No. 21 LSU Picks Up 9-1 Win Over Central Arkansas

Tiger Rag News Services

No. 21/18 LSU tallied its 10th run-rule victory this season, downing Central Arkansas, 9-1 in six innings on Tuesday night at Tiger Park.

LSU improves to 26-13 on the season, while Central Arkansas falls to 25-16. The Tigers stretch their winning streak against the Bears to six games.

With her 15th career win in the circle, Tatum Clopton brings her record to 7-1 this season. Over 4.1 innings, Clopton logged a season-high seven strikeouts, allowing one run on three hits and two walks. The final 1.2 innings saw Cali Deal pitch one strikeout, walk three batters, and give up no runs or hits.

Caught lookin' for a season-high seventh K of the night 👀

📺 SECN+ | @clopton_tatum pic.twitter.com/Pl7wIRL3jf

— LSU Softball (@LSUsoftball) April 8, 2026

LSU finished with 11 hits on the day, marking the club’s seventh game with double-figured hits, and second in three games. Maci Bergeron turned in her 30th career multi-hit game with a career-high three hits (3-for-4) and had a season-best three RBI. Sierra Daniel (2-for-4) registered her fourth multi-hit game over a span of five games and hit her first home run of the season. Daniel also tied her career-best of three RBI. Rylie Johnson homered in the game, her second of the season, and Jalia Lassiter (3), Kylee Edwards (2), and Alix Franklin (2) led the team in runs scored.

MOONSHOT 🌛

📺 SECN+ | @Sierrad0303 pic.twitter.com/ud8dAaottj

— LSU Softball (@LSUsoftball) April 8, 2026

Central Arkansas pitcher Bailie Runner took the loss to fall to 11-5. Runner yielded six hits, five runs, and three walks over 4.0 innings. She managed one strikeout.

The Tigers struck for three runs in the opening inning, aided by an RBI double from Franklin and a two-RBI double from Bergeron. The Bears answered by slicing the deficit to 3-1 with Kaitlyn Graham’s solo shot in the second. Clopton retired five of the next six batters, fanning three through the third inning.

After UCA ended the top of the fourth with the bases loaded, LSU’s Johnson took the first pitch she saw to the deepest part of the park, and two batters later, Daniel drove in the second run in the inning with a double to left center field to increase the home team’s lead to 5-1 through four frames.

LSU closed the game in the sixth inning with four runs on five hits. Daniel blasted her third career home run, a two-run shot to center field, after Lassiter led off the inning with a double. K. Edwards singled to right field to prompt UCA’s second pitching change, and Franklin worked a walk, setting up Tori Edwards’ two-RBI double and Bergeron’s game-ending RBI single.

Up Next
LSU gears up for a three-game series at Tiger Park against No. 12/11 Arizona on April 10-12.