4/8/2022 baseball Edit

Ninth-inning rally gives LSU first Friday SEC win

David Folse • Death Valley Insider

Staff Writer

Down to its final strike, the LSU offense that was limited to only three hits for the first 8.2 innings awoke from its slumber.

The Tigers sent eight batters to the plate in the ninth inning, scoring four runs in a come-from-behind 5-2 SEC victory over rival Mississippi State Friday night in Starkville.

LSU improved to 21-9 and 5-5 in the SEC. Mississippi State dropped to 18-13 and 4-6 in the league.

Prior to the ninth-inning rally, the Tigers had been limited to a season-tying low of a single run on a season-low three hits and struck out 13 times. LSU scored a run in the fourth without the benefit of a hit for 1-0 lead before State took a 2-1 lead on first baseman Luke Hancock's two-run single.

Catcher Hayden Travinski started the Tigers' ninth inning rally by drawing a two-out walk from State reliever Jackson Fristoe followed by pinch-hitter Josh Stevenson being hit by a pitch. After a wild pitch pushed both runners into scoring position, sophomore first baseman Tre’ Morgan gave the Tigers a 3-2 lead with a two-run single up the middle.

“Tre’ is the guy we want up in that situation for sure,” LSU coach Jay Johnson said. “We had a feeling that he was going to see a slider right there, so we wanted Tre’ to sit on it and make sure it was up and over the plate. We didn’t want him to do too much; we didn’t need a homer, we needed a ball hit hard and low, and that’s what Tre’ did.”

The Bulldogs tried to stop the rally by yanking Fristoe and inserting reliever Brooks Auger. But LSU center fielder Dylan Crews greeted Auger by depositing 1-1 pitch over the right field wall for a two-run homer and a 5-2 lead.

LSU got another quality pitching start from graduate senior Ma’Khail Hilliard. He went six-plus innings, allowing two earned runs on 10 scattered hits, striking out five and not walking a batter.

“Ma’Khail executed the game plan the way we wanted him to,” Johnson said. “He’s tough, and we need toughness to win a series. If we have to win a game, he’s the guy we want on the mound.”

Relievers Eric Reyzelman, Riley Cooper and Paul Gervase all came out of the bullpen and combined for a no-hitter in three scoreless innings.

LSU will go for the series win Saturday afternoon in game two at 2 p.m. Sophomore Blake Money is expected to get the start on the mound for the Tigers.