Deadlocked at two runs for much of the game, nothing could separate LSU and Auburn Saturday night. It was looking like an average Saturday game for LSU, another close game that would ultimately slip through its collective fingers late.
Then, the magic finally came in the bottom of the ninth.
Alex Milazzo and Ashton Larson both got hits to put runners on base for LSU’s two most dangerous hitters. LSU had runners on first and third and one out when Tommy White came up to bat, but after he struck out and Jared Jones was intentionally walked, it felt like LSU could blow another great chance.
Luckily for the home Tigers, Josh Pearson had other ideas, hitting a ball over the center fielder’s head to give LSU a 3-2 win.
“My first thought was absolutely thank God,” head coach Jay Johnson said, describing how he felt after the hit.
It was also LSU’s first walk-off win of the season, the last one coming in Omaha against Wake Forest last season.
The game had all the makings of another missed opportunity, but finally executing at the right time led LSU to a win, the first time it has won back-to-back games in an SEC series this season.
LSU got back-to-back solo home runs from White and Jones in the third inning, but the pitching allowed LSU to still have a chance late.
Luke Holman got the Saturday start for the third consecutive weekend, and was unhittable for most of his time on the mound. He only allowed two hits compared to nine strikeouts and allowed two runs (one earned).
It was a bounce back performance for Holman who gave up five earned runs in 4.2 innings against Missouri. When Holman finally exited after 113 pitches, the bullpen continued to keep the Auburn bats quiet.
Gavin Guidry came in with two outs, and despite going down 3-0 against his first batter, he battled back to earn a strikeout, but the inning stayed alive when the runner advanced to first on a wild pitch.
Not letting the early adversity affect him, Guidry calmly struck out the next batter to end the inning.
Ackenhausen took over for Guidry in the seventh inning with a runner on first. He too faced early adversity after walking his first batter, putting two on with one out in a crucial moment.
He then retired the next two batters before exiting with a hamstring injury. That left Thatcher Hurd to take over with the count already 2-0, but it took just one pitch for him to get out of the inning on a fly out to left field.
“I trust those guys with everything,” Holman said about the bullpen. “
LSU’s issue for most of the game was the same as it has been for much of the season: a bunch of scattered hits with no consistent production.
LSU was outhitting Auburn 7-2 going into the ninth inning, but outside of two solo home runs, never got much out of those hits.
“A lot of at bats, our hitters let him off the hook,” Johnson said. “That game had every potential not to be 3-2 in the ninth inning in a walk off with if we execute offensively the way we need to in terms of within at bats.”
Coming off that win, LSU has a chance for its first SEC sweep of the season. The Tigers now sit 11th in the SEC, putting them back in the SEC Tournament picture for now.
Whether or not finishing a game like this can start a run remains to be seen, but officially two thirds of the way through conference play, every game feels like a must-win.
“We’re just getting better as the game goes along, and that’s a sign of all the good teams I’ve had,” Johnson said. “That’s always a common thread, and it’s taken a little while but we’re starting to get there.”
