During its 23-game win streak, the LSU baseball team made its mark with numerous come-from-behind victories.
In its Super Regional opener Saturday against University of California Irvine, LSU tried to rally several times but came up short.
“They played better than we did [Saturday night],” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri.  “They deserved to win the ball game … whenever they had an opportunity they took advantage of it, and we didn’t.”
LSU’s best chance at a rally came in the sixth inning, when UC Irvine starting pitcher Scott Gorgen walked three consecutive batters to load the bases.
But UC Irvine found a way to escape using the old hidden ball trick.
After LSU sophomore center fielder Leon Landry singled to drive in freshman catcher Micah Gibbs, UC Irvine huddled around the pitchers mound during an infield meeting to discuss the situation.
Anteaters sophomore second baseman Casey Stevenson secretly took the ball from Gorgen and moved back toward second base.Moments later, LSU freshman shortstop DJ LeMahieu was tagged by Stevenson and called out at second base.
“I was one foot off the base, and I saw the second baseman out of the corner of my eye,” LeMahieu said. “I put my foot back on the base before he touched me.”
Mainieri and assistant coach Javi Sanchez immediately ran out to second base umpire David Rogers to argue the call. Sanchez was ejected as a result.
LSU fans booed the call and kept booing throughout the rest of game, even jeering when UC Irvine called further infield meetings.
But the Tigers’ loss Saturday night was not solely the product of the controversial call. Multiple factors prevented the Tigers from rallying.
LSU pitchers surrendered five walks – all of which resulted in runs for UC Irvine.
LSU starting pitcher Ryan Verdugo surrendered three of those walks in five innings of work, two of which to open up the game.
LSU sophomore pitcher Paul Bertuccini relieved Verdugo in the sixth inning and lasted 1/3 of an inning. Bertuccini walked the first two batters he faced and gave up a three-run homer to Anteater outfielder Sean Madigan.
“When you do that you’re asking for trouble,” Mainieri said.  “We’ve pitched so great all year … [Saturday night] was just very uncharacteristic of us.”
Gorgen was another reason the Tigers’ rallies sputtered. He surrendered two runs, gave up six hits and struck out eight in 6 2/3 innings.
“We didn’t have our best offensive game as a whole,” said junior first baseman Matt Clark.
LSU sophomore designated hitter Blake Dean was stymied by Gorgen, finishing the night 0-for-5 with three strikeouts in his first three at-bats.
“I swung at quite a few pitches out of the zone, which put me in a hole,” Dean said.  “If you get yourself in a hole like I did [Saturday night] … [Gorgen] is the kind of pitcher that feeds off that.”
LSU’s ability to rally during the streak serves as a backdrop for the entire season. LSU was 23-16-1 overall and 6-11-1 in conference play before the streak began.
Now the Tigers must rally at least two more times to save their season. They need to win Sunday and Monday to advance to the College World Series.
“Earlier in the year we had some really tough losses and [the players] always bounced back the next day,” Mainieri said.  “I can’t promise you we’re going to win tomorrow, but I can promise you these kids are going to give it everything that they have.”
—-Contact Robert Stewart at [email protected]