Timely Mistakes Spoil Comeback Effort in 6-4 LSU Loss to Texas A&M
It was a high intensity SEC opener for Jay Johnson but one he likely will soon want to forget. Timely mistakes and the inability to finish a comeback effort helped Texas A&M pull off a 6-4 series opening win over the purple and gold.
Mistakes would prove costly for the Tigers in this game, allowing the Aggies to hang in and even gain momentum. In the seventh inning, a throwing error and a dropped ball in right field directly led to two runs in the seventh inning and a 4-3 lead for Texas A&M. During the nightmare inning for the purple and gold, the Tigers burned through three pitchers and put the pressure on a struggling offense.
In the ninth, the issues really came to a head as a misread fly ball to left field led to a double and set the table for a go ahead RBI single, the first run Eric Reyzelman allowed all season. It was the precursor to what would become a two run ninth that eventually proved to be enough separation to win the game.
LSU (14-4, 0-1) had to move around its pitching rotation this weekend with Blake Money's injury leaving his availability in question, turning the ball over to Ty Floyd for the Friday start. Immediately Floyd got his fastball teed up by the Aggies' hitters, getting rocked for back-to-back home runs in the second inning to get LSU in an early 2-1 hole.
Pitching coach Jason Kelly would have a decision to make and with the Aggies not fooled by Floyd's one pitch arsenal, the Tigers turned it over to freshman Grant Taylor and he delivered. Taylor would toss four innings of scoreless baseball, getting out of trouble in the third and fourth innings by forcing popouts and really gave the offense enough time to get going.
Taylor's outing was perhaps the glue to the Tigers hanging around, retiring 12 of the final 13 batters he faced. The freshman really looked the part of a reliable relief pitcher who can go extended innings for this team when needed. What was most impressive was how he fared in the face of adversity, stranding three batters early in his outing.
"Grant really picked us up," Johnson said. "If you're looking for a highlight tonight it's his four innings. He had first and second nobody out in the third and got out of that with no runs.
"That was a big confidence boost for me," Taylor said of the third inning. "That helped me get through the rest of the lineup because I knew in a pressure situation I was able to get the heart of the lineup out."
As for the offense, it was a performance that relied on big swings to get on the board as Jordan Thompson and Tyler McManus were the catalysts with solo home runs. Trailing by one run in the eighth inning, the Tigers offense loaded the bases to later tie the game on a fielders choice infield hit swing by Brayden Jobert. But it turned out to be a missed opportunity as a whole with just one run coming in, something Johnson highlighted after the game.
Later in the ninth the offense couldn't get going down two runs, leading to the loss. It was an overall uneven performance as the group collected just seven hits but went a putrid 1-for-14 with runners on base.
"We've been good for the most part, we allowed them a couple of quick innings at the beginning of the game," Johnson said about the offense. "The opportunity was there in the eighth and we need somebody to hit a line drive over somebody's head."
LSU will now prepare to try and tie the series on Saturday evening after a disappointing finish to a very winnable game.
"Everybody's gonna lose, we're not gonna go 72-0 but it's how you respond when you lose," McManus said. "That was a tough game so we just gotta take that loss, learn from and be better tomorrow."
(Photo courtesy of LSUsports)