Game one – LSU 9, Mizzou 1
The game started somewhat rocky for Mizzou senior ace Cierra Harrison, giving up an RBI single to sophomore utility player Alix Franklin. She steadied after that, allowing minimal damage over the next few innings.
The first five Mizzou hitters fell victim to sophomore pitcher Jayden Heavener. Mizzou didn’t get its first baserunner until the third inning. Mizzou also went an abysmal 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position.
The Bayou Bengals had their way in the later innings, adding a run in the fourth with an RBI single from senior catcher Maci Bergeron.
Redshirt sophomore utility player Tori Edwards hit a two-run home run in the sixth. This chased Harrison from the game. Senior Courtney Donahue relieved Harrison and couldn’t stop the bleeding. Senior outfielder Jalia Lassiter hit an RBI single. This was followed by a two-RBI single from junior utility player Sierra Daniel. As if things couldn’t get any bleaker for Mizzou, they did. Kylee Edwards hit a two-run, bringing the onslaught to 9-0.
Mizzou only scored one run in the bottom of the sixth. The lone run came on a walk from freshman Gracie Britton. Mizzou was run-ruled in six.
Game two – LSU 16, Mizzou 4
Game two didn’t go much better for Mizzou. Apart from being blown out, the Tigers were on the wrong side of history. Kylee Edwards hit the first cycle in LSU softball history. Junior Marissa McCann pitched the second game of this series.
After a scoreless frame from McCann, Mizzou’s bats came out ready to play. Freshman third baseman Addy Waits hit a leadoff double. After a few outs, junior cleanup hitter Abby Hay roped a single through the right side, driving in Waits. Next at bat, freshman phenom Abby Carr went ¡Plakata! for a two-run home run. This ended the good times for Mizzou.
LSU answered immediately, with Tori Edwards hitting a solo shot in the top half of the inning. Kylee Edwards hit her second two-run home run of the series. Senior infielder Avery Hodge hit an RBI single, giving LSU the lead, and the team never looked back.
Franklin hit another two-run homer for LSU, making the score 6-3 and chasing McCann from the game. Carr came in to pitch and performed well, all things considered.
Daniel hit an RBI double, extending LSU’s lead. Mizzou scored one run on a wild pitch in the bottom of the inning.
The sixth inning hurt Mizzou’s pitching once again. Carr got chased from the game after giving up a walk. Junior reliever Nathalie Touchet came in and got rocked. She gave up back-to-back singles, with the second one driving in a run. Hodge drove in another run on a groundout. Lassiter hit a two-run home run to cap off the inning for LSU.
Sophomore Rylee Michalak came out to pitch the top of the seventh. She didn’t get much help from her defense. After walking the first two, sophomore Madison Uptegrove made an error at shortstop, allowing the bases to become loaded.
Junior utility player Maddox McKee hit an RBI groundout. A few batters later, Daniel hit a two-RBI single right back up the middle, ringing up Kylee Edwards, who already had three hits on the day. Needing a triple to complete the cycle and like a well-written sports movie, she got it, sliding into third and driving in her third and fourth RBIs of the game.
Game three – LSU 0, Mizzou 1
After getting outscored by 20 runs through the first two games, things couldn’t get much worse for Mizzou. Harrison would toe the slab for the final game of the series, and she was dominant.
Kylee Edwards, who had a historic series, played some shaky defense for LSU in this one, botching two separate ground balls in back-to-back at-bats that were called singles as opposed to errors, luckily for her. The second of which came from the bat of Hays, who scored the eventual winning run.
This game, while mostly uneventful, featured strong defense from Mizzou. In the fifth inning, Waits came barreling down the line to catch a bunt that had been popped up and alertly doubled off the runner at first. In the sixth inning, Harrison caught back-to-back liners right back at her, robbing LSU of two hits. And in the seventh, Uptegrove snared a liner out of the air and doubled off the runner at first.
Harrison’s final line went seven innings pitched, four hits, three strikeouts and no runs allowed.
Mizzou plays next at Georgia for a three-game set starting April 10.
