Newly No. 17-ranked LSU softball has defied expectations over its past few games by holding No. 12 Arizona’s top offense to multiple lackluster batting performances over the weekend, followed by a no-hitter against UL-Lafayette on Tuesday.
LSU held Arizona’s top-10 batting offense to a .200 average and only five runs, only letting up two runs in the first two games of the series. It was truly an impressive performance by LSU’s defense, as before this series, Arizona averaged a .363 batting average and eight runs per game.
In LSU’s mid-week showdown against ULL, the Tigers breezed past the Ragin’ Cajuns 8-0 without letting up a hit to one of the Sunbelt’s top-five hitting teams.
People may be quick to say a strong SEC team like LSU should be expected to halt even the best offenses in the Big 12 or Sun Belt, but this season, against Arizona or ULL, that has not been the case.
Against No. 1 Oklahoma, Arizona never failed to produce runs, recording 11 in its first contest against the Sooners. Lafayette has also played SEC teams well this season, scoring eight runs against Ole Miss and 10 versus Texas A&M.
All of LSU’s bullpen showed up in the big moments recently, while pitcher Jayden Heavner seems to be getting back to her best.
She started off the weekend with one of her best outings of this season, dealing a 2.44 ERA through a complete game, while striking out three batters. She’d then follow that up by single-handedly pitching LSU’s first no-hitter of the season through five innings.
This comes at a big time for Heavner, who has not met the full expectations of LSU fans this season.
Many expected her to make the jump to the true ace for this LSU defense after a great freshman year. Despite still holding strong stats, Heavner has been inconsistent throughout 2026, throwing 18 wild pitches and hitting 20 batters.
Head coach Beth Torina also recently made adjustments to her playing time. Heavner was not given starting duties in the first contest of both the Oklahoma and South Carolina series.
With these two big performances, though, it seems like Heavner has regained her rhythm and could still finish as one of the best SEC pitchers this season.
Cece Cellura and Paytn Monticelli have also been huge contributors to LSU’s No. 7-ranked SEC pitching unit and put up big performances of their own against Arizona.
Cellura played a complete game on Saturday, and despite giving up a series-high seven hits, held the Arizona offense to just one run. She also struck out three batters and, most importantly, secured a clutch series win for the Tigers.
Cellura has had some big moments this season as a second-choice pitcher against some top SEC programs. She is 5-2 in games in which she pitches seven or more innings, with wins against ranked teams like South Carolina and Oklahoma State.
Cellura has provided a solid balance to the bullpen in her first season in Baton Rouge and should be expected to continue improving in Torina’s always impressive pitching rotation.
“We trusted Cece on the mound,” Kylee Edwards said. “She threw a great game. And firstly, I knew nobody was going to get a hit off of her.”
Monticelli also looked comfortable in her outing against Arizona. She was kept on the mound for 5.1 innings and recorded a series high four strikeouts.
She played better than the loss shows, helping LSU win its only batting matchup of the series by letting up just two of the three total hits, which ties the third-lowest amount for Arizona this season.
“She’s awesome,” Jaila Lassiter said about Monticelli. “She definitely deserved that game, and she was pitching a great game. Very proud of her and just the week she had preparing.”
Along with the pitchers, outfielders also played big roles in keeping Arizona’s hits low. The opponent had plenty of deep-hit fly-balls over the weekend, leaving players like Alix Franklin and Char Lorenz to make plenty of big catches.
Franklin consistently did so, recording seven putouts over the weekend, while Lorenz led LSU’s outfielders with nine.
Franklin has been an asset after being moved from third base to right field at the start of the season. Torina has applauded her for her nice throwing arm and versatility, making her capable of playing all over the defense. The passion the Louisiana native has is clear, and she seems destined to continue improving both on the mound and on the field.
“Yeah, she’s been awesome,” Torina said about Franklin. “Alex has done a really nice job, and I think she’s super aggressive. She just wants to be out there. It’s nice to have somebody just representing our state and our community.”
Overall, LSU’s great defense has been the centerpiece of this season’s team. Despite poor offensive performances, it has done enough to propel the squad to wins against strong competition and deserves more national recognition.
Will the Tigers be able to keep that trend up with more competitive SEC series on the horizon?
