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— LSU Baseball (@LSUbaseball) May 8, 2024
BATON ROUGE, La. – LSU first baseman Jared Jones launched a two-out, two-run homer Tuesday night to erase a 5-4 deficit and lift the Tigers to a 6-5 win over Northwestern State in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field.
LSU improved to 32-18 on the season, while Northwestern State dropped to 19-29.
The Tigers return to action at 6 p.m. CT Friday when they open a three-game SEC series versus Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Ala. The game will be broadcast on the LSU Sports Radio Network and streamed on SEC Network +.
LSU trailed, 5-4, with one out in the bottom of the eighth inning when second baseman Steven Milam doubled down the right-field line. After Northwestern State reliever Caleb Bunch retired LSU first baseman Tommy White, Jones blasted a home run beyond the left-field wall – his 21st dinger of the season – to give the Tigers the lead.
Right-hander Gavin Guidry (2-0) retired the side in order in the ninth, completing a fantastic relief outing. Guidry worked 4.0 scoreless innings, limiting the Demons to one hit with no walks and seven strikeouts.
“I’m so proud of our team right now,” said LSU coach Jay Johnson. “We’ve been playing playoff baseball for a while, and just the response to all of this is phenomenal. We had an emotionally draining series (vs. Texas A&M) last weekend, we’re right in the middle of final exams, and we’re going on the road (to Alabama) tomorrow.
“I could tell there was some mental fatigue, and I told the guys in the fifth inning that we have to win this game. I don’t normally do that, because we’re usually about the play and the process. But, we had to get past the disappointment and frustration of the first few innings, and focus on winning the game. And, we did on all sides of the ball.”
Bunch (2-1) was charged with the loss after allowing Jones’ game-winning blast.
Catcher Brady Neal gave the Tigers a 2-0 lead in the second inning with a two-run homer, his ninth dinger of the year.
The Demons, however, struck for three runs in the fourth as shortstop Hayden Knotts provided a run-scoring double, centerfielder Reese Lipoma lined an RBI single, and second baseman Samuel Stephenson lifted a sacrifice fly.
Northwestern State extended its lead to 5-2 in the fifth on a two-run single by rightfielder Colin Rains.
LSU narrowed the gap to 5-3 in the bottom of the fifth when shortstop Michael Braswell III smacked an RBI single, and the Tigers reduced the deficit to 5-4 in the seventh when leftfielder Josh Pearson walked, moved to second on a balk, advanced to third on rightfielder Ashton Larson’s single, and scored when Lipoma bobbled the ball in center field.