The LSU baseball team managed a close 6-5 victory over the Northwestern State Demons Tuesday night in a gritty battle at Alex Box.

The first inning was uneventful for both teams. The Tigers put the first points on the board in the second inning with a Brady Neal home run that also allowed freshman outfielder Ashton Larson to score.

Neither team could get any offense going in the third inning, bringing the matchup to the top of the fourth with LSU still up 2-0.

The Demons took the lead in the fourth, with a double from Hayden Knotts that allowed Rocco Gump to score. Knotts was then able to run home after Reese Lipoma singled up the middle.

To give the Demons the edge, Lipoma then scored after Samuel Stephenson flied out to center field.

In the fifth inning, NSU’s Colin Rains singled to center field, allowing both Clay Jung and Daniel Burroway to score. This brought the score to 5-2 with the Demons over the Tigers.

The Purple and Gold chipped away at their lead in the bottom of the fifth, with Josh Pearson scoring on a Michael Braswell III single.

It was still 5-3 in favor of Northwestern State at the bottom of the seventh until Pearson advanced to third and then scored on an error.

By the top of the eighth, LSU was only trailing by one. NSU still could not get its offense going with three up and three down, bringing the game to the bottom of the eighth.

After Paxton Kling lined out, Steven Milam doubled and Tommy White grounded out. Then, Jared Jones stepped up to the plate and hit it out of the park, allowing Milam to score and securing a 6-5 lead for the Tigers.

It was another three up and three down for NSU in the ninth inning, which solidified LSU’s narrow victory.

The Bayou Bengals will be back in action at Sewell-Thomas Stadium in Tuscaloosa ahead of their series with the Alabama Crimson Tide starting Friday, May 10.