LSU, Josh Smith come alive in ninth to upend Cal in 4-3 walkoff win

Josh Smith still didn't think he got a particularly good swing on the final pitch he saw Friday.

But the junior shortstop managed just enough contact to loop his first hit into shallow center.

Just enough to bring a pair of runners home from loaded bases and the rest of his LSU teammates barreling out of the dugout with the 4-3 comeback defeat of Cal.

"Honestly, the first swing I took was way too big," Smith smiled after the two-RBI, walkoff single. "The second or third swing I took was a terrible swing. And then the hit was a terrible swing, and it just fell for me. One of those days, I guess, but I guess I'll take it ... Butt out, just off the calf of the bat, but placed it perfectly."

Coach Paul Mainieri continued to joke with Smith after the huddle that had swarmed the junior star out into right field had cleared.

The Catholic-Baton Rouge product walked calmly into the batter's box as the No. 9 Tigers' final hope after a series of breaks provided him a golden opportunity to rewrite an 0-for-4 performance to that point.

"I inspired him so much, he swung at the first pitch over his head trying to hit it over The Intimidator (sign in right field)," Mainieri joked. "But the key pitch was the one before the base hit, when he fouled and dribbled that one over. He was just fighting an off-speed pitch there and eventually got to live for another pitch, and he was able to bloop that ball in."

The Golden Bears (6-5) had kept the entire LSU (10-3) lineup off-balance all night.

Starter Arman Sabouri and reliever Sam Stoutenborough held the Tigers to just three hits in the first seven innings, including just one leadoff man reaching safely.

Hal Hughes finally became LSU's second leadoff runner in the bottom of the eighth and advanced to second on an infield single popped up by center fielder Zach Watson but allowed to fall by defensive miscommunication.

Still, Stoutenborough and the Golden Bears managed to escape the threat clinging to their 3-2 advantage.

But with another — albeit increasingly limited — opportunity in the ninth, the Tigers ultimately broke through.

A pinch-hit Saul Garza single had placed pinch-runner Drew Bianco on board with one out.

And a two-out, infield single by designated hitter Giovanni DiGiacomo moved the tying run into scoring position.

Stoutenborough appeared to work his way out of the jam yet again as Hughes swung and missed at a 2-2 ball in the dirt.

But the pitch found its way to the backstop to load the bases and extend the game.

Smith took care of the rest.

"I told him, 'Look, you haven't had a good night tonight, but this is what's so great about baseball,'" Mainieri said. "'You can't get down on yourself, because you always get another chance. Now look at you here. It's the ninth inning, you've got a chance to be the hero. What's your mindset right now? Are you thinking positive? Or you've had a rough night and you've already cashed it in. Your team's counting on you, and you have to have a positive attitude right now.

"'And this is the wonderful thing about baseball. From day to day, from weekend to weekend, from at-bat to at-bat, from pitch to pitch, you just can't get down on yourself, because you'll always get an opportunity to do something special for your team. And you just can't start rationalizing too soon.'"

Starting pitcher Zack Hess overcame some early struggles of his own before finding a rhythm and giving his bullpen and Smith and company an opportunity to secure the comeback.

The junior star allowed a leadoff blast over the left-center field wall to Cal left fielder Cameron Eden to open the game and labored through some long, hard-hit innings to open the contest.

But, on each occasion until exiting two outs into the sixth inning, he was able to work his way out of any trouble he faced.

"I thought Zack actually got stronger in the middle innings," Mainieri said. "He found his slider. He was throwing his slider for strikes. Just like he always does, he's just a very courageous kid that keeps fighting. He kept his team in the game. He pitched out of a couple of jams. Listen, the first few batters of the game hit the ball really hard against him. And then he found his slider and gave his team a chance to win."

LSU catcher Brock Mathis led off the bottom of the third with a triple high off the left-field wall.

And an RBI sacrifice fly by DiGiacomo converted the team's only leadoff runner until Hughes in the eighth into a game-tying run.

"We just couldn't square anything up all night," Mainieri said. "It was kind of frustrating. We were really fortunate. Brock's ball, I think the wind carried it more than it would've. And it hit the top of the fence, I guess, and then ricocheted into center field. I don't know what it hit. And then I thought Giovanni did a good job just putting that ball in play to get a sacrifice fly. But we just didn't hit many balls hard tonight offensively. The whole night was a struggle for us, and I'm a little bit perplexed as to why."

Hess struck out three straight to strand a leadoff runner in the top of the fourth and continued to roll through 5 2/3 until a long, two-out at-bat by Sam Wezniak derailed the momentum.

The Golden Bears' sophomore shortstop battled through several pitches to extend the inning with a single up the middle.

Wezniak advanced on a wild pitch, and center fielder Brandon McIlwain drew a walk to end Hess' night at 101 pitches.

"It was not the ideal way to start the game off, but just kind of had to find a way to battle back there and get into a groove," Hess said. "I thought our defense played really well behind me and just happy to come out of here with a win ... It just felt like I was getting a little bit more extension with (my breaking ball) tonight than I had been getting previously. And that was a big pitch for me. That's a very good fastball-hitting team, so being able to throw that early in counts, I thought was crucial for me."

Aaron George struggled to find the strike zone in relief, though.

The junior righty walked the first two batters he faced, the latter bringing Wezniak home for a 2-1 lead.

And McIlwain added Cal's third run on a passed ball in the next at-bat before George could shut down the rally.

Freshman Landon Marceaux pitched a scoreless top of the seventh to allow the Tigers to draw back to within 3-2 on a one-out single to deep right-field by first baseman Cade Beloso, double down the third-base line by third baseman Chris Reid and sacrifice fly by Mathis.

And junior Matthew Beck came on early in the eighth to pitch 1 2/3 innings of one-hit, shutout ball to earn the win.

"Nobody's perfect," Mainieri said. "We gave them stuff. They gave us stuff. And ultimately we were pretty fortunate when Josh hit that ball off the end of the bat and it had enough carry to get out to the outfield. And once it was dropping, you knew there was no way they were gonna throw Gio out. He's just way too fast. So, we found a way to win. We've got to play a lot better than this. But at least we found a way to win."

LSU remained unbeaten at Alex Box Stadium this season with the victory, winning its second straight since being swept at Texas this past weekend.

The Tigers and Golden Bears are scheduled to play a doubleheader of seven-inning games at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. Saturday to complete their three-game series before storms reach the area Sunday.

A pair of right-handers, freshman Cole Henry and sophomore Eric Walker, are slated to start the games for LSU.