METAIRIE, La. – Tenth-ranked LSU broke a 5-5 tie with a three-run fifth inning Tuesday night, as the Tigers posted an 8-5 win over Louisiana-Lafayette in the 13th annual Wally Pontiff Jr. Baseball Classic at Zephyr Field.

LSU improved to 15-5 on the year, while UL-Lafayette dropped to 12-9. The Tigers begin a three-game SEC series at Texas A&M on Thursday.

The SEC Network will broadcast the LSU-Texas A&M games on Thursday at 6 p.m. and Friday at 8 p.m. Saturday's contest will be available online only via SEC Network + and can be accessed at WatchESPN.com and the Watch ESPN app.

All three games will be broadcast on the LSU Sports Radio Network, including WDGL 98.1 in Baton Rouge. Live audio of the games may be accessed at www.LSUsports.net/live with live stats at LSUstats.com.

Tuesday's game was played before a crowd of 10,131 at Zephyr Field, the home of the New Orleans Zephyrs, the AAA affiliate of the Miami Marlins.

After the Tigers took the lead in the fifth, LSU pitchers recorded 12 consecutive outs over the final four innings to preserve the win.

“This was a great night with an electric atmosphere, and I'm very pleased with the way we competed to earn the win,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri. “UL-Lafayette has an excellent team, and I thought we swung the bats well, and several pitchers had impressive outings. Hopefully, this win will give us some momentum heading into the series at Texas A&M.”

LSU reliever Alden Cartwright (3-0), the fifth of eight LSU pitchers, was credited with the win, as he worked 1.1 shutout innings with three strikeouts.

The Cajuns took a 1-0 lead in the first inning. LSU starter Cole McKay issued a walk to second baseman Stefan Trosclair to lead off the inning. Trosclair then stole second and moved to third on a wild pitch by McKay. Trosclair eventually scored on a second wild pitch by McKay.

LSU gained the lead in the bottom of the third inning. Second baseman Cole Freeman reached on a fielder's choice and then stole his 11th base of the season. Shortstop Kramer Robertson tied the game with a double to right field. Centerfielder Jake Fraley pushed the second run across the plate on a two-out double to left-center field.

The Tigers used two-out hitting in the fourth to take a 5-1 lead. With the bases loaded, UL-Lafayette starter Evan Guillory threw a wild pitch to score Bryce Jordan. Second baseman Cole Freeman followed with a two-out single through the left side of the infield to score two runs.

The Cajuns cut into the lead in the fifth. Catcher Nick Thurman led off the inning with a double to left field. Thurman scored after an infield single by first baseman Alex Pinero and error by Greg Deichmann at third base.

Rightfielder Steven Sensley then hit a two-out three-run home run to right field off of reliever Russell Reynolds to tie the game.

The Tigers responded in the bottom half of the inning with three runs to take the lead. Robertson led off with a double and came home on a double to left-center field by Fraley. After Fraley advanced to third on a ground out, left fielder Beau Jordan hit a sac fly to make it a 7-5 game. The final run came on a single up the middle by Deichmann to score Bryce Jordan from third.

Guillory dropped to 1-3 on the year after allowing seven runs on eight hits through four innings.