LSU freshman pitcher Austin Bain delivered a solid performance in his first collegiate start.
But Auburn sophomore ace Keegan Thompson’s complete-game outing was even better.
Thompson surrendered one run on six scattered hits in a full nine innings of work, and third-ranked LSU dropped Game 2 of a weekend series to Auburn, 6-1, Saturday night in Alex Box Stadium.
The loss snapped LSU’s eight-game winning streak against Auburn (21-14, 5-9 Southeastern Conference), which hadn’t won in the series since March 24, 2012. It also set up a rubber match for Sunday’s series finale, which is the third for LSU in the last four weekends.
LSU’s one-run outing matched its lowest output of the season, prompting coach Paul Mainieri to say the game was all about Auburn’s ace.
“It was one of those classic examples of great pitching beating great hitting,” Mainieri said. “Tonight, we’re going to tip of hat to their pitcher. He was really outstanding. He was everything as advertised.”
Thompson (7-2, 2.84 ERA), who didn’t pitch against LSU (30-6, 9-5 SEC) last season, shutout the SEC’s second-highest scoring club through the first seven innings until a solo homer from junior outfielder Andrew Stevenson made it a 5-1 game in the eighth.
After giving up two hits in the first, Thompson retired the sides in the second and third innings on a combined 12 pitches, and he threw 11 or fewer pitches in five of the first seven frames.
Thompson had everything working Saturday.
“Every pitch he threw was for a strike,” said LSU senior second baseman Jared Foster. “He got ahead early with that slider, and he had a curveball. So it’s kind of tough to put a swing on balls when in any count, he can throw any pitch.”
But Bain, who was originally scheduled to start Sunday, gave LSU a chance.
Starting in place of a resting Alex Lange, Bain (0-1, 3.29 ERA) retired the side in the first and didn’t allow an Auburn runner to get beyond first base through the first two innings. He also collected seven strikeouts in his debut start, giving him 16 in his last two appearances.
LSU junior shortstop Alex Bregman said he liked what he saw from the club’s newest weekend starter.
“He pitched with conviction and executed a lot of good pitches,” Bregman said. “They have a good team, and he battled them.”
But Auburn sophomore centerfielder Anfernee Grier ensured Bain’s first start wouldn’t end in a victory.
Grier ripped his SEC-leading 17th double off the wall in left-center field in the third inning, scoring a runner from first and giving Auburn an early lead. Grier then smoked a triple to right field in the fifth, driving in another run from first and giving Auburn a 2-0 cushion.
Grier finished 3-for-5 at the plate with three RBIs, and he’s batting .555 (5-for-9) through the first two games of the weekend series.
“[Grier] just hit the right pitches in the right counts and looked for fastballs,” Bain said. “He got both of them when I left them up in the zone.”
Sophomore pitcher Alden Cartwright replaced Bain with two runners on and one out in the sixth, but the game quickly got out of hand for the defending SEC-tournament champs after that.
With runners on second and third, Auburn junior shortstop Cody Nulph banged a bases-clearing triple to centerfield. Stevenson’s diving attempt at a catch came up short, enabling two runners to score and giving the visitors a four-run lead.
AU junior outfielder Jackson Burgreen then roped a 1-2 pitch to left field, scoring Nulph from third and extending Auburn’s lead to 5-0.
Unlike Auburn, LSU failed to take advantage of its scoring opportunities, which were rare Saturday.
Mainieri’s club put runners in scoring position with one out in the bottom of the first, but Thompson walked off the mound unharmed. He fanned senior infielder Conner Hale and forced senior catcher Kade Scivicque into a groundout to second base, eliminating LSU’s best scoring chance of the game.
The hometown Tigers finished with six hits, giving them 13 in the past two games, which is their fewest in consecutive games this season.
“We had one good scoring opportunity in the first inning, but we couldn’t put the ball in play,” Mainieri said. “When you’re facing a pitcher as good as that kid, you’re not going to get many scoring opportunities. You have to take advantage of them. Unfortunately, we did not.”
Auburn’s victory set up a rubber match for the series finale, which is slated to begin at 1 p.m. Sunday afternoon in Alex Box Stadium.
However, Sunday’s forecast projects an 80 percent chance of rain, according to the National Weather Service, which puts the series finale in jeopardy.
Mainier didn’t name a starter for Sunday’s game but said he’d likely use “a lot” of pitchers. But no matter who takes the mound, Mainieri said he wants to see a better performance from his club.
“Tonight was [Auburn’s] night,” Mainieri said. “We’ll tip our hat to them and come back and hopefully play a lot better tomorrow.”
You can reach David Gray on Twitter @dgray_TDR