A two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning Friday night by Vanderbilt rightfielder Logan Johnstone lifted the Commodores to a 13-12 win over LSU at Charles Hawkins Field.
Vanderbilt improved to 12-7 overall, 1-0 in the SEC, while LSU dropped to 13-6 overall and 0-1 in conference play.
The teams resume the series at 7 p.m. CT Saturday in a game that will be broadcast on the LSU Sports Radio Network and televised on the SEC Network.
Johnstone’s homer – his sixth of the season – capped a three-run rally for Vanderbilt, which trailed 12-10 entering the bottom of the ninth inning.
“I think you have to invest in a way that a loss like this is going to hurt really bad when something like that happens,” said LSU coach Jay Johnson. “I was proud of our team for the way we fought back in the game after falling behind, and I think we’re a much better team now than we were at the beginning of this week.
“It was a unbelievable effort tonight by our offense and our position players. We were down 10-4, and they came back to give us a two-run lead in the ninth.”
Vanderbilt reliever Nate Schlote (1-0) was credited with the win after pitching a scoreless top of in the ninth inning with one hit, one walk and two strikeouts.
LSU reliever Gavin Guidry (3-2) suffered the loss, as he allowed three runs on three hits in 1.2 innings with no walks and three strikeouts.
The Tigers grabbed a 1-0 in the top of the first inning when shortstop Steven Milam singled, moved to third on rightfielder Jake Brown’s double and scored on a sacrifice fly by centerfielder Derek Curiel.
Leftfielder Mike Mancini gave the Commodores a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the first when he lined a two-out, two-run single.
Brown blasted a two-out, three-run homer in the second inning, giving the Tigers a 4-2 advantage. The dinger was Brown’s 11th of the season and increased his RBI total to 31.
Vanderbilt narrowed the gap to 4-3 in the bottom of the second when third baseman Brodie Johnston delivered an RBI single.
The Commodores grabbed a 5-4 lead with two runs in the third and expanded the advantage to 10-4 with a five-run fourth inning that featured a home run by centerfielder Braden Holcomb and a two-run single by Johnston.
LSU began its rally in the fifth when pinch hitter Seth Dardar belted a three-run double, narrowing the gap to 10-7. The Tigers struck for five runs in the eighth to take a 12-10 lead as Curiel sparked the outburst with a two-run double.
READ MORE:Vanderbilt rallies in ninth inning to post 13-12 win over LSU
