Late homerun from Beloso pushes LSU to 5-4 win

Late heroics from unlikely sources helped LSU baseball squeak out a 5-4 win over California to claim the series.

Eric Walker was back on the mound for the Tigers and needed just 16 pitches to get through the first two innings, sitting the first eight batters he faced.

Third baseman Chris Reid got the scoring going with the second homerun of his career in 271 at bats. The senior has taken every opportunity presented to him and sprinted with it after being cut from the team in the Fall and brought back in the Spring.

The homerun was the first in his career that actually left the park as the first one he hit was an inside the park homerun in the 2016 season.

Walker got himself into some trouble in the third after retiring the first two batters. A walk followed by back-to-back singles evened the game up at 1-1 with runners on second and third. The sophomore pitcher then walked two more batters, tacking on another run that put the Golden Bears up 2-1.

A single from second baseman Darren Baker brought home two more runs before the Tigers got out of the inning with a popup.

Two more hits to open the fourth inning ended Walker’s afternoon and replaced for Devin Fontenot. Fontenot needed just eight pitches to get out of the inning unscathed as the Tigers kept the deficit at three runs.

The sophomore reliever was impressive in four innings of work, not allowing a run despite four runners in scoring position in the fourth and fifth innings.

First baseman Cade Beloso, who had gone hitless in game two and his first at bat of game three, blasted a solo shot to right field that made the score 4-2 in the fourth.

Josh Smith was hit by a pitch to kickoff the fifth inning and centerfielder Zach Watson followed up with a double down the line that scored Smith. The inning could’ve been much bigger but popouts from the middle of the lineup stalled the comeback at 4-3.

To make the comeback complete, Reid and Beloso came to the rescue again, starting with a single from Reid and followed by a fastball tattooed by Beloso that put the Tigers up 5-4 in the sixth inning.

Fontenot was thrust out to close in the seventh inning already at 48 pitches and Andrew Vaughn at the plate. Fontenot got Vaughn to flyout to centerfield but surrendered a double off the wall the very next batter.

LSU is back in action on Tuesday when it will take on Northwestern State in Natchitoches.