The Recap: LSU Baseball's Late Rally Not Enough in 5-4 Loss to Sacramento State

BATON ROUGE, La. – Sacramento State second baseman Cameron Sewell drove in five runs Saturday, and the Hornets held off a late LSU rally to post a 5-4 win over the second-ranked Tigers in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field.

Sacramento State improved to 4-10 on the season, while LSU dropped to 12-4.

The teams will meet in the series finale at 6 p.m. CT Sunday in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field. The game was originally scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. CT; however, the start time has been moved to 6 p.m. CT due the forecast of inclement weather.

Sunday’s 6 p.m. CT game will be broadcast on the LSU Sports Radio Network and streamed on SEC Network +.

Sewell’s grand slam in the top of the eighth inning – his first home run of the year – gave the Hornets a 5-0 lead before LSU staged a rally with three runs in the eighth – which included first baseman Zach Yorke’s RBI double — and a lead-off home run by pinch hitter Daniel Harden in the ninth.

Harden, a Baton Rouge native and transfer from McLennan Community College, launched his first career LSU dinger.

“Credit Sacramento State, they played a good game today,” said LSU coach Jay Johnson. “They pitched a really good game today, and that’s been a hallmark of their program. We just didn’t get enough going offensively.

"They got the one big swing with the grand slam, and that’s tough because we were in a pretty good spot earlier in that inning to get out of it. Sacramento State deserved to win today.”

Sacramento State reliever Sean Carey (1-0) was credited with the win, as he fired 2.2 scoreless innings with no hits, no walks and four strikeouts.

LSU starting pitcher Cooper Moore (3-1) suffered the loss as he was charged with just one run on four hits in 4.2 innings with three walks and four strikeouts.

Trailing by one run in the bottom of the ninth after Harden’s lead-off homer, the Tigers placed runners on first and second base with one out, but Sacramento State reliever Trevor Wilson recorded the final two outs to earn his second save of the season.

Sewell’s RBI double in the second inning gave the Hornets a 1-0 lead, and the score remained 1-0 until his grand slam in the eighth.

LSU reliever Ethan Plog highlighted the Tigers’ bullpen effort, firing 2.2 shutout innings in relief of Moore with no hits, one walk and two strikeouts.

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