The No. 17-ranked LSU Tigers defeated Ole Miss, 8-5, in the final game of the series, completing the three-game sweep over the Rebels.
Head Coach Beth Torina sent out ace Jayden Heavener in attempt to shut down the Rebel lineup. However, it was reliever Paytn Monticelli who stole the show in the pitching circle.
“Changing eye levels with the hitters is what helped me be deceptive in the game and what helped me continue to get people out.” Monticelli said after her stellar weekend in the circle.
Monticelli went 3.1 innings in relief in Sunday’s game without allowing a run and earning the win. She got plenty of help from the offense, who scorched the Ole Miss pitching staff for eight runs.
LSU scored four runs in the second inning in large part thanks to a Jalia Lassiter two-RBI double. The Tigers put the nail in the coffin in the sixth inning, when Alix Franklin tripled home a run and scored on an error by the Rebels.
Leading the way for LSU, however, was first baseman Tori Edwards who clubbed two homeruns, including the game tying home run in the fifth inning. The Tigers needed every run as Ole Miss hammered four home runs in the game, highlighted by Madi George’s two-homer day.
“If they throw a punch at us, knowing that Jalia Lassiter is going to lead off the inning and throw a punch, or that she gets on base with a walk, a hit, it doesn’t matter. Like she’s going to set the tone and then having Sierra and Kylee and me and Tori, I would not want to pitch to us.” Alix Franklin said on the teams response following George’s two-run home run in the first inning.
The offensive outburst led to the LSU win and was the common theme in all three games of the series.
The series sweep over the Rebels brings the Tigers overall record to 32-14 and 9-9 in SEC play. They will be tested in SEC play yet again when they travel to Starkville, Mississippi, for a three-game series against Mississippi State starting Friday, April 24th.
