OMAHA, Neb. — LSU senior third baseman Michael Hollander led off the Tigers’ College World Series opener with a solo home run, and junior first baseman Matt Clark began the second inning in the same fashion.
But that was about all that went right for LSU against North Carolina, as the Tigers lost for only the second time in their past 27 games, 8-4.
“It was a very frustrating game for us,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri.
LSU starting pitcher Ryan Verdugo gave up three runs on four hits and a walk in the bottom of the first inning, and the Tigers never recovered.
“In the bottom of the first inning, I thought Verdugo was really throwing the ball well,” Mainieri said. “But the kid gets a swinging tapper there and on a close play gets called safe and gets an infield single. Then we get the kid 0-2 and gets a good piece of hitting and hits the ball the other way. Then a kid tries to bunt and Matt hustles like crazy and tries to make the catch, but not only does he not make the catch but the guy is safe. Then all of a sudden it’s bases loaded, and nobody’s out, and I’m feeling like our kid’s throwing the ball really well.”
Clark’s home run, which gave the 12th-round pick of the San Diego Padres the national lead in home runs with 27, cut the Tar Heels’ lead to 3-2, temporarily allowing the Tiger faithful to keep hope alive.
But the Tar Heels continued their stride to the winners’ half of the bracket.
Verdugo and the Tigers allowed two more runs on three hits and an error in the bottom of the third to fall further behind, 5-2.
After knocking Verdugo out of the game in the bottom of the fourth inning, the Tar Heels picked up a sixth run on a wild pitch by LSU sophomore reliever Paul Bertuccini.
“When you get guys on base, I know from a defensive standpoint it definitely puts a lot more pressure on the defense,” said North Carolina sophomore shortstop Ryan Graepel.
Junior reliever Louis Coleman came in to pitch in the bottom of the fifth, allowing a run to put the Tar Heels ahead, 7-2, in his first inning of work.
The Tigers threatened in the top of the sixth as runners advanced to second and third with one out and Clark at the plate.
But North Carolina sophomore pitcher Alex White quickly extinguished the situation, inducing a groundout by Clark and a pop up by freshman shortstop DJ LeMahieu.
“Alex White — I can see why people talk about him with such superlatives,” Mainieri said. “It’s really outstanding. We just got of dug ourselves too big of a hole tonight.”
The Tar Heels then added another run in the bottom of the seventh when LSU sophomore left fielder Jared Mitchell lost a North Carolina pop up in the light, allowing it to drop safely in front of him for an RBI double.
“He took his eye off the ball and raced back to the fence thinking it was going to be deeper,” Mainieri said. “Then when he looked back up in the high sky, he couldn’t find the ball. It was just a tough play for us.”
The Tigers began another rally in the bottom of the eighth as they loaded the bases with three singles to open the inning – one off White and two off North Carolina reliever Brian Moran.
Moran then allowed Hollander to score the Tigers’ first run since the second inning by walking freshman catcher Micah Gibbs with the bases loaded.
LeMahieu added another run on an infield single before freshman center fielder Leon Landry grounded into an inning-ending double play.
Mainieri argued the pivotal call as ESPN replays showed Landry reaching the base before the throw.
“It was pretty obvious to me that he was safe,” Mainieri said. “But the umpire saw it that way. Obviously it was a big call. It would’ve made the score 8-5, and we would of had the tying run at the plate with a guy who has 12 home runs for us.”
The Tigers now play Tuesday in an elimination game against Rice. Mainieri said he expects to start senior right hander Jared Bradford.
If the Tigers defeat Rice, they will have to win Thursday, Friday and Saturday to reach the championship series next week.
The Tigers have never won a national championship after losing their opening game of the College World Series. They have have lost only one game in the five title runs — the team’s third game of the 1993 series.
LSU is 3-5 in five World Series after losing opening games. The past three times LSU has lost its opening game (1994, 2003 and 2004), the Tigers were eliminated the next time out.
—-Contact Jerit Roser at [email protected]