Tiger Rag News Services
The 17th-ranked LSU softball team outlasted Nicholls 3-1 before scoring a season-high 11 runs in the 11-2 run-rule victory against Memphis to conclude day one of the LSU Invitational on Friday.
LSU moves to 15-4 on the season and increases its winning streak to eight games. Nicholls and Memphis each dropped both games on the first day of the LSU Invitational, bringing their records to 9-6 and 4-11, respectively.
The Tigers outscored their opponents 14-3 with 11 hits and 11 RBI. The pitching staff continued to deal, ending the day with a 1.75 ERA and holding opponents to a .135 average over 12.0 innings.
“I thought we did a great job in executing the plan and not swinging out of the zone,” said Head Coach Beth Torina. “That’s how we struggled in a couple of games and ended up on the wrong side of things. We didn’t execute the way we wanted, and we were swinging out of the zone. Defensively, we have been making hard plays look easy. We were super athletic and played smart softball. It was fun to see.”
Kylee Edwards led LSU with a .500 batting average, going 2-for-3 at the plate and scoring three runs, including her first home run as an LSU Tiger. K. Edwards added a double, bringing her slugging percentage to 1.500, and drew one walk.
Game One
LSU pitcher Tatum Clopton (5-1) got the start and the win against Nicholls after firing 65 pitches over 5.0 innings. Clopton gave up one run and one hit while recording two strikeouts. Jayden Heavener received her first save of the season after pitching the final 2.0 innings. Heavener struck out two batters and gave up no hits.
Although hits came at a premium, Maddox McKee led the Tigers with two and had a career-high five putouts in left field. LSU’s other three hits came from K. Edwards, Tori Edwards, and Jalia Lassiter.
Nicholls’ pitcher Sierra Ouellette (0-2) took the loss in relief, allowing two runs and a hit in 1.1 innings with no strikeouts.
Clopton continued her strong start by retiring seven of the first eight batters. The fifth-year pitcher allowed a run-scoring single by Claire Sisco, giving Nicholls a 1-0 lead in the top of the third. Clopton clamped down after that, sitting down the next eight batters before Heavener relieved her in the top of the sixth.
LSU tied the game with an RBI single from Lassiter in the third. The Tigers broke the tie in the fifth with a fielder’s choice RBI by T. Edwards and an RBI single from Maci Bergeron.
The B in Bergeron stands for base hit 😗
— LSU Softball (@LSUsoftball) February 27, 2026
📺 SECN+ | @MaciBergeron pic.twitter.com/RPKvnFMS4l
Heavener pitched with a lead in the sixth and seventh innings. She retired the Colonels in order in the seventh, highlighted by her second strikeout of the game.
Game Two
LSU’s 11 runs against Memphis matched a season-high set against NC State on Feb. 5. This was the third time this season the Bayou Bengals have scored 10 or more runs.
T. Edwards and Destiny Harris hit home runs. Both, along with T. Edwards, paced the team with two runs each. T. Edwards, Lassiter, Alix Franklin, and Avery Hodge each had a hit, bringing LSU’s total to six.
SHE WITERALLY GWIDDIED AWOUND THE BASES https://t.co/zz9v8NQuZK pic.twitter.com/f92EtuCFW4
— LSU Softball (@LSUsoftball) February 28, 2026
Cece Cellura improved to 3-0 in the circle in the 11-2 win over Memphis, allowing two runs on four hits with one strikeout and two walks in 4.0 innings. Freshman Cali Deal closed out the run-rule win, striking out two and inducing a groundout for the final outs.
Memphis pitcher Avery Stutts (0-3) suffered her third loss of the season. She allowed four runs on three hits, walked two, and had one strikeout in 1.1 innings pitched.
Memphis hit a leadoff single by Ariel Davis, who came around and scored on a sacrifice fly by Jasmine Mack to hold a 1-0 lead after the opening inning.
LSU roared back in the second inning by plating seven runs on four hits to capture a 7-1 lead. K. Edwards started the scoring with a solo shot, her first as an LSU Tiger. Lassiter added an RBI double. Franklin capped the inning with a two-run single up the middle. LSU had nine consecutive batters reach safely in the inning.
KYLEE GOES BYE BYE 💣@kyleeedwards67 FIRST HOMER AS A TIGER TIES THE GAME IN THE SECOND! pic.twitter.com/b74j277qlW
— LSU Softball (@LSUsoftball) February 28, 2026
Memphis managed a run in the third despite base-running errors, but LSU added four in the fourth with Harris hitting her second home run of the season.
Up Next
LSU will play another doubleheader on Saturday, with a 4 p.m. CT game against Iowa and another at 6:30 p.m. CT against Memphis. Both games will be streamed on SEC Network+.
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