LSU Athletics
BATON ROUGE, La. – Jayden Heavener twirled her fifth shutout of the season and 10th in her career, as LSU opened the 2026 Baton Rouge Regional by blanking Akron, 8-0, in six innings, on Friday night at Tiger Park.
With the victory over Akron (34-24), No. 18 LSU (38-17) will advance in the winner’s bracket, where it will face No. 11/14 Virginia Tech (47-10) at noon CT on Saturday. The Tigers recorded their 14th run-rule and 11th shutout of the season.
Heavener (13-8) delivered a season-high 11 strikeouts, marking her fourth game this season with 10 or more strikeouts. The sophomore allowed three hits and walked three batters in the win. Heavener set the tone early, with the first seven outs of the game being strikeouts, and she fanned eight of the first 12 batters she faced.
“We wanted to come out and set a tone today, and start the postseason on the right foot,” said Head Coach Beth Torina. “We knew we had a quality opponent in Akron. We respect them, so we wanted to make sure we showed up for this game. I think we did just that. Jayden’s [Heavener] three strikeouts in the first inning really set the tone, and our offense came out and scored early. I think that was a big lift for us. Then we continued scoring throughout the game. It was a great display of who we are. It was a very complete game and a great way to start this tournament. We did exactly what we set out to do.”
The Tigers have logged double-digit hits in four of their last six games after turning in 11 hits on Friday, marking their 13th double-digit hit game of the season. Eight LSU batters recorded a hit, highlighted by Sierra Daniel’s 3-for-4 outing that included two doubles. Kylee Edwards went 2-for-4 at the dish with a double and a triple and led the team with three RBI. Both Daniel and K. Edwards scored two runs. Avery Hodge matched a season-high with two hits, and Alix Franklin hit her sixth home run of the season.
Akron’s Madie Jamrog falls to 18-7 in the circle after surrendering seven runs on 11 hits and walking four batters. Jamrog finished the game with three strikeouts.
LSU got off to a fast start in the opening frame. Heavener retired the Zips three-up and three-down with three strikeouts in the top of the inning, and the Tigers put up three runs in the bottom, highlighted by a two RBI double by K. Edwards, and a run-scoring single by Char Lorenz.
Heavener continued to deal, sitting down six of the next nine batters, featuring five strikeouts, before LSU added another three runs on four hits in the third. Franklin started the scoring with a solo blast to centerfield, and Ally Hutchins and Hodge logged RBI singles to right and left center field, respectively, to build a 6-0 advantage.
After the LSU retired the Akron hitters in order for the second time in the game in the top of the sixth, Daniel hit a leadoff double in the bottom, and K. Edwards brought her home with a triple to left field, making the count 7-0. K. Edwards went on to score the game-sealing run, capitalizing on a wild pitch to end the game, 8-0.
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