1-0 pitch off the base of the scoreboard in left-center field for a homer.
"I'm just seeing the ball real well right now, said Peel. "We struggled for four innings. I had beaten out a little dribbler off of an outside pitch. On the home run, I crowded the plate and just stayed with the pitch. It's probably the first opposite-field home run of my life."
NOTES: LSU will play host to No. 24 South Carolina on Saturday in a doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m. and a single game at 11 a.m. on Sunday. ... LSU will be at the Winn-Dixie on Joor Road signing autographs from 5-7 p.m. today and giving away tickets to the South Carolina series. ... Second baseman April Janzen re-injured her right ankle Wednesday running down the first base line and is listed as day-to-day.
LSU 4, Mississippi State 0
Mississippi State 000 000 0 -- 0 3 1
LSU 000 220 x -- 4 8 0
Melissa Massey, Kasey Whitehead (5) and Blaire Browne; Britni Sneed and Jennnie Reeves, Leigh Ann Danos (5). W -- Sneed (11-4). L -- Massey (3-6). 2B -- None. 3B -- None. HR -- Lynam 1 on (4th), Peel 1 on (5th). Att --103.
