LSU softball came from behind to punch its ticket to Super Regionals in Game 6 of the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional on Sunday in a 7-2 victory over Virginia Tech.
There was drama from the beginning of the game when the Hokies scored first with one run in both the first and second innings, but in the top of the third, LSU came back with a vengeance, scoring four runs.
Senior catcher Maci Bergeron led the Tigers’ offense for the second consecutive game in the Baton Rouge Regional. The senior went two-for-four on the day, with two RBI in the contest. Over the weekend, she went eight-for-10, batting .800 on the weekend.
“There’s parts of this season that didn’t go the way I wanted it to,” Bergeron said postgame, “but having the weekend that I had for regionals and taking my team to supers and helping them do that means everything to me.”
The 2025 NFCA All-American has struggled a bit to match the numbers from her junior campaign in 2026, but she saw beachballs all weekend in the regional round. She led the team in the way she was expected to all season from both sides of the ball, and she even managed the Tigers’ pitching staff well enough to get three complete games from each starter.
Paytn Monticelli started in the circle for LSU on Sunday. The senior shoved in her ninth start of the season, and while she usually works her best in relief, she threw like an expert in complete games.
“I was nervous, not nervous to face the team that we had on the other side of the field, but just got butterflies,” Monticelli said postgame. “I wasn’t playing scared or anything. I was trying to acknowledge the fact that this is a big game, and it was easy to kind of settle in after that first inning.”
She started off the game with some trouble from Virginia Tech, allowing five hits in the first two innings, but once she settled in, she fueled the Tigers’ offensive energy by keeping LSU off the field as much as possible.
In seven innings pitched, she struck out two batters and didn’t walk a single one. She made a statement in her final game at Tiger Park with the outing. She transferred to LSU to become a starter, and she showed her growth and worth as a pitcher in the biggest outing of her senior season.
This game showcased LSU’s gritty nature in a tough playing environment. The energy in Tiger Park was electric from both sides of the bleachers, but once the Hokies took their early lead, the LSU fans went a bit quiet and the Virginia Tech fans went wild in response.
The Tigers had to overcome that momentum shift to get back on top, and once they did, the fans in purple and gold helped maintain the energy in the stadium. LSU hit the gas in the third inning and didn’t look back, which has been an Achilles heel historically.
Every problem LSU has encountered this season has shown in the biggest moments, and that included coming from behind to overcome the Hokies on Sunday.
Winning Game 6 brings LSU back to the NCAA Super Regional round for the first time since 2024.
The Tigers will face Alabama in Rhodes Stadium for the first time this season. LSU leads the all-time series versus the Crimson Tide 49-44, and this three-game series will put the SEC rivals’ season on the line.
