STARKVILLE, Miss. – Lauren Castle broke the school single-game record for hits as the 25th-ranked LSU softball team defeated Mississippi State, 15-9, in the Southeastern Conference series finale on Thursday night at the Bulldog Diamond.

The Tigers (18-13, 2-10 SEC) have the weekend off before facing Arkansas in a midweek conference series beginning next Wednesday with a doubleheader. The Bulldogs dropped to 23-16 on the season and 5-7 in league play.

“We finally broke through,” said head coach Yvette Girouard, who won her 999th career game and is one shy of becoming the fifth coach in NCAA Division I history with 1,000 career wins. “We are going home limping. We’ve got some problems pitching. We have players’ arms that are hurting, but I like the way this team fought.

“Obviously our backs are against the wall. We didn’t quit last night and we didn’t quit today. We are showing a lot of character and hopefully we can build on this.”

Castle broke the LSU single-game record for hits, going a perfect 5-for-5 at the plate with a double and four runs scored. While breaking the hits record, previously held by 17 people, Castle tied the runs scored record, now held by six players.

In addition, Quinlan Duhon went 3-for-5 with a doubles and three RBIs and Leslie Klein went 2-for-5 with a pair of doubles and three RBIs. Vanessa Soto also posted a multiple-hit game, with a 2-for-4 with a double, RBI and run scored, while Andrea Smith was 2-for-3 with and RBI and run scored.

Freshman Tiffany Garcia earned the win for the Tigers in relief to improve to 6-2 on the season. She allowed four runs on six hits with four walks and three strikeouts in five and two-thirds innings. Emily Turner started and went an inning and a third. She allowed five runs on four hits with two walks and two strikeouts.