Until the 27th out is made, no lead is safe. That was a lesson LSU had to learn the hard way on Friday night.
That’s why the Tigers didn’t need to break out the champagne in the seventh inning on Saturday, even with a 6-2 lead over Alabama and nine outs remaining. Right- hander Gavin Guidry and left-hander Nate Ackenhausen still needed to win it all.
At Sewell-Thomas Stadium, Ackenhausen gave up a run in the seventh inning, but Guidry pitched a spotless eighth and ninth to give LSU the victory.
There would be no comeback for the Crimson Tide on Saturday after the Tigers lost a four-run lead in the last two innings on Friday.
Michael Braswell, the shortstop for LSU, stated, “I don’t know what time I went to sleep last night, but it wasn’t early.” “I’ll put it this way: Everything is still ahead of us so we’re still in control of what we can do.”
To be in serious contention for an at-large slot in the NCAA tournament, LSU needs to win four games in its remaining two Southeastern Conference series. This victory is the first of those four games.
The Tigers’ triumph on Saturday was made even more significant by the fact that Ole Miss, LSU’s opponent the following weekend and another NCAA bubble team, had already won the first two games of its series against Texas A&M, a highly regarded school.
Tommy White gave LSU a 1-0 lead in the second inning by hitting a double off the top of the left-center wall, scoring two runs with two outs.
After going hitless for the next three innings, the Tigers (33-19, 10-16 SEC) loaded the bases in the sixth inning with two hits and a walk. Ashton Larson scored when pinch-hitter Jake Brown successfully broke up a possible double play with one out, giving LSU a 3-2 lead over Alabama (31-19, 11-15).
In the seventh, Josh Pearson and Braswell increased the Tigers’ lead to four runs. Jared Jones was scored by Pearson’s single, and Braswell scored a run with a triple with two outs before racing to home plate on a wide pitch.
“I kind of lost my game, especially when it came to (Texas A&M). “I was attempting to avoid being struck by fastballs,” Braswell remarked. “… Now I’m back to what I usually do and the results are showing themselves.”
Starting against his previous team, Luke Holman, a right-hander from LSU, gave up two earned runs in five and a half innings while also striking out two batters.
“I try not to think of it that way (pitching against his former team),” Holman stated. “Each team’s the same.”
Holman allowed a run on a groundout with one out in the first inning and another run on a fielder’s choice in the fourth.
