OMAHA, Neb. — The Tigers missed too many chances at the plate and on the basepaths to overcome Florida’s stud sophomore pitcher Brady Singer in a 4-3 loss to the Gators in Game 1.
While Singer did look dominant for the most part, LSU had multiple opportunities to put more runs on the board early.
In the third inning, junior catcher Michael Papierski led off with a single. Two strikeouts and a fly ball later, Papierski was still at first.
“We have to put the ball in play,” Papierski said. “We can’t strikeout that much, you’ve got to make them pick it up.”
Singer ended up retiring eight of the nine in the Tigers’ starting lineup with a strikeout, and finished with 12 on the night.
LSU would again find itself in a position to put runs across in the next inning after back-to-back singles from sophomore outfielder Antoine Duplantis and junior outfielder Greg Deichmann.
“I think Antoine’s kind of kicking himself a little bit for not taking third on that ball,” coach Paul Mainieri said. “I think he just felt that he didn’t want to get thrown out at third base with nobody out. I think if he had to do it all over again, he would have taken a shot and taken third base there.”
Duplantis would not get another opportunity to leave second. Singer would strike out the next three batters he faced, and LSU’s opportunity went to waste.
“That just goes to show how good Brady Singer is,” Duplantis said. “That’s kind of the difference in the game just not being able to get those runs in.”
Duplantis would eventually help the Tigers break through in the sixth inning with a solo home run, which was the second of the year for the sophomore.
“I was pretty sure I was going to get fastball,” Duplantis said. “So I was just sitting on it, and trying to get the head [of the bat] out on the ball.”
LSU would get another run in the sixth inning after Singer hit freshman outfielder Zach Watson and walked freshman third baseman Josh Smith, pushing Watson to second base. Junior designated hitter Beau Jordan would hit an RBI single to score Watson, but Florida would get out the inning with a 3-2 lead.
Florida would add another run in the seventh inning to extend its lead to two runs, but the Tigers failed to match it even with two hits in the bottom of the inning. Senior shortstop Kramer Robertson had a one-out single, but was thrown out at second base as he attempted to advance on a dropped ball. Senior second baseman Cole Freeman followed that up with a single of his own before Duplantis grounded out to end the inning.
LSU would then respond in the eighth inning after a leadoff double from junior outfielder Greg Deichmann.
After the leadoff double, Singer was replaced by sophomore Michael Byrne, who leads the Southeastern Conference in saves.
Deichmann would score on a single from Smith. Smith attempted to stretch his RBI single into a double, but was called out by the umpire. Upon further look, it appeared Smith should’ve been called safe; however, the play was not reviewable, and LSU was left with no one base and two outs.
“It looked like a double off the bat,” Smith said, “But it slowed down, and when I slid I thought was safe especially after just watching it.”
With Smith called out, LSU would fail to add more run support in the inning.
“That throw they had on Josh had to be right on the money, and it was,” Papierski said. “You have to tip your cap to them.”
“You can’t come down to one call,” Papierski said. “We’ve got to come up with big hits and we have to be better at the plate.”
LSU would fail to threaten afterwards, and went down in order in the ninth inning. The missed opportunities by the Tigers have put them in a hole, and they will now need to once again win two straight games against a top team in the country to be crowned champions.
