Published Mar 12, 2023
Kling's rap wraps a third straight run-rule win for No. 1 LSU
circle avatar
Ron Higgins  •  Death Valley Insider
Columnist
Twitter
@RonHigg

The 10-run rule kings of college baseball did it again.

No. 1 LSU, fueled by Tommy White’s grand slam homer and Paxton Kling’s walk-off three-run homer, scored nine runs in the bottom of the seventh for a 13-1 victory over Samford in a game called because of the 10-run rule Sunday afternoon in Alex Box Stadium.

Despite moving the game to start two hours earlier at 11 a.m. because of expected afternoon storms, it was the 10th straight win for LSU (15-1) and the Tigers’ sixth 10-run rule victory in their last seven games.

“I thought our guys responded well after we moved the game up,” LSU head coach Jay Johnson said. “Their pitcher (Samford starter Will Lynch) did a nice job the first time to the order, but it's difficult with our hitters to get through a second and third time. We eventually got him out of the game and got the floodgates open again."

Sunday’s win also is believed to be the first time in LSU baseball history that the Tigers swept an opponent with three consecutive run-rule wins. LSU’s 10-game win streak is its longest since the 2017 season, when the Tigers won 17 straight games from May 11 through June 17.

In the series, LSU outscored Samford by a combined 36-2 in 21 innings and had 28 hits including 10 homers and four doubles for the Tigers who hit .341 in the sweep.

Six LSU pitchers allowed a combined five hits (all singles) and two earned runs (0.86 ERA in 21 innings, striking out 30 and walking eight.

Tigers’ starters Paul Skenes (game 1), Ty Floyd (game 2) and Thatcher Hurd (game 3) gave up just two hits and one earned run in 16 innings for a 0.56 ERA while striking out 25 and walking six.

LSU junior center fielder Dylan Crews, who batted .750 (6 of 8) in the series with four RBI and seven runs scored, also hit two homers including a two-out, two-run shot in the third inning Sunday for a 2-0 Tigers’ lead.

Tigers’ freshman first baseman/designated hitter Jared Jones hit. 600 (6 for 10) in the series, including four homers, 11 RBI and five runs scored. He had an RBI single Sunday.

Tigers’ freshman right-fielder Kling hit .600 (6 for 10) in the series with three RBI, six runs scored, one double and Sunday’s victory-clinching three-run homer.

LSU sophomore third baseman/designated hitter White hit .444 (4 of 9) in the series with nine RBI, six runs scored, two doubles and two homers including his first LSU career grand slam.

Sunday marked White’s first game playing third base after injuring a shoulder in a season-opening win over Western Michigan. After missing three games, he returned to the lineup as a designated hitter for the last 11 games.

“We're just trying to be smart about it and we don't want to take any steps back,” Johnson said of working White slowly into his return to playing third base. “He'd been throwing for four or five days now. I just kind of wanted to be sure the soreness wasn't going to affect any other part of his game.

“We chose today because we have a day off tomorrow (LSU is on spring break this week). He can recover and take treatment and then be ready to go again on Tuesday (against UNO).”

The Tigers face the Privateers in a 6:30 p.m. start in Alex Box Stadium before opening SEC play Friday with a three-game series at Texas A&M.