LSU Baseball Shocked as No. 5 South Carolina Rallies to Even Series in Final Inning of 4-2 Win
LSU's pitching and defense had been stellar up to the seventh inning. AJ Labas had pitched a shutout gem and the defensive players were making difficult snags look routine all afternoon.
But an all too familiar feeling was experienced in the final inning as South Carolina scored four runs in the top of the seventh and completely shocked LSU with a 4-2 win to even the series.
It all started with back-to-back singles off of Labas in the seventh, as the Tigers starter had been tremendous through six innings of play. But he left a few fastballs too high in the zone and the Gamecocks took advantage. It was up to closer Devin Fontenot to get the job done with one out in the final inning and runners on second and third bit two doubles and a hit batter wedged in between led to four runs that the Tigers had no answer for in the bottom of the inning.
Labas looked like his even keel self in the early innings but was also helped by some phenomenal defense to keep South Carolina off the board. He was able to strand three runners on base in the first two innings, one of which was able to reach third base.
The play of his infield behind him was particularly exquisite as shortstop Jordan Thompson continued his recent hot streak in the field, making this fantastic grab in the second to save a fourth run this weekend alone. In what seems like an instant, Thompson has made extremely difficult plays look routine, speaking to his tremendous growth over the last few weeks.
Labas didn't have a high strikeout game by any stretch but his pitch placement was exquisite and was able to make Gamecock hitters put fly balls in place to the outfield and keep his pitch count low, an important factor in a seven inning contest. He would finish allowing two runs on five hits with four strikeouts.
It was a major positive that the defense and Labas were so efficient as the offense was able to muster only two runs on the afternoon, coming in the first two innings of the contest. Situational hitting was the name of the game in a low scoring contest as the Tigers were able to plate one run in the first off a walk to Gavin Dugas followed by an RBI triple from Cade Doughty.
In the second inning it was more situational hitting that led to a Tigers' score as back-to-back walks and a single loaded the bases with no outs. A Zach Arnold sacrifice fly would bring in one run but the Tigers weren't able to capitalize anymore than that.
Throughout the afternoon, LSU's offense had its chances but just weren't able to convert in the later innings at the plate, including in the critical seventh inning as a pair of flyouts was all the Tigers could put together.
The Tigers will be back in action in about 30 minutes to look for the series win.