Jordan Thompson, Tommy 'Tanks' White lead LSU baseball in series win over Kentucky

BATON ROUGE – No. 1 LSU baseball squeaked by No. 11 Kentucky on Saturday, 7-6, to clinch its fourth series victory in conference play this season.

In a back-and-forth affair, LSU rallied from a two-run deficit in the seventh inning to tie the Wildcats (28-7, 10-5 SEC). The Tigers then took the lead in the eighth inning after Tommy White was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to give them the lead.

Bryce Collins closed out the game with four strikeouts in 2⅓ innings pitched.

"That's the best win since I've been here in two years," LSU coach Jay Johnson said.

LSU (29-6, 9-5) won Game 1 of the series on Thursday, 16-6 in eight innings. But it blew a four-run lead to lose Friday's Game 2 against the Wildcats, 13-10.

Here are four takeaways from the Kentucky series.

Tommy White's surge

Through the midst of injuries and pitching mishaps, White has continued to rake.

White has four home runs and four doubles in his last seven games. He entered Saturday's game with a .798 slugging percentage and a 1.244 on-base plus slugging percentage, also leading the team in home runs with 12.

None of this should come as a surprise. White was the most heralded hitter in the transfer portal this past offseason. But with Dylan Crews cooling off a bit and Gavin Dugas being injured, White's hot streak comes at a good time.

Defensive regression?

As good as White has been on offense, his defense hasn't been pristine. White has eight errors in 31 games, including six in his last seven games.

His poor play at third base extended to the rest of the team Friday. The Tigers lost because of their defense, committing three errors and allowing six unearned.

However, not included among those errors was a dropped fly ball by Brayden Jobert in the fifth inning that allowed three runs to score. If Jobert had caught the ball, LSU would have escaped the inning with a 6-3 lead as there were two outs.

"You've got to take care of the ball, you know that going into this weekend against that team," Johnson said Friday. "We did not."

LSU's poor defense Friday lowered its team fielding percentage to .980, which was fifth in the SEC entering Saturday. In order for LSU to properly support its thin pitching staff, the Tigers need to make sure that this setback is just a blip in the radar.

The importance of Jordan Thompson

Jordan Thompson has become a really important player for LSU lately.

The shortstop has stepped up at the plate, batting fourth in the order Saturday and delivering a key RBI double with two outs in the seventh inning. Entering the series, he had hit three home runs in as many games, extending that to four after blasting a home run Thursday.

"For the past few years since coach Johnson has been here, he's preached that we're going to take balls and crush mistakes," Thompson said Thursday.

And it hasn't just been his offense. Thompson has been getting it done on defense. He made a difficult throw across his body to second base for a big out Friday, making the play on a ground ball that led his momentum into left field.

With White's defensive struggles and Dylan Crews having slowed down a bit at the plate lately, Thompson's production on both sides of the ball has been needed.

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Can LSU's pitching survive these injuries?

The injuries continue to pile up for LSU baseball on the mound.

Garrett Edwards and Chase Shores are still out and there are no timetables for their returns. Nate Ackenhausen is still dealing with a hamstring injury and Javen Coleman is still out, although Coleman was warming in the bullpen during Friday and Saturday's games.

Johnson admitted LSU's lack of depth Friday, saying it was a factor as to why he kept Griffin Herring in the game despite struggling in the seventh inning. That depth was also exposed Saturday when Gavin Guidry was forced to throw a season-high 39 pitches, even if Collins' performance closed out the tight win.

A softer second half of its SEC schedule should help LSU, but how long can the Tigers survive with this thin of a bullpen?

Koki Riley covers LSU sports for The Daily Advertiser. Email him at kriley@theadvertiser.com and follow him on Twitter at @KokiRiley.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Tommy 'Tanks' White leads LSU baseball for series win over Kentucky