Late Comeback Attempt Fails in Mizzou Baseball Loss to No. 2 LSU

Keegan Knutson has a two-homer day, bringing in four RBIs in the Missouri Tigers back-and-forth loss to LSU.

Missouri shortstop Jackson Lovich throws a baseball to first. | Mizzou Athletics

A triple that led off the second inning was a good representative the rest of the game.

While a play like that might seem fairly cut-and-dry, the triple came on a ball that bounced off the glove of Missouri Tigers left fielder Brock Daniels. Despite it not being ruled an error, it was likely a play that realistically could have been made.

The LSU Tigers proved just why they are ranked one of the top teams in the country. Every time Mizzou had a chance at putting something together, LSU fought right back to stay ahead. LSU took the 7-6 win against Missouri.

By just the third inning, Mizzou had already struck out four times and it was not looking good. With the bases loaded, first baseman Cayden Nicoletto brought in just one of the runners on a sacrifice fly.

The tides temporarily changed for the Missouri Tigers in the fourth inning. Third baseman Keegan Knutson's first D1 homer came at the right moment, with two runners on and just a two-run difference between the pair of Tigers. He also knocked out another in the top of the seventh to add to the Tigers score.

But the moment of brightness was quickly tampered by the pitching performance in the bottom of the fourth. LSU brought in four runs in the inning off of Mizzou starter Wil Libbert, who was pulled with two outs in the fourth. This left LSU with the lead.

After bringing the game within one run in the seventh, Mizzou had the chance to take the lead in the top of the eighth with bases loaded, but managed to strand all of them. They left 10 on in the game.

First baseman Jackson Lovich made it on base with two outs in the top of the ninth, but they stranded him.

The Mizzou fielding was quite sloppy against the Tigers. They were only credited with one error, but this wasn't the only misplay of the game. A run scored in the fourth when first base was left empty after what likely should have been a sacrifice bunt. There was also the triple in the second inning that likely could have been caught, amongst others.

Mizzou drops to 8-10 on the season and 0-2 in conference play, while LSU moves to 19-1 and 2-0 in the SEC. The Tigers will face off again for game two of the series at 1 p.m. on Sunday, March 16.