No. 19 LSU Secures First SEC Win With 7-2 Victory Over No. 16 Texas A&M

By ANDRE CHAMPAGNE, Tiger Rag Staff Reporter

At last, the No. 19 LSU softball team secured its first SEC win of the season, defeating No. 16 Texas A&M 7–2 on Monday evening at Tiger Park.

With the win, the Tigers avoided an 0-6 start in SEC play for the first time since 2011. They improve to 19-9 overall and 1-5 in conference play. Texas A&M drops to 19-9 overall and 2-1 in SEC action.

“It’s like we’re trending up,” head coach Beth Torina said after the game tonight. “I told them tonight, like win one more pitch, that’s it. You have to win one more pitch than you did yesterday and it goes our way. I felt that way at Tennessee, too, like win one more pitch and it goes our way – on the defensive side or the offensive side. So, I do think they’re continuing to grow and improve and get better and maybe on the outside, you can’t see it and that’s okay because it’s about what I see and what the coaches see. So I do think they’re learning and growing all the time and they are moving forward.”

Fifth-year senior pitcher Tatum Clopton (6-1) earned the win with a dominant performance in the circle, allowing two runs on five hits over seven innings. She struck out six. It marked her first complete game of the season.

“A lot of different things were working for her,” Torina said. “She had a lot of different pitches, a lot of directions, a lot of speeds and it’s a lot to figure out when you’re hitting.”

Texas A&M added a run in the top of the seventh.

The Tigers added insurance in the bottom of the sixth. Junior shortstop Kylee Edwards drew a one-out walk, and back-to-back singles from freshman Ci’ella Pickett and junior Sierra Daniel loaded the bases. Senior infielder Avery Hodge then worked a walk to make it 4-1, and senior outfielder Jalia Lassiter followed with another walk to extend the lead to 5-1.

Senior catcher Maci Bergeron capped the inning with a line-drive, two-RBI double to left field, pushing LSU’s lead to 7-1.

Miss Maci 🤌🤌

📺 SECN pic.twitter.com/w96EkLT4mp

— LSU Softball (@LSUsoftball) March 17, 2026

LSU threatened in the bottom of the fifth but left runners stranded on first and second after Texas A&M left fielder Paislie Allen robbed Char Lorenz of extra bases with a leaping catch at the wall.

Clopton ran into trouble in the top of the fifth, allowing a one-out single before sophomore first baseman Tori Edwards misplayed a ball to put runners on first and second. Mya Perez then drew a four-pitch walk to load the bases. Clopton limited the damage by inducing a fly ball to left that scored a run, trimming LSU’s lead to 3-1, before getting a ground ball to end the inning.

LSU added to its lead in the fourth inning. Sophomore left fielder Char Lorenz singled through the right side for the Tigers’ second hit of the night. Later, Kylee Edwards delivered a two-out single up the middle to put runners on first and second.

Pickett then hit a ball to the right side that the Aggies couldn’t handle cleanly, allowing her to reach safely while Lorenz scored and Edwards advanced to third, making it 2-0. In the next at-bat, Pickett faked a steal, and Edwards swiped home to extend the lead to 3-0.

KYLEE EDWARDS. FIRE US UP. 🔥🏠

📺 SECN | @kyleeedwards67 pic.twitter.com/XEJC8Jwb4H

— LSU Softball (@LSUsoftball) March 17, 2026

In the bottom of the third, Hodge reached first safely after a Texas A&M fielding error. Then, Lassiter struck out in the next at-bat, but Hodge was able to steal second. Bergeron stepped up with an opportunity to extend the Tigers’ lead, but grounded a dribbler to the shortstop where Hodge was called for runners’ interference to end the threat.  

LSU broke the tie in the bottom of the second when sophomore outfielder Alix Franklin launched a liner over the left field wall, giving the Tigers a 1-0 lead. It was her second home run of the year.

Junior shortstop Kylee Edwards later drew a two-out walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch, but she was left stranded when freshman Ci’ella Pickett struck out to end the inning.

FRANKLIN OVER THE FENCE 🔥 pic.twitter.com/i7CTUIEj3a

— LSU Softball (@LSUsoftball) March 16, 2026

Texas A&M third baseman Kennedy Powell reached second to open the game after Franklin missed a fly ball in right field. The Aggies loaded the bases, but Clopton escaped by inducing three flyouts.

Up Next

LSU will travel to Columbia this weekend to take on No. 24 South Carolina (19-10, 0-3 SEC).