LSU and Mississippi St. each relied on clutch hitting and shutdown pitching to split the first four meetings this season.
The Tigers got neither in Friday’s rubber match.
Mississippi St. relievers Caleb Reed, Ross Mitchell and Jonathan Holder combined for 6 1/3 shutout innings and LSU junior reliever Nick Goody blew a second save in his last four opportunities as the Bulldogs eliminated the Tigers (43-16) from the SEC Tournament, 4-3, in 10 innings.
“This is a tough loss, but it’s one we can learn from as we go forward in the postseason,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri in a news release. “It hurts right now because the game didn’t go the way we had hoped, but that’s how baseball is sometimes.”
Junior right fielder Mason Katz and senior catcher Jordy Snikeris paced the Tigers with two hits each, while junior starter Ryan Eades recorded his second consecutive effective outing, scattering only four hits through six scoreless innings.
Freshman first baseman Tyler Moore’s RBI single in the first inning careened off of Bulldog starter Jacob Lindgren’s leg and gave the Tigers a 2-0 lead.
Sophomore second baseman JaCoby Jones followed with a single in the second, then scored on a groundout by senior shortstop Austin Nola to pad the lead to 3-0.
The Tigers could only muster five hits over the next seven innings, as Eades consistently pitched out of jams and kept the Bulldogs at bay. Junior Chris Cotton relieved Eades in the seventh, surrendering only one run on a Hunter Renfroe RBI single.
Mainieri turned to Goody for the save in the ninth, who in turn gave up a double, two singles, hit a batter and a game tying sacrifice fly to Bulldog pitcher Luis Pollorena before finally retiring the side.
Pollorena was inserted as a pinch runner in the eighth inning and drove home the tying run in only his fourth at-bat of the season.
After going down quietly in the top of the 10th, the Tigers turned to Goody again, who surrendered another double to Mitch Slauter before being lifted in favor of sophomore Nick Rumbelow.
Rumbelow surrendered a line drive single to Matthew Britton, scoring the winning run, and propelling the Bulldogs into the semifinals against Kentucky.
Mississippi State also defeated LSU, 3-2, in the Tigers’ opening-round 
The Tigers will return home and wait for the announcement of the NCAA Baseball Selection Committee of the eight national seeds and 16 regional sites for the NCAA Tournament on Monday.
Based on the Tigers’ resumé - a No. 7 RPI, series wins on the road over Florida and South Carolina, and a regular season SEC Championship – they are considered a virtual lock for a national seed and regional hosting opportunities.
While Mainieri said the Tigers fell short in their quest for an SEC Tournament championship, he said the team still has an opportunity to capitalize on a “tremendous year.”
“Now we have the opportunity to make it a very special season,” Mainieri said. “We’ve got time to regroup and start preparing for the NCAA Tournament.” 
 
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Contact Chandler Rome at [email protected]