COLUMBIA, Mo. – No. 22/20 LSU wins its second SEC series of the season, despite a 1-0 loss to Missouri in the series finale on Saturday at Mizzou Softball Stadium.
LSU concludes the weekend with a 25-13 record and 6-9 mark in the SEC, while Missouri salvages the series and stays above .500 with a 21-20 record and 5-7 record in league play.
LSU pitcher Paytn Monticelli was given the loss and moves to 3-2 in the circle. Monticelli pitched 4.0 innings, where she tallied three strikeouts and allowed one run on four hits. She also walked three batters. Jayden Heavener came out of the bullpen for the final 2.0 frames and had two strikeouts and one walk.
Char Lorenz picked up two hits on three plate appearances in the setback. Alix Franklin extended her hitting streak to six games, and Jalia Lassiter also registered a hit in the game.
Missouri pitcher Cierra Harrison improves to 9-5 after tossing a complete game. Harrison finished with three strikeouts and allowed four hits and two walks.
Monticelli had three strikeouts in the first two innings, including back-to-back punchouts to end a 1-2-3 inning in the second. Mizzou broke through in the third, however, with two hits, and Abby Hay’s single to short drove in the game’s lone run.
After a scoreless fourth inning, Heavener entered the circle in the fifth and retired the first five batters she faced with three flyouts in the fifth and two strikeouts in the sixth.
The LSU offense made attempts to rally, but Mizzou turned two double plays over the final three innings to avoid the sweep on their home field.
Up Next
LSU will host Central Arkansas at Tiger Park at 6 p.m. CT on Tuesday, April 7, before stepping out of SEC play for a three-game series against No. 14/13 Arizona for Teal Weekend on April 10-12.
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