The 15th-ranked LSU softball had the tying run at the plate in the top of the seventh, but the late rally fell short as the Tigers lost in the Southeastern Conference Tournament semifinals, 7-4, to third-ranked Alabama at Tiger Park.

With the loss, defending SEC Tournament champion LSU drops to 42-16 on the season and 1-1 in the conference tournament. The Tigers will await an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament when the field of 64 is announced on Sunday at 9 p.m. on ESPNU and ESPNews. The win propels the Crimson Tide into the championship game to face No. 1-ranked Florida at 12:30 p.m. Alabama now sits at 51-5 on the season and 2-0 in the tournament.

After taking a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning, LSU fell behind 4-2 after the Crimson Tide scored two in the third and two in the fourth. The Tigers got back to within one, 4-3, with a pair of runs in the top of the sixth. Alabama then took a four-run lead by tacking on three runs in the bottom half of the inning.

“We can sometimes match Alabama’s firepower, but we can’t stop it,” said LSU head coach Yvette Girouard. “That has been the tale of this year. We beat them three out of four last season and they beat us all four times this year. They have a very dangerous lineup and we haven’t been able to stop it.”

LSU would not go down without a fight in what could prove to be the Tigers’ final game in the old Tiger Park. The Tigers scored one to cut the lead to three and brought the tying run to the plate with two outs, but a great play by Alabama in the field and a strikeout by Kelsi Dunne sealed the win for the Crimson Tide.

“We kept battling,” said Girouard. “You wish that Quinlan’s bomb comes when she’s up the first time with people on base. We had a couple of plays here and there could have made a difference, but there is no question that Alabama is better than we are.”

Quinlan Duhon extended her hitting streak to 11-straight games, the longest of her career and tying for the longest by a Tiger this season. She finished 2-for4 with a monstrous home run and an RBI. Shannon Stein went 2-for-3 with her 12th double of the season and an RBI.

Cody Trahan started and took the loss to fall to 18-5 on the season. She allowed two runs on three hits with three walks and two strikeouts in two and two-thirds inning. Tiffany Garcia came on and gave up five runs, four earned, on four hits with five walks and a strikeout. Casey Faile closed out the game, surrendering only one hit in the final inning of work.

LSU struck first with a run in the top of the third. Jazz Jackson drew a one-out walk. Dee Dee Henderson then doubled to right center, sending Jackson to third. An RBI single by Stein scored Jackson from third to put the Tigers ahead, 1-0.

Alabama responded with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning. With two outs, Jordan Praytor got the first of her three hits on a single to left center. Charlotte Morgan then hit a home run over the center field fence that put the Crimson Tide on top, 2-1.

In the bottom of the fourth, Alabama added two more runs. With one out, Whitney Larsen hit a home run just over the fence in left field. Praytor got her second hit of the game with two outs. An intentional walk to Morgan put runners on first and second. On a ball hit by Kelly Montalvo, Rachel Mitchell committed an uncharacteristic error on a fly ball to center field, allowing Praytor to come around and score.

Heading into the sixth trailing by three, LSU rallied back to get within one. With one out, Duhon hit a huge home run to left field that easily cleared the batting cages behind the fence and bounced over West Chimes Street into the parking lot of the apartment complex. A two out single by Tayl'r Hollis kept the rally going. Hollis moved to second on a wild pitch and came around to score on a single by Erika Sluss.

Unfortunately, Alabama got three in the bottom half of the inning. Three straight hits to start the inning plated the first run. A walk then loaded the bases. After recording the first out on a fielder’s choice play at the plate, the Crimson Tide scored the second run on a wild pitch. An RBI single by Dani Woods closed out the scoring for Alabama with the Crimson Tide ahead, 7-3.

Never a team to back down late in a game, the Tigers got a one-out double by Stein in the top of the seventh. She came around to score on an RBI single by Mitchell. A single by Duhon brought the tying run to the plate. Praytor made a great diving catch in foul territory down the left field line to record the second out before relief pitcher Kelsi Dunne won a full count battle with a strikeout of Hollis to end the game.

Morgan started and earned the win for Alabama to improve to 15-2 on the season. She allowed three runs on five hits with a walk and four strikeouts in five and two-thirds. Dunne came on in the sixth and gave up one run on three hits with two strikeouts in the final inning and a third to earn her fifth save of the season.

The loss in the semifinals of the SEC Tournament for LSU marks just the second time in the last nine seasons that the Tigers have failed to advance to the championship game. LSU won tournament titles a league record five times, in 1999, 2001, 2001, 2004 and 2007 and lost in the championship game in 2000, 2003 and 2006. The only other time the Tigers have not made the title game since 1999 came in 2005 when LSU fell in the third round of the then-double elimination tournament.