The weekend series against the University of Kentucky was full of firsts for LSU baseball coach Paul Mainieri. Having a walk-off home run called back in Saturday’s 6-5 loss, finishing the series Sunday with the first tie since March 16, 2002, and a catcher interference call on a bunt attempt are just some of the firsts for Mainieri. Mainieri said these “firsts” are the reason the Tigers (14-11-1, 1-4-1) cannot catch a break. “I’m not sure I’ve ever had a weekend like this before,” Mainieri said. “There were several things this weekend that I saw that I have never seen in my coaching experience.” After clawing back from a four-run deficit with six runs in the sixth inning Sunday, the Tigers could not hold on to their 9-7 lead to close out the game. The Wildcats (23-2-1, 3-2-1 SEC) scored two runs in the eighth inning to tie the game and then shut down the Tigers in the final half inning of play. Because of the Southeastern Conference travel regulations which set a certain time in which games must be completed the contest was cut an inning short. Senior right fielder Mike Brown singled to score freshman left fielder Jason Kipnis to cut the score to 9-8. A misplayed ball by LSU freshman center fielder Jared Mitchell on Wildcats first baseman Sawyer Carroll’s bloop hit allowed Brown to score from first. Wildcats coach John Cohen said he hates to see the game end like this, but is happy with how his team played. “It’s really a win for you when you’re down two and you have three outs left and the clock’s ticking,” Cohen said. “No it doesn’t count, but that type of performance is going to help us down the road.” The tie comes one day after a dramatic loss Saturday in which freshman first baseman Sean Ochinko’s game-winning home run was called back. Home plate umpire Dennis McComb signaled a home run but was overturned after third base umpire Jeff Head reversed the call well after Ochinko crossed home plate. “In 25 years of coaching, I have never seen an ending like that,” Mainieri said. “I’ve seen questions on home runs before but certainly not at that juncture of the game with that much riding on it.” With the exception of junior pitcher Jared Bradford, the Tigers’ starting pitcher was lit up this weekend. Junior pitcher Charlie Furbush gave up six earned runs in two innings Friday, and freshman pitcher T.J. Forrest gave up four earned in three innings in Sunday’s contest. With the winless series, LSU drops to fifth in the Southeastern Conference Western Division and will get a SEC breather with a Tuesday night game against the University of New Orleans in Alex Box Stadium. Mainieri said although he is disappointed, the team cannot dwell on this series for too long. “We could of and should of,” Mainieri said. “I hate those words, but we could have easily have won two out of three ball games. We just weren’t good enough to overcome the bad breaks but we’ll … come back to work on Tuesday against New Orleans.”
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