No. 3 LSU baseball finishes the Astros Classic unbeaten after a big win over Texas State

No. 3 LSU (11-1) baseball ended the Astros College Classic unbeaten with a 10-5 win over Texas State (7-4).

Thatcher Hurd got the start on the mound for LSU and put together his best outing of the season. He went 5.0 innings and gave up two earned runs, seven hits and a walk with five strikeouts. He held Texas State scoreless through the first four innings until the Bobcats finally got things going in the top of the fifth.

“I think Thatcher is one of the best pitchers in college baseball,” LSU head coach Jay Johnson said. “I’m really pleased with his performance today. He’s one of the most self-aware pitchers that I’ve ever coached in terms of his commitment to improving. He’s incredibly diligent in his work, and I trust him to make his adjustments.”

Josh Pearson blasted a home run and Hayden Travinski, Steven Milam and Paxton Kling all had two RBI. LSU’s offense recorded 19 hits on the day.

The win meant LSU claimed the Astros Foundation College Classic title. LSU and Vanderbilt both finished 3-0, but the Tigers had a better run differential than the Commodores.

“It was a great week, going back to our win Wednesday at Rice,” Johnson said. “We got better, and I think we become more connected over the course of the road trip. Being more connected and becoming more confident is a really good step forward for us.”

Sam Hall got the start for the Bobcats and managed to keep the LSU offense relatively quiet through the first three innings before the Tiger offense came to life. He gave up a walk and two hits through the first two innings but nothing else. In the third inning Pearson hit his homer to put the Tigers up 1-0, but that was all LSU could manage.

Pearson Has Pop 💥@joshpearsonbb2 | https://t.co/NUES0EDgB7 pic.twitter.com/rdvkXZP3cz

— LSU Baseball (@LSUbaseball) March 3, 2024

In the fourth inning the LSU offense finally broke through and put up a crooked number in the frame. LSU started the inning with singles from Milam and Jared Jones. Jake Brown hit an RBI double and that was win Hall’s day came to an end. Hall ended the game with three strikeouts in 3.0 innings pitched. He gave up eight hits, one walk and four runs.

Taylor Seay came in to pitch but walked Michael Braswell III and gave up a two RBI single to Kling before being pulled for Rhett McCaffety. McCaffety recorded an out against the first batter he faced but gave up an RBI single to Tommy White in the next at bat. He then walked Brady Neal and Travinski scored a runner on a fielder’s choice. He walked Milam in the next at bat and was pulled for Peyton Zabel.

Pax doubles the lead 😤@PaxtonKling | https://t.co/NUES0EDgB7 pic.twitter.com/rcG9G84itU

— LSU Baseball (@LSUbaseball) March 3, 2024

Zabel struck out Jones to end the inning.

Texas State responded in the top of the fifth with three runs of its own. Aaron Lugo started the inning with a single, but Hurd recorded two outs against the next two batters he faced. The Bobcats then put together three straight hits and a throwing error from Braswell scored the third run of the inning to make it 6-3. Hurd hit a batter with a pitch afterwards but managed to get a strikeout to get out of the inning.

Christian Little came in to pitch for Hurd and forced a three up, three down inning before LSU added to its lead in the bottom of the sixth. Three straight doubles from Neal, Travinski and then Milam brought the score to 8-3 before the Bobcats were able to get out of the inning.

Three Straight Doubles = Two Runs@bradyneal16 | @haydenrt_ | @Monster_Milam99 pic.twitter.com/aqJyqi9R1t

— LSU Baseball (@LSUbaseball) March 3, 2024

Little gave up a single to start the seventh inning and was pulled for Javen Coleman. Coleman got out of the inning without allowing anything else.

LSU added another run to its lead after a double from Travinski put a runner on base and a Milam single brought him home. An RBI single from Ashton Larson extended the Tigers’ lead. LSU headed to the ninth inning with a 10-3 and needing just three outs to secure the win.

Coleman walked the leadoff batter in the top of the ninth but recorded a strikeout against the next batter he faced to bring LSU within two outs of a win. Bingham made a sliding grab to record the second out of the inning.

Coleman walked the next two batters in four pitch at bats to load the bases with one out to go. Coleman was pulled for DJ Primeaux after struggling to find the zone. Primeaux gave up a two RBI single and brought the score to 10-5. Primeaux then came out for Gavin Guidry.

Guidry was able to record a strikeout to end the game.

“I thought we took a good step forward this week,” Johnson said. “We have a long way to go in terms of being as good as we want to be, but we identified the things we need to do well, and if we do them well, we’ll be really, really successful.”

LSU’s next game is on the road Wednesday at Southeastern Louisiana. That game is scheduled to start at 6 p.m.