Kentucky Takes No. 1 LSU to the Wire in Baton Rouge, Falls 7-6 in Rubber Match
BATON ROUGE, La. — Kentucky found itself three innings away from winning a road series over the No. 1 team in the nation. All it had to do was lean on its uber-reliant bullpen one more time.
Having already battled through two games against LSU that witnessed the Tigers combine for 26 runs, there wasn't much left in the tank. Usual Sunday starter Zack Lee was tabbed to try and deliver some late-inning relief, but three hits in the seventh erased a two-run advantage for the No. 12 Wildcats.
With two runners on in the bottom of the eighth in a tie game, Kentucky head coach Nick Mingione decided to make a pitching change, bringing left-hander Evan Byers in. After recording the second out of the inning, Mingione opted to intentionally walk star center fielder Dylan Crews, loading the bases.
Up stepped LSU's Tommy White, who had already driven in seven runs in the series. Instead of a long-winded, heart-wrenching at-bat to decide the game, Byers plunked White on the first pitch, bringing home the run that led to a 7-6, series-clinching win for the Tigers.
Lee was charged with his second loss of the season, a frustrating one that thwarted Kentucky's chances to win a road series against a top-ranked team for the first time since 2015, when it took two of three from LSU at The Box. UK (28-7, 10-5) managed seven hits and left nine runners on base, spoiling what would've been a marquee weekend for Mingione and the Bat Cats:
"It's typically the team that plays the best is the one that wins, and we didn't play the best today," Mingione told Wildcats Today postgame.
LSU (29-6, 9-5) struck first early, though unlike the first two games of the series, it didn't come until the second inning on Saturday. First baseman Jared Jones mashed his first of two home runs on the day, tagging the first pitch he saw from Kentucky starter Tyler Bosma over the wall into the left-field bleachers for a solo shot.
That lead then doubled in the third, as following a pair of singles from the top of the order in Tre' Morgan and Crews, White hit a slow-roller in front of Jase Felker, forcing the 3B to charge in. His throw to first pulled Hunter Gilliam off the bag, all the while Morgan didn't stop running from second and hustled home to make it 2-0.
LSU starter Christian Little was perfect through three innings, but his day quickly unraveled in the fourth, as three walks in four batters loaded the bases, leading to a quick hook and a pitching change. Right-hander Gavin Guidry entered and walked catcher Devin Burkes to slice the lead in half, but a strikeout and grounder left the bags full for the Wildcats.
Kentucky also went to the bullpen in the fourth, as Austin Strickland entered for Bosma — who loaded the bases thanks to a pitch clock violation in a full-count that allowed Brayden Jobert to take first base. Strickland was able to follow the footsteps of fellow relievers Mason Moore and Ryder Giles, getting 2B Jack Merrifield to ground into a 5-4-3 double play to end the threat.
The Cats then went full small-ball mode in the fifth. A bunt single from Grant Smith — UK's first hit of the game — moved Nolan McCarthy to third before CF Jackson Gray dropped a safety squeeze, bringing the run home to tie things, 2-2. LSU proceeded to answer as a wild pitch and pair of grounders drove in catcher Alex Milazzo, who led off the frame with a single.
Burkes and Felker each singled in the sixth, then pulled off a double steal to put two RISP for McCarthy, who mimicked LSU in the inning prior and rolled an RBI grounder to shortstop, again tying the game.
Strickland then found the same fate as Bosma, serving up a big fly to Jones, once again putting LSU in the lead. The 1B admired his 453-foot bomb before trotting around the bases, making sure to send some expletives the way of Strickland.
In classic UK fashion, it continued to battle back. RHP Thatcher Hurd surrendered a double and a walk before Gilliam crushed his biggest hit of the series, sending a two-run double to the gap in right-center to tilt the odds back in the Cats' favor. Felker then threw an RBI single into right field to make it 6-4.
"Offensively, I was proud of the way that we competed late in the game," Mingione said. "To be able to come back on the road and score three in the seventh is hard to do. That is hard to do. Our at-bats as the game got going I thought got better and better and better."
No matter how many bullets it fired, LSU continued to reload, answering the bell time after time. Shortstop Jordan Thompson barreled an RBI double down the left-field line off Lee before DH Cade Beloso drove an 0-2 pitch into right to tie the game for the final time, 6-6.
The decision to walk Crews in the bottom of the eighth was calculated by Mingione, though it didn't pan out. Kentucky intentionally walked Crews three times over the weekend, not letting the potential No. 1 pick in the MLB draft do any damage:
"I mean, that's the guy. You know, the best positional player in the country. So you know, like any sport, you got to take someone's best player out of the game, and I thought we did a good job of that."
Burkes reached base in the top of the ninth, but he never reached scoring position, as the Bat Cats went down swinging in their second SEC series loss in a row.
"Tip my cap to (LSU), they're well coached, they've got a really good team," Mingione said. "I'm sure we'll see them again down the road."
Kentucky will now return home for a five-game home stand, beginning on Tuesday, April 18 against Xavier. Texas A&M will then head to Kentucky Proud Park for a weekend series.
First pitch between the Wildcats and Musketeers is set for 6:30 p.m. and will air on SEC Network+.
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