BATON ROUGE – Down 4-3 heading the top of the ninth inning, Sacramento State plated two runs to defeat fifth-ranked LSU, 5-4, and even the series Saturday afternoon at Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field.

The Tigers fell to 4-2 on the year with the loss while the Hornets moved to 4-2. Pitcher Caleb Gilbert suffered his first loss of the season after giving up two runs in the top of the ninth.

The teams return to the field Sunday at noon for the rubber game. The contest will be available online only on SECNetwork+ and fans can listen to the game on the LSU Sports Radio Network, including 98.1 in Baton Rouge.

Sacramento State took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second off the bat of Trent Goodrich. After Lange issued a four-pitch walk, Goodrich laced a two-out double to left field to score Gunner Pollman.

The Tigers exploded four runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Kramer Robertson started things off with a one-out trip to left center field and Brennan Breaux followed with a walk to put runners on the corners.

With the hit-and-run in motion, Duplantis singled to first base to score Robertson. Jake Fraley roped a ground-rule double down the right field line to score Breaux. Brody Wofford accounted for the final run of the inning with a two-RBI triple to left field.

The Hornets continued to chip at the LSU lead as they mustered two more runs in the top of the fourth. First baseman Victor Esposito launched a solo home run to left center field on the first pitch of the inning. Pollman followed with a double to left-center field and eventually reached third on a ground out. With two outs, left fielder Andrew McWilliam singled to left field to score Pollman.