Travinski rescues No. 1 LSU with game-winning 9th inning dinger

Jay Johnson’s 100th game as LSU’s head coach was memorable.

And there's a good chance Hayden Travinski will also never forget it.

Mired on LSU’s bench all season as the third-string catcher, Travinski waited for his moment Sunday afternoon as a pinch-hitter and took full advantage of it.

Down to the game’s last strike at Ole Miss with LSU trailing 6-4, Travinski launched a two-out three-run homer in the top of the ninth to give the Tigers a 7-6 win and their first SEC series sweep of the year.

LSU freshman reliever Gavin Guidry assured the Tigers escaped the jaws of defeat when he blanked Rebels in the bottom of the ninth. With the game-tying run on second base and one out, Guidry got the game’s last two outs on a deep drive to the left field warning track and a pop up in shallow right field.

Things had looked extremely bleak for the Tigers when Ole Miss took a 6-4 lead on designated hitter Judd Uttermark’s one-out, two-run homer in the eighth.

But once again after designated hitter Cade Beloso popped out and shortstop Jordan Thompson flied out off of Ole Miss reliever Mitch Murrell to lead off the LSU ninth, the Tigers showed why they have one of the best two-out offenses in college baseball.

First baseman Jared Jones drew a base on balls and right fielder Brayden Jobert was hit by Murrell’s first pitch.

Johnson quickly sent Travinski, a redshirt junior from Shreveport's Airline High, to the plate to pinch-hit for nine-hole hitter catcher Alex Milazzo and speedy Jack Merrifield to pinch-run for Jobert.

LSU didn’t need Merrifield’s speed. He, Jones and Travinski all trotted home when Travinski stunned the Ole Miss crowd by belting a 1-2 pitch high over the left field fence and a celebrating LSU bullpen where Guidry was preparing to enter in the bottom of the inning.

It was Travinski's first home run of the season.

Prior to this year, he had 31 starts (26 at catcher, seven as designated hitter) in his three-year LSU career. After getting hurt last fall, he fell to third on the depth chart as a catcher behind freshman Brady Neal and junior Alex Milazzo. With Neal on the injury list and Milazzo elevated to starter, Travinski had an RBI hit in his first catcher start of the year (as Milazzo rested) in Saturday's win over the Rebels.

“Hayden has a lot of power, obviously,” Johnson said. “He’s been improving as we’ve been going along. He was hurt in the fall, but he kept working. It’s a combination of baseball improvement, along with maturity and attitude. He’s been a team guy this whole time. He’s a big reason we won the game yesterday, and obviously a big reason we won today. I’m really proud of him and happy for him.”

LSU (32-7 overall, 12-5 SEC West) saw its 4-2 lead through five innings disappear when Tigers’ reliever Javen Coleman gave up an RBI double in the sixth, a solo home run in the seventh and a two-run homer in the eighth.

Meanwhile, the Tigers were held scoreless by the Rebels (21-19, 3-15 SEC West) in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings.

For the second straight day, LSU left a dozen runners on base, including at least one in seven innings and two each in five innings.

LSU’s RBI firepower took a blow when third baseman Tommy White, college baseball’s RBI leader, was removed from the game after the first inning with a non-disclosed injury.

LSU’s first inning featured a rarity – three straight singles with the last an RBI stroke by center fielder Dylan Crews – followed by Ole Miss starting pitcher JT Quinn striking out three consecutive Tigers.

Ole Miss tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the first. It opened with back-to-back singles off LSU starter Little before catcher Calvin Harris came through with a sacrifice fly RBI.

The Rebels grabbed a 2-1 edge in the bottom of the second on designated hitter Will Furniss’ RBI single. But LSU retaliated with three hits in the top of the third including consecutive RBI singles by Thompson and Jones to regain the lead at 3-2.

Beloso’s second solo homer in as many days in the top of the fifth pushed the LSU lead back to 4-2.

Little ended his day with a season-high 87 pitches, being pulled with one out in the bottom of the sixth after allowing a leadoff double to Ole Miss catcher Calvin Harris.

Coleman, making just his second relief appearance of the season after missing 1 ½ seasons recovering from Tommy John surgery, had his first pitch slapped for an RBI double by Rebels’ first baseman Anthony Calarco.

In the Ole Miss seventh, Coleman gave up a two-out game-tying homer at 4-4 to Rebels’ right fielder Kemp Alderman and then he served up Uttermark’s two-run homer in the eighth.

Then, all the unforeseen drama was saved for ninth.