LSU Athletics
COLUMBIA, S.C. – No. 22/20 LSU opened the series against Missouri with a 9-1, six-inning win Thursday night at Mizzou Softball Stadium. Jayden Heavener threw a gem, matching her season-high 11 strikeouts, and the offense provided timely hitting in the series-opening victory.
LSU improves to 24-12 on the season and is now 5-8 in the SEC after snapping Missouri’s (20-19, 4-6 SEC) five-game winning streak.
Heavener struck out seven of the first eight batters and allowed only one hit in her first time through the lineup. Her 11 strikeouts set a career high against an SEC opponent and marked her third double-digit strikeout game this season. She finished with one run allowed on five hits and five walks over 6.0 innings.
LSU finished with seven two-out RBI and went 6-for-7 with runners in scoring position. The Fighting Tigers scored nine runs on nine hits with eight different players notching a hit. Sierra Daniel went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBI, marking her fifth multi-RBI game of the season and 10th of her career. Kylee and Tori Edwards each hit their seventh home run and drove in two runs; T. Edwards also scored twice.
Mizzou Pitcher Cierra Harrison (8-5) is credited with the loss after allowing four runs on four hits, walking three batters, and having four strikeouts in 5.0 innings.
The Purple and Gold took a 1-0 lead in the first on Alix Franklin’s RBI single after Daniel’s walk. Heavener struck out the side to close the inning, then added four more strikeouts and stranded two runners across the next two frames to preserve the 1-0 edge.
LSU extended its lead to 2-0 in the fourth after T. Edwards walked and later scored on Maci Bergeron’s single. Heavener notched her eighth and ninth strikeouts in the bottom half to keep two Mizzou runners stranded. Missouri threatened in three straight innings, but Heavener stranded six runners and achieved her 10th strikeout in the fifth.
The Fighting Tigers pulled away in the sixth with seven runs on six hits, highlighted by the Edwards’ two-run homers, which started and ended the scoring for LSU (T. Edwards first, K. Edwards to end). Daniel also had a two-run single, and Jalia Lassiter hit a run-scoring single to account for the seven runs.
Missouri avoided the shutout by scoring one run in the bottom of the seventh, but could not escape the run-rule as the home team ended the game with the bases loaded.
Up Next
The second game of the series will be at 3 p.m. CT on Friday and streamed on SEC Network+.
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