LSU Baseball Offense Never Gets Going in 2-1 Loss to Texas A&M
A lot can happen in a baseball game even when a combined three runs are scored and that's how LSU's game one loss against Texas A&M felt Thursday evening. Thanks to an eighth inning home run out of one of the conference's best hitters in Will Frizzell, Texas A&M was able to pull out a 2-1 win over the purple and gold.
The Tigers are now in a must win situation over its next two games to keep their postseason hopes alive.
On offense, LSU had trouble getting Texas A&M pitcher Dustin Saenz deep into counts as he needed only 24 pitches to get through the Tigers' lineup in the opening three innings. The purple and gold have been aggressive at the plate early in counts all season but not to the extent seen in the game Thursday night. LSU's first baserunner didn't come until the fourth inning via a walk and then a hit batter.
But nothing was able to generate from there as the Tigers would strand two runners on base and not pick up their first hit of the evening until the sixth inning but it was a big one. In desperate need of some momentum, Dylan Crews took a Saenz fastball and crushed it off the left field scoreboard to tie the game up at 1-1.
The defense did its best to keep the Tigers within striking distance with Marceaux getting in a few jams during the first half of the game. The most prominent play took place in the fourth inning with LSU trailing 1-0 and a runner on first. A triple down the third base line was tracked down by Gavin Dugas and relayed to Jordan Thompson, who threw an on point ball to Alex Milazzo at home plate for a tag for one of his better plays of the season, saving a run.
Marceaux was able to get out of jams in both the first and fourth innings but that was the last he was seen in the game as the Tigers went to Javen Coleman in the fifth inning with Marceaux leaving the game after just 60 pitches. A team official told LSUCountry that Marceaux his early exit wasn't injury related and Marceaux later said he wasn't feeling well entering the game which is why he was pulled early.
Coleman did a terrific job in relief of Marceaux, retiring six of the first seven batters he faced and struck out the side in the seventh inning en route to a four inning outing where he allowed just the one home run to Frizzell.
LSU also got hit with the injury bug as both outfielders Giovanni DiGiacomo and Gavin Dugas were forced out of the game by the fifth inning as well. DiGiacomo was replaced Drew Bianco in centerfield in the third and Dugas would later run into Bianco on a diving play out in left centerfield that forced him out of the game as well.
Mainieri said after the game Dugas was taken to the emergency room for x-rays on his ribs, DiGiacomo pulled his hamstring and Mitchell Sanford pulled his groin in pregame warmups. All three in terms of availability is very much in the air the rest of the weekend.
LSU must now regroup with the injuries and try and pull off critical back-to-back wins.