The LSU softball team came from behind to win both games of a doubleheader against Mississippi State in Starkville, Miss.
LSU (25-9, 6-4 Southeastern Conference) rallied for 12 runs in the final four innings of the second game to tie the score at 12 and send the contest into extra innings. The Tigers then took a 15-12 lead in the eighth, but MSU (23-14, 3-8 SEC) came back to score one in the bottom of the inning and threatened to rally again.
With two outs and runners on second and third, Kristin Schmidt struck out Jennifer Jessup to end the game and secure the series win.
LSU trailed 9-3 after three innings, but a Camille Harris grand slam started the rally in the fifth inning. Harris was 2-for-3 with four RBIs in the second game.
“I have been involved in some unbelievable games, and I believe that this might just be one of the craziest,” said LSU head coach Yvette Girouard. “I have to give credit to the players for never giving up. It was a very ugly game on defense, but we came back and found a way to win.”
Kristin Schmidt (14-8) got the win after coming in the game in the seventh inning for Tessa Lynam, who gave up seven earned runs and 15 hits.
The 13 runs MSU scored were the most given up in LSU history.
Lynam did more damage at the plate, going 2-for-6 with three RBIs. Jennie Reeves (2-for-4, two RBIs) and Julie Wiese (2-for-4, two RBIs) also contributed for the Tigers.
Melissa Massey (15-6) pitched six innings, giving up six earned runs, in the loss.
LSU held off the Bulldogs in the first game, 4-3, after falling behind 2-0 in the first inning on a two-run home run by Brooke Best. The Tigers held off a MSU no-out, bases-loaded rally in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Mississippi State jumped on Schmidt early in the game with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning on a Brooke Best home run to score Jennifer Nelson.
Sara Fitzgerald was 3-for-4 with a single, a double and an RBI to pace the Tigers, while Lynam went 2-for-3 with a solo shot, her first home run of the season.
Schmidt allowed three runs on seven hits for the win. Nelson (4-4) took the loss for MSU, giving up four runs on eight hits with two walks and five strikeouts.
The series will conclude Thursday with a single game at 4 p.m.