Tigers bats warm after 3-hour weather delay, LSU advances to regional final
No runs. One hit. Six runners left on base.
That was LSU’s batting performance through the first two innings Sunday vs. Oregon State in the NCAA tournament Baton Rouge Regional before a three-hour lightning/rain delay.
The Tigers’ first six hits after the delay were for extra bases including a string of five homers ending with right fielder Brayden Jobert’s game-winning solo shot in the eighth inning for a 6-5 victory in an almost 6½-hour Alex Box Stadium drama.
So, what happened during the delay that suddenly heated LSU’s bats enough to advance the Tigers (45-15) into Monday’s regional finals at 1 pm. (and at 5 p.m. if a second game is needed) in a rematch with Oregon State after the Beavers eliminated Sam Houston 3-1 late Sunday night?
Were they lighting bats on fire as a sacrifice to the baseball Gods? Or a stern lecture given to Jobert’s Jobu doll? Or yoga meditation in a dark locker room?
Apparently, all it took was for LSU 9-hole hitter left fielder Josh Pearson to lead off the Tigers’ fourth inning with a triple followed by center fielder Dylan Crews’ two-run homer to light the home team’s smoldering fuse.
“Hitting is contagious,” Jobert said. “Once they started it, it set it off for us. We put good swings on balls. We have a very strong team. Once we hit, the ball hard, they’re going to go.
Crews’ blast cut OSU’s lead to 3-2. Back-to-back solo homers by LSU catcher Hayden Travinski and Cade Beloso to lead off the fifth inning gave the Tigers a 4-3 edge which they extended to 5-3 in the sixth inning on Pearson’s solo homer.
OSU left fielder Gavin Turley’s two-run homer tied the game 5-5 in the seventh. But Jobert’s leadoff solo homer in the eighth gave the Tigers the edge they needed with freshman reliever Gavin Guidry getting the Tigers across the finish line throwing a scoreless ninth inning.
“Great college baseball game, two great teams, highly competitive,” LSU head coach Jay Johnson said. “The team did a good job of being poised and focused during the rain delay. We did have two meetings during the time to stay engaged, and then had a good plan once we got an idea of where the start time was going to be and what we wanted to do.”
The extended delay, which came after OSU took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third on second baseman Travis Bazzana’s leadoff solo homer, forced Johnson and Oregon State head coach Mitch Canham to pull starting pitchers Ty Floyd and AJ Lattery respectively.
While OSU used four relievers the rest of the way, Johnson rode reliever Thatcher Hurd through hell and back for five innings in a gutsy 99-pitch performance that earned Hurd his sixth win of the year.
Hurd gave up seven hits and four runs, including a fourth-inning leadoff solo homer by OSU right fielder Brady Kasper for 2-0 Beavers’ lead and Turley’s game-tying two-run blast in the seventh.
But the unruffled sophomore transfer from UCLA just kept chunkin.’ He struck out 12 batters, many with a curve ball that four of the last seven batters who struck out did so with their bats frozen above their shoulders.
“I had really good feel for that pitch tonight,” Hurd said. “And the depth and the differential off the fastball and the slider was good in put-away counts.”
Johnson said he considered during the delay possibly re-starting the game with Floyd, who struck out five, walked two and gave up five hits and a run in the first three innings.
“There was a point in time where could we potentially get Ty back out there versus the point where you couldn't do that, and the delay just became too long to put him back out there,” Johnson said.
“Once we pushed in with Thatcher, not only did we need outs, we needed length. I just didn't think they were picking him up. It was a great swing by Turley. The rest of them, he (Hurd) kind of scattered the hits, even the first homer. I liked how he was executing, and for me it just made more sense to stay with him.”
LSU managed but one hit in the first two innings off Oregon State starter Lattery but worked him for four walks and a a hit batter as he threw 57 pitches.
Yet the Tigers failed to score run, leaving the bases loaded both times.
LSU’s Floyd got through the first two innings unscathed, a good sign since seven of the team-high 10 homers he had allowed came in the first two innings.
But with OSU starting at the top of its batting order to leadoff the Beavers’ third, leadoff hitter Bazzana whacked Floyd’s second pitch into the right field stands for a solo homer and a 1-0 lead.
OSU first baseman Garrett Forester and center fielder Micah McDowell followed with a double and single respectively to put runners at first and third with no outs.
Yet, the Tigers dug their way out of what could have been a disastrous inning.
OSU cleanup hitter Mason Guerra swung and missed for a strikeout and LSU catcher Travinski immediately rifled the ball to Tigers’ shortstop Jordan Thompson who tagged McDowell trying to steal second base for a double play.
After OSU’s Turley walked on a 3-2 pitch, third baseman Mikey Kane flied out to left field to kill the rally.
Then, came the dreaded delay, a repeat of Saturday’s weather that forced Baton Rouge Regional tournament officials to move the end of the Sam Houston/Tulane game and LSU/OSU to Sunday.
Both teams re-started the game with fresh pitching. OSU pulled starter Lattery in favor of freshman lefty Nelson Keijo while LSU removed Floyd and inserted righty Hurd.
While the Alex Box crowd thinned after the rain delay, it did its best to raise the noise level before Hurd immediately began getting knocked around by the Beavers.
After giving up three hits to the first four batters including a leadoff solo homer by Kasper and a one-out RBI single by Bazzana for a 3-0 lead, Hurd struck out Forrester and McDowell to snuff the rally.
Though Keijo sailed through the LSU third unscathed, he was replaced to start the LSU fourth by freshman AJ Hutcheson.
The sidewinding right hander lasted three batters. After he struck out Thompson, Pearson tripled off the right field wall to set the table for Crews.
He belted a two-run homer over the left-center field wall, cutting OSU’s lead to 3-2 and pumping energy into the home crowd and LSU’s dugout.
OSU immediately made its third pitching change, bringing in senior Ben Ferrer. He retired LSU third baseman Tommy White on a grounder and struck out first baseman Tre’ Morgan to end the inning.
Hurd struck out the last three of four batters he faced in the OSU fifth. The momentum of his strikeouts carried the Tigers into their half of the fifth where they took the lead with consecutive swings of the bat.
Travinski hammered an 0-2 pitch for a game-tying solo homer over the edge of the left field stand. The celebration in the LSU dugout was still going on when Beloso rocketed Ferrer’s first pitch for a solo homer comfortably inside the right field foul pole for a 4-3 Tigers’ lead.
Hurd struck out two of four batters in OSU’s scoreless sixth before the Tigers’ Pearson extended LSU’s lead to 5-3 with a solo homer in the bottom of the sixth.
The Beavers tied the game at 5-5 in the top of the seventh. After McDowell’s leadoff single, Turley hit a one-out two-run homer to dead center field.
OSU followed with Kane’s single and a Kasper walk. As LSU reliever Riley Cooper briskly warmed up in the bullpen, Hurd struck out OSU catcher Tanner Smith and shortstop Kyle Dernedde to squelch further damage.
After Ferrer struck out Travinski, Beloso and second baseman Gavin Dugas in the LSU seventh, Hurd appeared again on the mound for the Tigers to start the eighth.
He struck out three of four batters and the LSU crowd was still roaring when Jobert led off the Tigers’ eighth with a majestic solo homer to center fielder for a 6-5 lead.
Thompson followed with a single before OSU managed to stall enough time for Beavers’ coach Mitch Canham to pull Ferrer in favor of OSU reliever Ryan Brown.
LSU eventually filled the bases against Brown with singles by Crews and Morgan. But Brown got Travinski to bite on a 3-2 pitch on a check-swing third out.
Tigers’ reliever Guidry entered to close the game in the ninth. He struck out Turley, then gave up a single to Kane that just cleared the glove of LSU backup second baseman Ben Nippolt.
LSU barely missed turning a game-ending double play when Kasper grounded to Nippolt who flipped to Thompson for the force out at second base of Kane.
Thompson’s throw to first was a step late for a double play. But Guidry struck out pinch-hitter Tyce Peterson on a check swing to end the game.
“I liked where we were at in the order to go to him,” Johnson said of his decision to use Guidry as the closer. “But more important than any of that is I like the person a lot.
“And you've probably heard our players talk about it. One thing is the situation can never become bigger than your plan. And that's a guy I really trust a lot. I trust a lot of guys but I really trust Gavin. He’s just made for this deal.”
OREGON STATE 3, SAM HOUSTON 1: The Beavers scored all their runs in the fourth inning when third baseman Mikey Kane hit an RBI double followed by right fielder Brady Kasper's two-run single.
OSU got a stellar pitching performance from Alden Jimenez, who threw six shutout innings while allowing just three hits. He had six strikeouts and no walks.
Both teams had six hits each.
Entering Monday's game against LSU, Oregon State has used 11 pitchers in three regional games and the Tigers have used four in two games.