LSU beats Auburn with walk-off hit, 3-2

BATON ROUGE, La. – Leftfielder Josh Pearson’s two-out single in the bottom of the ninth inning Saturday night lifted LSU to a 3-2 walk-off win over Auburn in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field.

LSU improved to 28-16 overall, 7-13 in the SEC, while Auburn dropped to 20-22 overall and 2-18 in conference play.

The teams conclude the series at 1 p.m. CT Sunday in a game that will be broadcast on the LSU Sports Radio Network and streamed on SEC Network +.

With the scored tied 2-2 on Saturday night, LSU catcher Alex Milazzo singled to lead off the bottom of the ninth inning, and he moved to second base on a sacrifice bunt by pinch hitter Mac Bingham.

Rightfielder Ashton Larson singled, putting runners at the corners with one out. Auburn reliever Conner McBride struck out LSU third baseman Tommy White, and first baseman Jared Jones was intentionally walked to load the bases.

Pearson then smashed a McBride pitch over the head of Auburn centerfielder Chris Stanfield, scoring Milazzo from third with the winning run.

“Josh did a great job of slowing the game down right there, and he took care of it for us,” said LSU coach Jay Johnson. “He made his coach very happy. I’m very proud of Josh, he’s a guy I trust a lot. When we really need to win, I always want to write that guy’s name in the lineup. He’s a great competitor, and we saw that tonight.”

LSU reliever Thatcher Hurd (2-4), who recorded the final out in the top of the ninth inning, was credited with the victory.

McBride (3-3), who entered the game to start the bottom of the ninth, was charged with the loss after allowing one run on three hits.

LSU starting pitcher Luke Holman delivered an excellent outing, limiting Auburn to two runs – one earned – on two hits in 6.2 innings with three walks and nine strikeouts.

Relievers Gavin Guidry, Nate Ackenhausen and Hurd combined to blank Auburn over the final 2.1 innings, allowing one hit while recording three strikeouts.

Auburn led 1-0 in the bottom of the third when White and Jones launched back-to-back solo homers to give LSU a 2-1 advantage.

Auburn tied the contest 2-2 in the fourth when designated hitter Christian Hall led off the inning with a walk and later scored from third on a wild pitch.