LSU baseball proved that lightning can strike twice.
The opening pitch was moved up to avoid the bad weather just like it was yesterday, and just like yesterday the Tigers got a solid outing from its starter, three hits from Tommy White and relief appearances from Christian Little and Griffin Herring to close out the game after building an early lead.
The Tigers won 4-2 and improved their record to 35-20 overall and 12-17 in SEC play. They’re now just one win away from hitting the 13-win mark to give themselves a shot at sneaking into a regional. They’ve won four of their last five SEC series now. Ole Miss fell to 27-27 overall and 11-18 in SEC play.
“We’ve been able to pull ourselves out of this to where (we) still have a great chance of playing in the NCAA tournament,” LSU head coach Jay Johnson said.
LSU baseball jumped out to an early lead thanks to White. He belted a ball over the bleachers in the first inning for his 21st homer of the season that gave LSU a 1-0 lead. LSU would double its lead in the second inning thanks to a couple hits with two outs gone.
Watch That One Geaux@tommywhite44 | SECN+ pic.twitter.com/nCCK4BJ3hN
— LSU Baseball (@LSUbaseball) May 17, 2024
Ashton Larson hit a double before being brought home on an RBI single from Alex Milazzo. A flyout ended the damage there.
Ole Miss recorded its first hit of the game in the fourth inning thanks to a single from Andrew Fischer., but Holman recorded a strikeout to keep the Rebels scoreless.
The Tigers again doubled their lead in the fifth inning. Braswell led off with a single and White hit a double to put the runners on second and third. Ole Miss pulled its start Liam Doyle for Josh Mallitz afterwards. Doyle allowed eight hits and four runs in four innings pitched.
Mallitz got the first out of the inning with a fly out, but a ground out from Travinski brought a runner home. Josh Pearson followed up with an RBI single to right field to score White and make it 4-0.
Holman allowed his first runs of the day in the sixth inning to cut the deficit in half for Ole Miss. Luke Hill homered after an Eli Berch single to bring the score to 4-2. A foul out and ground out ended the inning.
LSU missed out on a perfect opportunity to give itself some cushion in the bottom of the sixth. The Tigers had the bases loaded thanks to three walks with one out gone with White and Jones coming up to bat. They both struck out though to end the inning scoreless.
Holman allowed a couple hits to put two runners on base with two outs gone in the seventh before he was pulled for Little. Holman allowed five hits, two runs and recorded nine strikeouts in 6.2 innings pitched. Little recorded a strikeout to strand the runners.
“Luke pitched like an ace,” Johnson said. “I think he is one of the best pitchers in the entire country. He’s had a great season for us, and when you pitch like that, you’re going to give your team a chance to win because it doesn’t force you to be perfect offensively.”
Little found himself in trouble in the eighth inning though after allowing a single and a walk to put two runners on with no outs. Herring came in and struck out two batters and forced a groundout on the third to send the Rebels down to their final three outs.
GRIFFIN. HERRING.@GriffinHerring1 | SECN+ pic.twitter.com/bMJcCnuMlH
— LSU Baseball (@LSUbaseball) May 17, 2024
Milazzo doubled in the bottom of the eighth to put a runner in scoring position with one out gone. He went 2-for-3 on the day with a sac bunt. White was intentionally walked to put two runners on, but Jones struck out to head to the ninth.
Griffin sent the Rebels three up, three down to end the game in the ninth.
“I’m really proud of Griffin, and his competitive makeup is as good as anybody in the country,” Johnson said. “He’s had an All-American caliber season, and when the game’s on the line in such a leverage spot in the season for us, there’s nobody else that I’d rather have out there.”
Game three will start tomorrow at 1 p.m. and can be streamed on SEC Network +.
Be the first to comment