BATON ROUGE, La. – Friday evening, the ninth-ranked Florida softball team fell in the series opening game, 9-1 (6), to No. 19 LSU at Tiger Park.

The Gators (36-23, 11-11 SEC) and the Tigers (32-17, 11-8 SEC) were tied 35-35 in the all-time standings as the two teams met for the 71^st time in program history. However, it was LSU who pulled ahead 36-35 after tonight's game.

LSU's Ali Kilponen (17-4) picked up the win against senior Elizabeth Hightower (12-6) with a complete-game effort.

The Tigers posted the first runs of the game was able to take a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Danieca Coffey led off the frame with a single to center, which was followed up by a chopper down the left field line by Ciara Briggs. With runners on first and second and no outs, Taylor Pleasants delivered an RBI double to left center field.

Hightower responded with back-to-back strikeouts, but Ali Newland pushed across two more Tigers with a single to right field to cap the scoring in the first. The Monticello, Fla. native went on to hold LSU batters scoreless in the second and third frames, but she was relieved by Haley Pittman after a leadoff double in the fourth.
LSU strung together two more base hits to push across the fourth run of the game and was able to scratch across one more with a two-out RBI single to left field by Georgia Clark.

The Gators looked to gain momentum in the sixth as Charla Echols led the frame with a single through the left side of the LSU infield and freshman Reagan Walsh followed up with a hard-hit ball off Pleasants glove at shortstop to put runners on first and second.

The duo advanced to second and third via a passed ball during sophomore Emily Wilkie's nine-pitch at-bat and Katie Kistler loaded the bases on a grounder back to the circle.

Freshman pinch-hitter Cali Decker drove in her third RBI of the season and closed down the LSU lead to 5-1 during the next at-bat with an RBI groundout to second base that scored pinch-runner Christina Wellen from third.

Pittman held the Tigers' offense scoreless in the fifth, but a trio of extra-base hits by Pleasants, Clark and Morgan Smith in the sixth pushed the lead out to 9-1 to conclude the game.

The Gators look to rebound against the Tigers Saturday at 11 a.m. CT/12 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

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