OMAHA – “Business trip” was the common phrase used by the LSU baseball team to describe the program’s 17th trip to the College World Series.
For Tigers making a return to Omaha, it’s a trip of unfinished business, trying to right the wrongs of an 0-2 outing in their freshman season. For players here for the first time, it’s a chance to show the nation they mean business on the biggest stage.
But as LSU coach Paul Mainieri will say, baseball can quickly humble any player or team, and, on Sunday, the Tigers’ first showing at TD Ameritrade Park was far from business-like.
“I can tell you one lesson you learn very quickly in this business is that not everything goes as planned,” Mainieri said. “This career is not one you sail on a ship on glass-like water. There’s a lot of turbulence that you have to navigate. [Sunday] was a disaster. I don’t know how else to say it. It was maybe the worst game we’ve had since I’ve been the coach at LSU in nine years.”
With their backs against the wall following Sunday’s 10-3 loss to TCU, the Tigers will attempt to cut out mistakes and stave off elimination in a loser’s bracket game against Cal State-Fullerton on Tuesday at 2 p.m.
LSU’s miscues, while uncharacteristic, completely shifted the momentum of the game, but it came with odd timing. Sophomore starting pitcher Jared Poche’ flew through his first three innings, retiring the first nine batters he faced, but a great defensive play by the Horned Frogs got the ball rolling away from the Tigers.
First, it was a one-hop throw to the plate by TCU senior center fielder Cody Jones to end the bottom of the third, crushing a run-scoring opportunity off of a base hit. Next, it was back-to-back throwing errors by Poche’ on weakly hit ground balls in the top of the fourth. Then, it was two walks, an error by third baseman Conner Hale, and a hit batter in the top of fifth.
By the bottom of the sixth, TCU led 6-1 on just four hits, and LSU’s southpaw hurler had been chased from the game. In total, LSU pitchers allowed 11 different TCU runners to reach base without a hit.
With the exception of the one run scored in the bottom of fourth, the LSU offense virtually had no answer for Horned Frogs right-handed ace Preston Morrison, who struck out five in seven innings of work.
“It just unravelled,” Mainieri said. “It was like a snowball going down the backside of a hill. You wanted it to stop, but it just seemed like one thing after another kept happening.”
Now, the Tigers enter Tuesday’s game needing to win four games in five days, but none of those are as important as the next one. Fortunately for LSU, this season has showed it is adept at bouncing back after losses, notching a 10-0 record with a more than nine-run clip in games following defeats.
“We can’t really look into the future,” said shortstop Alex Bregman. “We just need to worry about winning one game. Tomorrow, we got the best pitcher in the country throwing for us, we feel like.”
Freshman ace Alex Lange will get the ball for the Tigers as he tries to remain unbeaten on the year, but he will face an equally desperate but possibly deflated Fullerton team.
With junior right-handed starter Thomas Eshelman dealing, the Titans took a 3-0 lead into bottom of sixth of its Sunday night game with Vanderbilt. But with a man on third base and two outs, the game was stopped and then postponed due inclement weather.
Once the game restarted at 2:03 p.m., after another delay, Eshelman was replaced by right-handed pitcher Chad Hockin and the momentum of the game turned in the Commodores’ favor. Vandy grabbed a run in the sixth and scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth, including a walk-off, two run blast to win the game.
It was two very different losses, but both LSU and Fullerton were left with the same feeling following their defeats – disappoint. Tomorrow’s game may come down which team can get over it’s previous performance faster.
“I don’t look at it as a chance to save the season,” Lange said. “I just look at it as one game at a time and try to give my team a chance to play the next game. Our season has been fantastic. It shouldn’t be defined by how we played yesterday, and I don’t think it will be defined by how we played yesterday. We just have to come out tomorrow, really focus in and play solid baseball.”
LSU head coach Paul Mainieri walks towards the LSU players during the Tigers' third practice at the NCAA College World Series on Monday, June 15, 2015 in Creighton University Sports Complex.
