LSU walks off a winner
The amount of success Oklahoma lefthander Jake Bennett was enjoying in the early innings, it looked as if LSU would not get many hits, much less enough runs to hang with the Sooners. It was all OU for 6 ½ innings in Friday’s middle game of the Shriners Children’s College Classic.
Bennett, who was opposing LSU ace Blake Money at Minute Maid Park, retired 14 of the first 15 batters he faced, gifted with a threerun lead at one point.
But LSU isn’t a team that stays down. It took four hours and 24 minutes before the Tigers took their only lead, and it came in dramatic fashion. Jordan Thompson’s walkoff home run leading off the 11th inning lifted LSU to a 5-4 victory.
“I’m rounding third and I’m just looking at all my teammates going crazy,” said Thompson, who ended the game on a 2-1 pitch. “I’m thinking the game’s over and I’m not even thinking about it like that. You’re just jumping around having fun. All the guys jumping on top you. You don’t even know what to think.”
Thompson had the game-winning hit into the Crawford Boxes in left field and was the recipient of the wild celebration. But second baseman Cade Doughty, who had three of the Tigers’ nine hits, was equally clutch.
Doughty, whose two-run homer in the last of the eighth evened the score 3-3, came through again with the Tigers down to their final strike down a run in the 10th. The LSU power hitter doubled down the left-line, bringing in Tre Morgan, knotting the score again.
It was the fourth homer of the season for Doughty. Morgan scored twice and doubled twice.
“I can’t say enough about the toughness of the at-bats,” Tigers coach Jay Johnson said. “There’s plenty of talent 1-9. You can’t win games like that unless you have the right competitive, character, makeup.”
A fifth-inning throwing error by third baseman Jack Merrifield, who had the Tigers’ first hit in the third, allowed Oklahoma (5-3) to score first. The Sooners, who led twice, scored two runs in the seventh, highlighted by Kendall Pettis’ first home run. Third-ranked LSU (9-1) had only a third-inning single from Merrifield to show for its only hit through five innings.
Bennett began to tire in the seventh and was replaced with two outs. He left with a 3-0 lead and runners on the corners. Bennett allowed only one earned run and three hits with one walk and four strikeouts.
Gavin Dugas greeted Trevin Michael with an RBI single for LSU’s first run. LSU got into the Sooners’ bullpen and stayed squared with the Sooners until Thompson’s late-game heroics.
In an oddity, both the winning pitcher, Bryce Collins (1-0), and losing pitcher, Griffin Miller (0-1) faced only one batter each.
Miller threw a fastball that was thigh high, a location Thompson was keeping an eye on. He hit the ball well enough and high enough to get into the Crawford Boxes.
“It was a great moment,” Thompson said. “I’ve never hit a home run in a bigleague stadium before, so that was cool. It had been a long game and I was just trying to get on base. Worked the count and got a good pitch.”
Oklahoma collected six of the game’s first seven hits and rang up 13 over 11 innings. Peyton Graham, Blake Robertson and Tanner Tredaway — the top three batters in the lineup — had two hits each, as did Brett Squires.
Money also was pulled after 6.2 innings. Only one of his three runs allowed were earned. The righthander gave up eight hits, walking one and striking out seven. He pitched deep enough into the game to help reduce the stress of the bullpen.
“If he goes out early, we can’t win that game,” Johnson said. “So great job by Blake.”
TEXAS 7, TENNESSEE 2
In a battle of unbeatens, the top-ranked Longhorns rocked Tennessee reliever Camden Sewell (2-1) for three sixth-inning runs, after Texas got a fifth-inning home run from Trey Faltine.
Ivan Melendez delivered a run-scoring triple and RBI-double for Texas (10-0), which scored three runs in each of the sixth and seventh innings. Texas plays third-ranked LSU on Saturday night at 7:05 at Minute Maid Park.
A home run in the top of the fifth from Evan Russell staked Tennessee (8-1) starter Chase Burns to a 1-0 lead. In the eighth, Russell went down swinging for the third out with the bases loaded. Burns struck out 10 over five innings. Texas lefthander Pete Hansen (2-0) gave up one run and five hits over six innings.
BAYLOR 2, UCLA 1
Kyle Nevin’s two-run homer in the fourth inning was all the support Tyler Thomas needed as the Bears edged the Bruins. in the first of nine games to be played over three days in the Shriners Children’s College Classic at Minute Maid Park.
Nevin had two of the Bears’ three hits off Jake Brooks, who did not allow a walk over his eight innings, striking out seven. The only run Thomas gave up was a ninth-inning homer to pinch hitter Carson Yates. Cody Schrier collected two of the Bruins’ four hits.