BATON ROUGE, La. – LSU catcher Alex Milazzo lined an RBI single in the seventh inning Sunday to break a 9-9 tie and lift the top-ranked Tigers to a 13-11 victory over Alabama inside Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field.
With the win, LSU’s record improved to 35-8 overall, 15-5 in the SEC, while the Crimson Tide dropped to 30-15 on the season and 9-12 in league play.
The Tigers have won seven straight SEC games and have posted consecutive weekend sweeps over Ole Miss and Alabama.
LSU’s seven-game SEC win streak is its longest in a single season since 2017, when the Tigers won eight straight league games from May 6-May 20.
LSU on Sunday completed back-to-back SEC sweeps for the first time since the 2017 Tigers posted consecutive sweeps over Auburn and Mississippi State to close the regular season.
The Tigers return to action Tuesday night as LSU travels to Hammond, La., to take on Southeastern Louisiana at 6:30 p.m. CT. The contest will be streamed on ESPN+, and it can be heard on LSU Sports Radio Network affiliates.
With the score knotted at 9-9 entering the bottom of the seventh, LSU rightfielder Josh Pearson drilled a two-out double, and Milazzo followed with a sharp run-scoring single into left-centerfield.
LSU centerfielder Dylan Crews drew a bases-loaded walk later in the inning to increase the Tigers’ lead to 11-9.
Solo homers by shortstop Jordan Thompson and by rightfielder Paxton Kling extended the margin to 13-9 in the bottom of the eighth.
Alabama leftfielder Tommy Seidl hit a two-out, two-run homer in the ninth, and after rightfielder Andrew Pinckney reached on an error, LSU reliever Riley Cooper retired first baseman Drew Williamson on a fly ball to left field to end the game.
“I’m super proud of our team,” said LSU coach Jay Johnson. “When you look back at the past two weekend sweeps, they were kind of done in a different fashion, and that’s the sign of a good team. That’s something we take pride in, the ability to win any type of game that you’re playing in, and we’ve done that lately.”
Cooper (3-2) earned the win after working the final 2.1 innings and allowing two runs on two hits with no walks and three strikeouts.
“Riley just persevered,” Johnson said. “He was in the game because he’s been there so many times, and he’s pitched with poise and composure.”
Alabama reliever Hunter Hoopes (1-1) was charged with the loss after firing 2.2 innings and allowing two runs on three hits with three walks and two strikeouts.
The Crimson Tide began the game with a sharp single to right field by shortstop Jim Jarvis and loaded the bases with two walks. Catcher Dominic Tamez lifted a ball to left field to bring home the game’s first run on a sacrifice fly. Alabama led 1-0 after the first inning.
LSU first baseman Jared Jones gave the Tigers their first lead of the game with his 14th homer of the season. Jones launched his two-run shot to left-centerfield following Thompson’s two-out single.
Crews increased LSU’s lead to 3-1 after sending his 13th dinger of the season to right field.
Alabama struck for three runs in the top of the fourth on the strength of two doubles and a sacrifice fly to retake the lead. Tide first baseman Drew Willamson added another run in the fifth with a solo home run to make the score 5-3. The visitors closed the frame by scoring on a throwing error and sac fly to make it 7-3.
The Tigers responded in a big way during the bottom half of the fifth, plating six runs to take a 9-7 lead. The inning began with Milazzo reaching on an error, followed by second baseman Gavin Dugas and left fielder Tre’ Morgan coaxing walks. Crews drove in the first run of the frame with a sharp single to left. Third baseman Tommy White did the same with a single to right field.
With the bases loaded, designated hitter Cade Beloso and Thompson both drew base-on-balls, each collecting an RBI. Jones added to LSU’s total with a sac fly and Milazzo singled to right field, which scored Beloso. LSU led 9-7 heading to the sixth.
The Crimson Tide plated single runs in the sixth and seventh to tie the game before Milazzo’s two-out RBI single in the seventh, giving LSU the 10-9 lead. Following a hit-by-pitch by Dugas and a walk by Morgan, Crews drew a walk with the bases loaded to give LSU an 11-9 advantage.
“Alex is doing a great job,” Johnson said of Milazzo, who is now hitting .362 this season. “The focus level on that at-bat, how in control he was, and he knew he just had to get on top of the ball and hit it hard and low. We call two-out RBI hits ‘goldens,’ and he came through in strong fashion.”