LSU Pitching Elevates Team to Series Win Over Missouri 4-3 in Walk-Off Fashion
It took a Herculean effort from the LSU bullpen and an extra innings walk-off but the purple and gold found a way to scratch out a 4-3 series win over Missouri.
A pinch hit double from true freshman Josh Stevenson to lead off the 10th was then capitalized on by a walk-off from Cade Doughty to win the series.
This one played out eerily similar to the series opener on Thursday as it took the purple and gold offense a little bit of time to get flowing, stringing together two solo home runs from Dylan Crews and Brayden Jobert to get on the board. LSU was putting good swings on the ball which was a positive sign but it was just one of those nights where the balls didn't seem to find the empty spaces, putting pressure on a solid performance on the mound.
On the mound it was Blake Money who drew the start and it was another short lived outing for Money, who lasted into the third before trouble found his way, though not entirely all his fault. Money would allow two runs to come across, both of which were unearned due to an LSU infield error.
When Money ran into trouble in the third, allowing two runs with two runners on, Johnson and Kelly were comfortable with turning the ball over to the bullpen. The highlight of the night out of the bullpen was veteran left hander Jacob Hasty, who entered Friday night with just two appearances on the season.
In what was still a tightly contested game, Hasty retired the first seven batters and eight of nine he faced with four strikeouts. When Hasty ran into a little bit of trouble in the sixth, it was freshman Grant Taylor who was called on to get the final two outs, stranding a runner on third.
When Taylor walked two batters on in the eighth, it was Paul Gervase who took over in a tie game to get the final out of the inning and the same could be said for Riley Cooper, who picked up Gervase with a two out strikeout in the ninth that stranded two runners.
This LSU bullpen has been very consistent in recent weeks picking up guys in front of them and it was a big reason why the Tigers were able to enter the latter half of the game in a tie ball game. On the night, the LSU pitching staff would strand 10 Missouri runners on base and hold the visiting team to 2-of-10 at the plate with runners in scoring position.
It was just one of those games where LSU was waiting for the bats to come alive and it was a struggle to punch in runs. This was a game that would ultimately be defined by the bullpen being able to grind out a collective save and after Taylor allowed a solo homer of his own to tie the game back up in the eighth, it set up for another tight finish.
(Photo courtesy of LSUsports)