For nine innings, LSU and Arkansas played one of the games of the year.
It was in the 10th inning, though, that Arkansas exploded, coasting to a 9-3 win, a score that doesn’t quite reflect how competitive the game was.
Despite losing by six runs, LSU outhit Arkansas and seemed the better team for the majority of the game. Paul Skenes had another impressive start, this time striking out 12 while allowing just one run on two hits.
The offense was inconsistent, but created opportunities to score that it wasn’t able to take advantage of.
Overall, there were positives from LSU, but in games like this, the margins are thin.
Paul Skenes’ dominance has carried over into tougher competition
Skenes has been dominant to start the season, but the question could still be asked of whether it would carry over into SEC play. He answered that question last week against a solid Texas A&M team, and again this weekend against a top five team in Arkansas.
His overpowering fastball carried him through non-conference play, but lately his full arsenal has been on display.
His slider gave Arkansas problems, and when mixed with his dominant fastball and occasional changeup, the balance is difficult for hitters to keep up with.
In most games LSU will play this season, that kind of performance from Skenes leads LSU to a win. The encouraging sign is that despite the loss, Skenes didn’t look any different against arguably the best team LSU will play in the regular season than he did in previous games.
“The best pitcher on the planet as far as I’m concerned with pitching in a purple uniform on Fridays,” head coach Jay Johnson said. “That’s a good way to get you off to the start.”
The margin for error is razor-thin in the SEC
On most days, LSU was good enough to win this game.
Despite that, it didn’t.
Despite outhitting Arkansas and having a chance to take the lead with the bases loaded in the eighth inning, LSU wasn’t able to capitalize. The eighth inning was just the latest example of LSU missing opportunities.
The Tigers’ first big opportunity came in the fourth.
Tre’ Morgan tripled with two outs, giving Jared Jones a chance to immediately respond to Arkansas scoring in the top of the fourth. However, poor judgment from Morgan on a passed ball saw him caught stealing home, ending the inning and LSU’s chance at an immediate answer.
Then in the seventh, another baserunning mistake saw LSU waste an opportunity to tie the game. With runners on first and second, Brayden Jobert got caught in between first and second, leading to him being picked off by the catcher between pitches.
That led to the eighth inning where LSU finally tied the game with a solo home run from Brady Neal. Later in the inning, the Tigers had a perfect opportunity to take the lead and take control of the game.
That chance was given to Morgan who stepped up with the bases loaded and two outs, a chance to erase his mistake from earlier in the game.
It wasn’t in the cards for him, though, as he popped out, leaving the door open for Arkansas.
Two innings later, Arkansas took advantage of LSU’s inability to capitalize, scoring eight runs in the 10th inning, putting the game out of reach.
Timely hitting is paramount in games of this magnitude, and that is what LSU lacked.
Still no reason to panic
Baseball has a long season one loss doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things.
Some of LSU’s struggles were put on display in this game, but that doesn’t mean the game lacked any positives. However, when looking at the No. 1 team in the country, it’s easy to be alarmed by a 9-3 loss.
LSU struggled against Arkansas’ left-handed pitching, but the Tigers faced two of the best left-handers in the SEC.
Hunter Hollan, Arkansas’ starting pitcher, came into the game sporting a 2.36 ERA and 4-0 record. Hagen Smith, the other pitcher Arkansas used in the game, came into the game with the second-best ERA in the SEC, only behind Skenes.
“Their guys executed good today. I think we could have done a better job making it hard on them,” Johnson said. “Those are the ones we’ll go back and evaluate and make sure we’re better.”
