Outfielder Trey Watkins had a roller coaster sophomore campaign with the No. 23 LSU baseball team.
The Montz native began the season as the Tigers’ starting left fielder but a dislocated elbow put Watkins on the bench for almost a month.
Freshman Mason Katz replaced Watkins in left field prior to this season’s Southeastern Conference tournament, and Watkins has been limited to pinch running situations this postseason.
Watkins returned to glory Friday night in the Los Angeles Regional as he provided a walk-off double to lift LSU past UC Irvine, 11-10, in 11 innings after pinch running for senior designated hitter Matt Gaudet.
Watkins’ two-out, two-strike hit scored sophomore shortstop Austin Nola and freshman third baseman Alex Edward.
Nola also came up heroic in the game. He ripped a two-out single in the bottom of the ninth when LSU was trailing, 9-8. Pinch runner Johnny Dishon jolted from second base to home for the tying run.
“I’m so proud of our kids for making two comebacks with two outs and nobody on in the ninth inning and again in the last inning,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri in a news releasei.
Junior reliever Ben Alsup got the win after pitching the final two innings. LSU’s starter for the game, junior Austin Ross, threw 6.1 innings and allowed five runs with no walks.
Senior pitcher Paul Bertuccini made his record-setting 109th career appearance, eclipsing Mark LaRosa for the most in LSU history.
Senior catcher Micah Gibbs led the Tigers with five RBIs and a home run. Junior outfielder Leon Landry and Katz each had three hits.
“We played the way that championship teams are supposed to play when they face adversity,” Mainieri said. “It’s a credit to the determination of our players that we were able to win this game.”
Gibbs’ homer in the fifth inning gave LSU a 7-3 lead, but UC Irvine came back and led going into the bottom of the ninth inning.
The Tigers will face the regional’s No. 1 seed UCLA at 8 p.m. Saturday night. The Bruins dispatched No. 4 seed Kent State, 15-1, in the regional’s second game.
—-Contact Michael Lambert at [email protected].
Baseball: Watkins’ two-out double lifts Tigers past UC Irvine in extra innings thriller
June 4, 2010