Late Game Blunders Lead to LSU Baseball's Demise in 7-6 Loss to Louisiana Tech
It's a script we've see all too often with LSU but the Tigers got down early fought hard to get back, take a lead and ultimately lose it in the ninth, leading to a bitter 7-6 extra innings loss to Louisiana Tech.
With new men's basketball coach Matt McMahon, women's coach Kim Mulkey as well as LSU legends Skip Bertman and Paul Mainieri all in attendance, it was quite the midweek turnout for the Tigers. By game's end Mulkey was the only one remaining and the home team just continued to shoot itself in the foot of the extra innings loss.
Leading 6-4 in the top of the ninth, a barrage of walks led to the Bulldogs scoring two runs and tying the game. The late game free bases on the mound were costly, with LSU pitchers walking seven batters over the final four innings of the contest.
Closer Eric Reyzelman could never find the strike zone, spoiling what had been a very productive outing for the LSU bullpen and eventually sending the game to extra innings. Devin Fontenot was able to guide the Tigers with an impressive performance on the mound through the 11th inning, setting the Tigers up for the top of the order.
But the offense couldn't get out of its own way. It set LSU up with its top of the order coming to the plate and Dylan Crews got a rally started with a one out double and then advanced on the next pitch on a passed ball.
However with the game winning run just 90 feet away an aggressive bunt squeeze was missed by pinch hitter Jack Merrifield caught Crews trying to steal home and ended the threat. The winning run would cross the plate in the very next inning for the Bulldogs on a bases loaded, two out walk from sophomore Ty Floyd.
"We're gonna get back at it and I'm gonna hold those guys to the highest standard," Trent Vietmeier said. "I think getting out there and facing dudes and seeing what you're really made of helps you out the most."
The Bulldogs would get after starter Will Hellmers pretty well in the early innings, hanging four runs on the sophomore before he could record four outs in the game. He was throwing the ball over the plate but wasn't fooling the hitters and was pulled earlier than Jay Johnson probably anticipated.
The story of the night was spoiled later in the game as bullpen performances from Trent Vietmeier, Cale Lansville, Paul Gervase and Fontenot kept the Tigers in a tight one. The four combined to pitch 10 innings of one run baseball that gave the offense the time to get going. They allowed one hit with the one run and 16 strikeouts, controlling the strike zone every step of the way.
Louisiana Tech at one point from the second inning to the 11th inning sent 36 batters to the plate without getting a hit, making the walks issued in the ninth all the more frustrating.
Offensively the production wouldn't come until the fifth inning but it came in a big way. Nearly batting around the order, the inning was headlined by clutch swings from Tre Morgan, Dylan Crews and Jacob Berry in what turned into a four run inning to tie the game up.
LSU was able to tack on an insurance run in the eighth on a nice piece of hitting from Jordan Thompson and Gavin Dugas on an RBI single from Dugas after a Thompson double, though they would leave the bases loaded in the inning. That wound up proving costly with the Bulldogs tying the game in the ninth.
"I think we can do better. I do," Johnson said about the offense. "Offensively you can't swing at balls. We have to be much tougher at bats with two strikes. That was about as bad as I've seen tonight in a long time in coaching and we gotta continue to get better."
The Tigers will now travel to Gainesville on Thursday for a weekend series with Florida this weekend.
(Photo courtesy of LSUsports)