ATHENS, Ga. — Jordan Thompson wasn’t sure whether his blast in the top of the 12th inning was a home run or a highlight-reel catch by Georgia outfielder Garrett Spikes.
He started running, then waited for Spikes to turn around and show that his glove was empty. That’s when Thompson pointed to the LSU fans in front of him and rounded the bases.
That was the second of his two home runs on the night, and it followed Josh Pearson’s tiebreaking two-run homer as LSU beat Georgia on Thursday 8-5 in 12 innings at Foley Field in the first game of their Southeastern Conference three-game series.
Timely hits have been lacking lately for LSU (41-12, 18-9 SEC), and even coach Jay Johnson acknowledged it Tuesday night after the Tigers left 10 runners stranded in a 7-4 midweek victory over McNeese State.
“We’re going to eventually score, but we played awful on offense tonight and still scored seven runs,” Johnson said Tuesday. “We could play better offensive baseball, and we have played better offensive baseball. Luckily for us, we have talent.”
That talent had to work overtime Thursday after the Tigers blew a 5-3 lead in the bottom of the ninth.
Thatcher Hurd, in his second inning of relief, gave up solo home runs to Georgia batters Sebastian Murillo and Ben Anderson to send the game into extra innings. Anderson hit the game-tying home run with two outs on a 1-0 pitch.
Hurd remained on the mound for the rest of the game, with his only true hiccup in that ninth. In his second attempt to close out the game in the bottom of the 12th, he retired the side in order.
Other than starter Paul Skenes, Hurd was the only Tiger to record an out Thursday. He pitched five innings while giving up two earned runs on three hits with one walk and five strikeouts.
Brayden Jobert cranked a two-run blast over the right-field scoreboard to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead in the second inning, but LSU was blanked for the next five innings.
Meanwhile, Skenes no-hit the Bulldogs (28-25, 10-18) through four innings. Georgia touched him up for two runs in the fifth on a home run, double and single.
The Tigers broke the tie in the eighth inning when Hayden Travinski cranked a solo home run over the tree-lined fence in left field. It was Travinski’s seventh home run in his last nine starts. On Thursday, he started his first game at the designated hitter position while Alex Milazzo caught.
Travinski’s recent hot streak in league play started at Ole Miss, and he entered the game against Georgia slashing .391/.500/.913 through 28 SEC plate appearances.
After Cade Beloso struck out, Thompson added his first home run — a line drive that curved with the wind over the fence in right field to make it 4-2.
Skenes exited the game after seven innings, having given up two earned runs on four hits and one walk while striking out 12. Left-hander Riley Cooper came on in relief in the eighth to face Anderson, but after walking him, Hurd took over.
Hurd struck out Charlie Condon, the Bulldogs’ star slugger, and walked Connor Tate. He induced a ground ball by Parks Harber to get Tate out at second. That tallied the second out, but the Bulldogs added another run when Thompson dropped a pop up by Fernando Gonzalez to make it 4-3.
Dylan Crews added a solo home run over the left-field trees in the ninth for a 5-3 lead, but the Bulldogs responded with the two ninth-inning home runs.
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