The big hit has evaded LSU for almost all of Southeastern Conference play.
Hitting with runners in scoring position has been a constant struggle, especially with two outs. Big innings have come few and far between.
But LSU needed that big hit in the sixth inning on Saturday against No. 1 Texas A&M at Alex Box Stadium. The Tigers had the bases loaded with nobody out, trailing by just a run with Josh Pearson at the plate.
This time, finally, LSU got that big hit. Pearson ripped a two-run double into left field to spark a four-run inning, giving LSU a critical 6-4 victory over the top-ranked team in the nation.
"Yeah probably," LSU coach Jay Johnson said after he was asked if Friday's win was the biggest victory of its season to this point. "I think (considering) RPI, KPI, all the things that we are evaluated by, get somebody that's, whatever they are, 39-7 or six or whatever, and you filter that into your winning percentage and get a win while you're doing it, it helps."
Pearson's double was followed by a sacrifice fly out from Hayden Travinski to extend LSU's lead to two. A run-scoring single from Steven Milam two batters later made the score 6-3.
"Those inflection points in the game whether it's getting off the field with two outs and runners on base for the other team, or just slowing down and hitting a little liner the other way... we didn't do as much of that as we needed to to win," Johnson said. "But now we are."
Travinski appeared to have hit a solo homer later on in the eighth inning — but to the dismay of every Tigers fan in attendance, the call on the field was overturned after video review. The blast would have extended LSU's lead back to three runs.
The overturned call was the third of four calls overturned by video replay review. The fourth overturned call came in the ninth inning when Aggies center fielder Jace LaViolette was rewarded a single after a replay review overturned the final out of the game from out to safe.
"I've never seen four video review calls overturned in a game, let alone against one team," Johnson said. "... I was one of like 11,000 (fans) not happy on any one of those four, particularly the last one."
LSU (30-17, 8-14 SEC) was retired in order through the first two innings but broke through in the third after two walks and a single loaded the bases for Tommy White with one out.
White grounded a ball to A&M third baseman Gavin Grahovac for a potential double-play ball. Grahovac touched third base for the second out, but his throw to first was off line, allowing two runs to tie the score.
Larson, Milam and Jared Jones finished the game with two hits apiece. Pearson and Travinski drove in a pair of runs.
"We've known all year that we have the talent to compete with anybody," Pearson said.
Left-hander Gage Jump did a good job of keeping LSU within striking distance as the Tigers' starter. He allowed just three earned runs in 5⅓ innings, scattering six hits and striking out four batters.
Every run he allowed to Texas A&M (39-7, 15-7) came via the solo home run. Jace LaViolette blasted a ball into right field in the first inning that gave the Aggies a 1-0 lead before Ali Camarillo hit two homers.
Camarillo hit one in the second to double their lead and another homer in the fourth to give the lead back to Texas A&M after LSU tied the score in the third.
"(Jump) competed again tonight and had some early adversity with the home runs and responded really well," Johnson said. "And got us deep into that game."
Right-hander Fidel Ulloa replaced Jump with one out in the sixth and retired the next four batters he faced before allowing a two-out double in the seventh.
Left-hander Griffin Herring then came into the game and finished the seventh. He allowed a unearned run-scoring single in the eighth and ran into more trouble in the ninth — Texas A&M had runners on the corners — but Herring struck out Braden Montgomery to close out the win.
"We flooded the zone, and we threw multiple pitches in the zone," Johnson said. "And so that was maybe hard for (Montgomery) to get on anything."
LSU and Texas A&M square off again at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Alex Box Stadium. The game will be televised on ESPN2.