BATON ROUGE, La. -- Ian Bailey, Griffin Paxton and Nick Thornquist each belted homers and helped UTSA rally from down seven to force extra innings but No. 15 LSU got a walk-off hit in the 11th inning to post a 13-12 win on Sunday afternoon at Alex Box Stadium.
UTSA (5-6) fell behind out of the gate vs. LSU (14-3), as the Tigers were able to build a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Thornquist belted a homer in the second and Paxton tied it with a monster shot in the third but the Tigers scored seven answered runs, including the five-run fifth to build a 9-2 lead. Bailey belted a leadoff homer and UTSA added a second run in the seventh.
As they proved throughout the weekend – and over the first two weeks which saw series wins over Sam Houston and UT Arlington – the Roadrunners wouldn't quit. UTSA plated three in the ninth inning and got the tying run on base with two down in the final frame, with Dylan Rock delivering a game-tying RBI single to force the game into extra innings for a second straight game.
With international tiebreaker rules in effect, a first in UTSA history, the Roadrunners plated three in the top of the 10thinning for a 12-9 lead but LSU belted back-to-back homers in the bottom of the inning to even the game at 12. After a scoreless frame in the top of the 11th, LSU finished off the game with a run in the bottom of the inning.
The game came a few hours after the two teams squared off in the game of the year in college baseball early in 2021, a 13-inning marathon on Saturday night that lasted nearly five hours, and saw the Tigers get a walk-off homer from Jordan Thompson. The Tigers posted a 3-1 win on Friday night, getting two in the bottom of the eighth to edge UTSA, with the Roadrunners facing a ranked foe in four consecutive games over the week.
The Roadrunners collected 15 hits in the game, getting the homers from Bailey, Paxton and Thornquist. Jonathan Tapia and Dylan Rock each had three hits, with Griffin Paxton, Kyle Bergeron and Bailey each notching multi-hit games. UTSA also got hits from Joshua Lamb and Shane Sirdashney.
UTSA starter Kobe Jaramillo worked 2.2 innings, allowing three hits and two runs, walking five and striking out two. In a two-on, two-out jam in the third, UTSA turned to righty Zachary Griggs in relief. Griggs worked out of the jam with a strikeout and finished 1.1 innings, allowing a run on a walk and hit batter, striking out one. Kyle Sonduck replaced him after a leadoff runner reached to open the fifth, allowing three runs on three hits, getting a strikeout.
Fischer Kingsbery made his collegiate debut following Sonduck, allowing five hits and three runs over 1.1 innings. John Chomko worked the next four outs without allowing a run, before giving way to Simon Miller in the eighth, with Miller working a shutout frame. Ryan Ward (0-2) worked a shutout ninth inning to force the game into the 10th, allowing the three tying runs in the inning and then suffered the hard-luck loss in the 11th, allowing the international tiebreaker runner to score with the winning run.
LSU starter A.J. Labas tossed six innings, striking out seven, allowing five hits and two runs. Javen Coleman replaced him to open the seventh, working two innings, allowing five hits and two runs, walking one and striking out two. After a pair reached to open the ninth, LSU turned to Aaron George to work in his third consecutive game, allowing three runs over the ninth. Nolan Vietmeir started the 10th inning, allowing a pair of hits before giving way to Jacob Hasty and Alex Brady to work the 10th. Theo Milas worked the 11th.
UTSA will return to action on Tuesday, traveling to face Baylor at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN+.
Dylan Crews, projected to be the first player taken in the 2023 MLB Draft, opened the game with a solo homer hit out to rightfield, the sixth of the season for Crews. Cade Doughty, who hit two three-run homers last night in the 13-inning affair, belted a homer – his seventh of the year – out to left-centerfield to give LSU a 2-0 lead in the first.
Thornquist got a run back, ripping a 1-1 pitch off the batter's eye in centerfield for his third homer of the year.
Paxton evened the game in the third, belting his second homer of the year, a deep blast out to rightfield.
Gavin Dugas opened the fifth inning by reaching on a hit by pitch and Mitchell Sanford greeted a new UTSA relieved with a two-run homer out to right-centerfield. The inning continued to see LSU score five runs on six hits for a 7-2 lead, getting a two-run homer from Zach Arnold.
LSU added two in the sixth on four hits.
Bailey led off the seventh with a solo homer and after Paxton was hit by a pitch and Tapia singled, Bergeron forced home Paxton with an infield single.
UTSA evened it in the ninth, getting a single from Lamb and a walk from Chris Shull to open the frame. After a lineout, Taipa forced home a pair with an infield single and a throwing error on the Tigers. Bergeron followed with an RBI double to score Tapia and cut the lead to 9-7, bringing the tying run to the plate. Austin Ochoa got the lead down to 9-8 with a sacrifice fly, allowing Bergeron to score. That brought Rock to the plate, with the outfielder lining a single into leftfield to allow Leyton Barry to score the tying run.
After Ward tossed a shutout bottom of the ninth, the teams elected for international tiebreaker rules to open the 10thinning. Rock went to second to open the inning, with Bailey pushing him to third with a single to leftfield to open the inning. Lamb hung a sac fly to rightfield, allowing Rock to score from third for a 10-9 lead. Sirdashney scored Bailey from first with an RBI double into the gap. After a Paxton walk, Tapia hit a hard grounder to second that got under the glove, allowing Sirdashney to score for a 12-9 lead.
Jordan Thompson cut into the lead with a two-run homer out leftfield with one out in the bottom of the 10th. Pinch hitter Hayden Travinski tied the game with a solo homer out to centerfield. After a single from Zach Arnold and a wild pitch, UTSA intentionally walked Crews and then worked around Doughty to load the bases with two outs, getting a pop out to escape the jam.
In the bottom of the 11th, after UTSA was held scoreless in the top of the frame, Dugas singled into right-centerfield to score pinch runner Will Safford from third and hand the Tigers a 13-12 walk-off win.
GAME NOTES: Freshman RHP Kobe Jaramillo made his first career start … Jaramillo has appeared in three games with one start … Senior C Nick Thornquist hit his 10th career home run and his third of 2021 … Senior 1B Griffin Paxton hit his second homer of the year and the second of his career … Senior RHP Zachary Griggs appeared in his 24th career game and his third of 2021 … Freshman RHP Kyle Sonduck made his second appearance of the year … Freshman RHP Fischer Kingsberry made his collegiate debut … Senior RF Ian Bailey hit his third homer of the year … Ryan Ward worked in his third game of the year … UTSA played extra innings for the second time in 2021 and the second straight game … This was the first game played under international tiebreaker rules in UTSA baseball history.
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