BATON ROUGE – Jared Jones’ two-out, two-run home run in the eighth inning made the difference for LSU in its last non-conference game of the season, lifting the Tigers to a 6-5 triumph Tuesday night over visiting Northwestern State.
It was the Demons’ inability to break through early that ultimately proved the toughest hurdle for NSU to overcome at Alex Box Stadium.
“We had some chances earlier in the ballgame with runners in scoring position, and we gave away some at-bats where I feel like we could have had more than five runs,” said first-year Northwestern head coach Chris Bertrand, a Louisiana College graduate and former player. “The runs at the end were a double and a home run, which is baseball, but within the first four runs, there were some mistakes in which we felt were some self-inflicted wounds and some gift wraps. You have to be excited – and we are – with the way our guys fought and competed and played.”
The Tigers (32-19) scored the game’s last three runs to rally, getting the decisive swing on Jones’ 21st homer of the year in the bottom of the eighth. As LSU chases an at-large NCAA Tournament berth, dropping Tuesday night’s contest was not feasible, he said.
“The message tonight was this is a must-win game,” said Jones, who credited his coaches with helping set up his game-winner. “The scouting report said in his (NSU reliever Caleb Bunch) last outing he threw 51 pitches and only 3 fastballs. I was lucky enough to get a slider I could handle, and do some damage with it.”
After falling behind 2-0 on Brady Neal’s two-run home run in the second inning, the Demons (19-29) responded and took the lead with a three-run fourth inning that featured RBI hits from Hayden Knotts and Reese Lipoma and a tie-breaking sacrifice fly from Samuel Stephenson.
Northwestern maintained that momentum after Tyler Nichol wiggled out of a bases-loaded jam by getting Tommy White to line out to second base in the fourth.
The Demons kept that edge and extended their lead in the following inning by taking advantage of a Fidell Ulloa wild pitch with a Colin Rains two-run single. Rains’ hit was part of the Haughton freshman’s second straight three-hit game.
Since driving in the go-ahead run in Saturday’s 2-0 win at Lamar, Rains is 7-for-9 with three RBIs.
“As we continue to talk about the growth of this team, what we talk about is gaining valuable experience,” Bertrand said. “What you’re seeing now is the fruits of Colin’s labor in how he is one of the hardest-working guys we have. That’s the thing – hitters hit and workers work. You’re seeing the fruits of labor mixed with a level of experience gained. That’s why he’s having success. The game of baseball is rewarding him for going about his business the right way.”
The NSU bullpen and its defense had its moments to keep the Demons on top for much of Tuesday night’s game.
Both Conner Bivins in the fifth and Alejandro Marquez in the seventh stranded inherited runners to keep the Demons on top as LSU began to chip away at its three-run deficit.
Bivins also worked a scoreless sixth inning that was highlighted by Balin Valentine’s diving catch that robbed Jared Jones of a potential RBI double to left field.
“The guy made a great play,” said Jones. “You just tip your cap. I did everything I could to put a good swing on a good pitch.”
While LSU (32-18) chipped away at the lead, right-hander Gavin Guidry (2-0) worked four shutout innings of relief to keep the Tigers in striking distance. He gave up only one hit after the visitors rapped nine in the first five innings.
“I’m so thankful for Gavin Guidry going four innings,” said LSU coach Jay Johnson. “I’m so proud of our team. We’ve been playing playoff baseball for a month, and they’ve just stayed with it. This was a game we couldn’t win a month ago … just the poise. Sometimes you need competitors. I called them up at the end of the fourth inning and said, ‘We have to win.’ And I never do that.
“That’s a good team. We’ve played a lot of teams in that league, and they’re right in the middle of the pack,” he said. “They do a great job coaching. They’re getting the most out of what they have … they played great tonight, made us have to stay with it to win. We played like a winning team, and deserved to win in a really good baseball game.”
There was postgame pride in the Demon dugout, too.
“The message we delivered to the team was how proud we were of the fight and the great things we did do against an unbelievable baseball team,” Bertrand said. “We got 10 hits. For the most part, we were able to suppress their offense from big swings. There are a couple of things we need to clean up.”