Tenth-seeded Alabama and ninth-seeded LSU played a 14-inning marathon-of-a-game to open the second day of the SEC softball tournament hosted at Auburn’s Jane B. Moore Field Wednesday.

The game ended up being the longest game — by innings — in SEC softball tournament history.

“Well, that was an LSU-Alabama barnburner,” Alabama head coach Patrick Murphy said with a chuckle postgame.

But like every other barnburner, one team gets to walk away having won a thriller, while the other teams walks away having lost a heartbreaker. And on Wednesday, it was the Crimson Tide that drew the short straw as LSU’s Taylor Pleasants issued the walk-off RBI in the bottom of the 14th inning, clinching the 3-2 win for LSU and sending Alabama back to Tuscaloosa after a short stay in Auburn.

“You have to give credit to their pitcher and their defense because 14 innings without an error and she gave up two runs in the first inning and that was it — so kudos to her and the defense,” Murphy added.

The pitcher in question was LSU sophomore Sydney Berzon, who, essentially, pitched two complete games as she pitched the full 14 innings, tallied 208 total pitches and allowed just two earned runs in the first frame as Alabama junior Kali Heivilin knocked a two-RBI double.

Meanwhile, Alabama split the lengthy game between a pair of arms in the circle. Getting the starting nod was fifth-year senior Kayla Beaver, who finished the game having pitched 6.0 innings while giving up just two hits, two earned runs, six strikeouts, four walks and three hit by pitches.

Unfortunately for the Crimson Tide, Beaver’s misses were strung together in the sixth inning, when LSU loaded the bases with a hit by pitch, a single and a walk. Beaver then issued another walk and another hit by pitch, allowing the Tigers to scratch across a pair of runs and tie the game.

“The only thing that hurt Beaver was the two hit by pitches, and I think two walks, in the inning they scored in the sixth,” Murphy said. “Just couldn’t get out of trouble.”

After walking the leadoff batter in the seventh inning, Beaver was relieved by freshman pitcher Jocelyn Briski, who notched a huge strikeout against Pleasants to end the inning and force LSU to strand the winning run at third base.

Briski proceeded to polish off the game, keeping the Tigers at bay up until Pleasants got revenge with the game-winning hit.

“She’s definitely a gamer. She’s got grit,” Murphy said of his rookie pitcher. “She’s very resilient and her poker face is as good as anybody we’ve had as a pitcher. She reminds me a lot of Montana (Fouts) and she works fast… I think she’s going to be really good.”

Following Alabama’s quick exit from the SEC Tournament, the Crimson Tide (33-17, 10-14 SEC) will now have to wait until Sunday to learn its NCAA Tournament fate.