No. 7 LSU's Offense Can't Mirror Late Game Magic, Lose to No. 1 Texas 6-1

LSU was jumped on early and couldn't convert on scoring opportunities late in the game, falling to No. 1 Texas 6-1.

The Tigers (9-2) were coming off a dramatic but emotionally draining extra innings comeback against Oklahoma and a fast start from the Longhorns on starting pitcher Ty Floyd was going to be really hard to overcome.

Floyd relied so heavily on his fastball and an elite team like Texas is going to catch on sooner than later. He'd run into trouble in the second inning with Texas putting up four runs in the inning to jump out on the Tigers early.

The inning opened with a double and was kept alive by an error from Floyd on an overthrow to Tre Morgan that would bring in one run. A few batters later, a fastball left in the wrong spot was taken advantage of by Texas centerfielder Douglas Hodo for a three run homer to create the separation.

He had difficulty with his command throughout his four innings on the mound, throwing 42 balls to 44 strikes. But Floyd was able to shake off the rough second inning by not allowing a run the rest of the way, striking out four and walking three during the uneven start.

This was a game that had a very similar feel to LSU's game Friday afternoon against Oklahoma as the Sooners jumped out early and it took the Tigers several innings to get cooking offensively. Texas starting pitcher Tristan Stevens mowed through the LSU lineup in the first five innings, allowing just two hits and three total baserunners as the Tigers struggles to start games bled into Saturday's game.

Two times through the order, LSU simply couldn't find any answers to cracking Stevens, who entered the game having not allowed a run in either of his previous two starts. But it's hard to keep this LSU offense down and the third time through the order the Tigers started to get runners on.

Hits from Dylan Crews and Cade Doughty in the sixth set the Tigers up in prime position to cut into a 4-0 deficit. But unlike Friday afternoon against the Sooners, the Tigers couldn't bring the runs in against Stevens with Jordan Thompson striking out to end the threat. LSU would put two more on base in the seventh but the inability to get runs home became the late game trend for the Tigers.

Freshman relief pitcher Samuel Dutton kept the lead from spiking for a short time, retiring his first seven batters faced. But Texas would take advantage of a walk and some defensive miscues to tack on a run in the seventh.

LSU's biggest opportunity came in the eighth as the Tigers loaded the bases with no outs but could only plate one run, leaving the bases loaded on back to back strikeouts. In total, LSU would leave 12 on base and go 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position.

The Tigers will have to rebound quickly with another night game to close out the Shriner's Classic against Baylor.

(Photo courtesy of LSUsports)