BATON ROUGE, La. – No. 22/17 LSU unleashed another sixth-inning surge, tallying three runs on three hits to clinch an 8-5 victory and sweep over Ole Miss on Sunday at Tiger Park.
LSU (32-14, 9-9 SEC) earns its first sweep of the 2026 season and its first since knocking off then No. 23 Kentucky in the 2025 SEC opening weekend series (March 14-16, 2025). This sweep was also the Tigers’ first over Ole Miss (27-21, 2-16 SEC) since 2015 at Tiger Park (April 3-4, 2015). LSU has rallied back to a .500 record in league play with nine wins in the last 13 league games after opening its SEC slate 0-5.
The Fighting Tigers rallied offensively for the third straight game, starting with Tori Edwards’ leadoff blast to center in the fifth that tied the game, 5-5. It was her fourth leadoff homer this season. In the sixth, LSU broke the tie with Alix Franklin’s RBI triple that plated Jalia Lassiter, who singled to open the inning. Franklin scored on the same play due to the Rebels’ second error of the game. T. Edwards followed immediately with her second homer of the day, another shot to center, giving LSU an 8-5 lead entering the seventh.
“Our offense was incredible,” said Head Coach Beth Torina. “I thought we fought really hard. I told the team after the game that there were some things we could clean up. We can obviously execute better in some ways, but I don’t know if anyone could fight any harder than that. Their fight was incredible. The way the offense controlled the strike zone all weekend was incredible. We were able to use so many different people. I was really proud of the effort all weekend long.”
LSU produced 11 hits, its ninth double-digit effort and first streak of consecutive such games this season. T. Edwards went 3-for-3, homering in her last two at-bats, scoring twice, driving in two runs, and walking once. The redshirt sophomore notched her third career two-homer game—and first versus an SEC foe. Edwards’s sixth inning this series included two home runs (one an inside-the-park grand slam), five RBI, and two runs.
Jalia Lassiter went 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBI, while Alix Franklin had two hits, including her sixth triple, one run, and one RBI.
Paytn Monticelli improved her record to 6-3 on the season, claiming all three wins in the series in relief. On Sunday, Monticelli tossed 3.1 shutout innings. She allowed one hit, one walk, and finished with two strikeouts. In the series, Monticelli (3-0) posted a 0.00 ERA. She gave up just four hits and two walks with five strikeouts in 7.0 innings.
Ole Miss starter Emilee Boyer (9-10) was handed the loss. Boyer gave up all 11 hits, eight runs (six earned), two walks, and struck out four in 5.2 innings.
Ole Miss seized an early 2-0 lead in the first with Madi George’s two-run homer. LSU responded in the second with back-to-back singles from Jada Phillips and Avery Hodge. Lassiter then ripped a base-clearing double to knot the score at 2-2. Sierra Daniel lashed the fourth consecutive hit, a single, and advanced to second on Kylee Edwards’ groundout. Both Daniel and K. Edwards raced home for unearned runs after a wild pitch and a throwing error, giving LSU a 4-2 lead in the second.
Neither team broke through in the third, but the Rebels stormed back to capture a 5-4 advantage in the fourth with three solo homers by Kennedy Bunker, George, and Cassie Reasner.
Monticelli entered the game in the fourth to record the final out of the frame, and worked a 1-2-3 inning fifth that featured her two strikeouts. The senior allowed one base runner in the sixth, issuing a walk. The defense then turned its 21st double play to end the top of the sixth. After LSU’s offensive surge in the bottom half, Ole Miss got its first runner in scoring position since the fourth in the seventh. However, the defense escaped after Monticelli induced three groundouts, including one she assisted, to end the game.
Up Next
LSU will take the field for its final road SEC series at Mississippi St. on April 24-26 in Starkville, Miss.
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