WBRZ - Baton Rouge

The LSU Tigers will face top-seeded UCLA in the winner's bracket tonight of the Los Angeles regional. First pitch is set for shortly after 8:00 pm. LSU advanced to face the Bruins after yesterday's dramatic come from behind walk-off win. Below is a recap of the epic victory.

LSU 11, UC-Irvine 10

Pinch hitter Trey Watkins scorched a walk-off double in the bottom of the 11th inning to lift the No. 2 seed LSU Tigers to a 11-10 victory over third-seeded UC Irvine in the opening round of the NCAA Los Angeles Regional Friday at Jackie Robinson Stadium.

After UC Irvine scored the go-ahead run in the top of the 11th on a suicide squeeze, the Tigers were down to their final out before Anteater reliever Eric Pettis walked Austin Nola, gave up a single to Alex Edward and walked Leon Landry to load the bases for Watkins, who pinch ran for Matt Gaudet the inning before. With a 1-2 count, Watkins ripped a fastball over right fielder Sean Madigan's head to score Nola and Edward, giving the Tigers an 11-10 win.

With the win, the Tigers (41-20) improved to 23-1 all-time in NCAA Regional opening games.

LSU reliever Ben Alsup (5-0) earned the victory after pitching the final two innings and allowing one run on one hit. Tiger starter Austin Ross enjoyed another solid outing as the junior right-hander threw 6.1 innings, allowing five runs with no walk and five strikeouts. Pettis (9-4) was charged with the loss after allowing the double to Watkins.

Leading LSU offensively in the game was catcher Micah Gibbs, who finished 2-for-5 with a home run and five RBI. Landry and left fielder Mason Katz also contributed with three hits apiece.

"I'm so proud of our kids for making two comebacks with two out and nobody on in the ninth inning and again in the last inning," said LSU coach Paul Mainieri. "It was a great effort, and we played the way that championship teams are supposed to play when they faced adversity. UC Irvine is such a difficult team to play; they're relentless and they slap the ball all over the field. It's a credit to the determination of our players that we were able to win this game."