Alabama Steals Game One From Tigers

The Alabama Crimson Tide came back to snatch the series opener from the jaws of the LSU Tigers with five unanswered runs.

Tide reliever Coulson Buchanan earned the win today. Entering the game in the ninth to prevent LSU from responding to Alabama's three-run bottom of the eighth inning.

LSU reliever Griffin Herring was credited with the loss, handing three free passes with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to set up a Crimson Tide walkoff.

The Tigers struck first with a Jared Jones solo shot on the game's second at-bat, giving LSU an early 1-0 lead.

Gage Jump would keep the Tide offense quiet in the bottom of the first, only allowing a lone single from Ian Petrutz.

Following a 1-2-3 inning from Farone in the top of the second, the Tide would even up the ballgame. TJ McCants would reach first on a one-out bunt single followed, being scored by a William Hamiter triple off the center field wall two at-bats later to even up the score, 1-1.

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After a silent third inning, the Tigers pounced on Farone in the fourth. A Steven Milam single to left-center drove home right fielder Ashton Larson, which was subsequently followed by a Paxton Kling single to send home Michael Braswell III, extending the Tiger lead to 3-1.

The Tide offense kicked back in the bottom of the fourth. A McCants sac fly to left field pushed home Hodo from third to cut the Tigers' lead to one. Guscette would follow with a single, advancing to second on a wild pitch a couple of pitches later. Hamiter would eke out a grounder past the second baseman on a 2-0 count to even up the ballgame at three a piece.

However, the Tigers' offense refused to let go of their lead in the fifth, immediately jumping ahead thanks to a Tommy White leadoff homerun. A Hayden Travinski sac fly later in the inning would push the LSU lead to two.

Both teams would be held scoreless the following two innings, but not due to a lack of opportunities. Both teams left a combined five runners on base.

LSU would seemingly shut the door on the Crimson Tide at the top of the eighth due to a leadoff home run from Steven Milam and a Tommy White RBI double to duplicate the LSU lead, 7-3 over the Crimson Tide.

However, the Crimson Tide would throw a punch right back at the Tigers. A Snell leadoff single set up a massive two-run opposite-field blast to cut the LSU lead to 7-5. A Gage Miller bloop single would score Mac Guscette to bring the LSU lead down to one.

Coulson Buchanan entered in the top of the ninth after a leadoff walk to Travinski. Buchanan got a quick flyout and double play to set up a potential walk-off win for the Crimson Tide in the ninth.

Herring would strike out Lebron to start the ninth and Hodo the following at-bat, making Alabama's comeback bid look bleak.

However, Herring walked the next two batters and hit Guscette to load the bases, bringing the 5,800 Alabama faithful at Sewell-Thomas to their feet. On his last strike, former Northridge Jaguar William Hamiter hit a dribbler in front of home plate. LSU catcher Alex Milazzo's throw missed the glove of LSU first baseman Jared Jones, sending Max Grant and TJ McCants home to walk off the Tigers in stunning fashion.

The Crimson Tide will look to win the series tomorrow at 4 p.m. with a familiar face on the mound for LSU.