The weekend series against Arkansas proved to be a microcosm of the LSU baseball team’s Southeastern Conference play this season, as the Tigers were swept in Fayetteville, Ark.
It was like a recurring nightmare for the Tigers, who were shut out in the first game and lost the next two games in walk-off fashion with the bullpen blowing late leads.
The series dropped LSU’s record in SEC play to 3-9, which puts the Tigers in sole possession of last place in the Western Division.
“I know it’s frustrating for everybody — fans, players and coaches alike — but we’re so close to being the team we expect to be,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri in a news release following the final game.
The Tigers’ only offense in the series finale came from junior shortstop Austin Nola, who launched a 2-2 offering to left field for a grand slam in the sixth inning.
But the lead was short lived, as the Razorbacks came back in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game on a fielder’s choice off junior Tyler Jones, who came on in relief of senior Ben Alsup.
LSU’s all-time saves leader Matty Ott was called on to replace Jones, and threw 2 1/3 brilliant innings. But Ott got into trouble in the ninth.
The junior loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the ninth with the score still tied, and Arkansas outfielder Kyle Robinson knocked in the winning run on a sacrifice fly to secure the sweep.
LSU’s increasingly anemic offense only managed to score eight runs in the three-game series, but it wasn’t as if the Tigers didn’t have chances.
A little bit of run production would have helped immensely, as freshman pitchers Kurt McCune and Kevin Gausman pitched beyond their years in the first two games of the series, allowing only one earned run and nine hits in 15 2/3 combined innings.
But the Tigers failed to capitalize on the youngsters’ sterling performances.
Though they connected for 10 singles, LSU lost the first game, 2-0.
Mainieri said the Tigers lacked clutch hitting, as LSU stranded 11 total runners for the game.
“It’s a very tough loss because we definitely had some chances to score early in the game,” Mainieri said in a news release after the game one loss. “We made [Arkansas starter DJ] Baxendale throw a lot of pitches, but we couldn’t get a timely hit.”
The second game may have been even more devastating for the Tigers, as they gained a late lead only to watch it get taken away by one swing in the bottom of the ninth.
After going 17 consecutive innings without scoring a run, sophomore outfielder Mason Katz laced a two-run triple to right-center field in the top of the ninth, and then scored on a safety squeeze by freshman JaCoby Jones.
With a three-run lead heading into the ninth, Mainieri called on sophomore Kevin Berry to close the game.
But Berry was uncharacteristically off, hitting the first batter he faced and allowing two of the next three to get on base.
Catcher James McCann deposited a hanging slider into the left-field bleachers for a walk-off three-run home run to hand Berry his first loss of the season.
Berry had only given up one earned run this season before the four-run ninth Saturday.
 
 
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Contact Luke Johnson at [email protected]