The No. 8 LSU baseball team was 1-for-8 with two outs and 3-for-15 with runners in scoring position in Thursday’s series opening loss against No. 9 Ole Miss.
Those numbers might be unsettling to the Tigers (27-15, 10-9 Southeastern Conference) on their own, but what may sting the most is the two times when LSU did get a clutch hit with a man in scoring position – the second of which came with two outs in the eighth inning.
Both times, the Tigers came up empty handed because of throws by the same Rebel player, eventually losing the game 7-6 at Swayze Field in Oxford, Mississippi.
It was the Tigers’ fourth loss in its last five games, which followed a five-game winning streak.
LSU tagged Ole Miss ace Brady Bramlett for two runs off two hits and a single in the top of the first, but the Rebels quickly jumped on Tiger starting lefty Jared Poche’, producing two doubles and a single to even the score at two runs apiece.
Bramlett and Poche’ combined to throw 55 pitches in the first inning, which began the shortest appearances for both pitchers this season.
“I thought we did a tremendous job against one of the best pitchers in the league (Bramlett),” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri in a news release. “Our hitters scored two in the first inning, and then we scored two more in the third. We ran his pitch count up. I thought we just did a tremendous job against him.
“Unfortunately, they were able to get a few hits off of Jared and were able to fight back. They are a good ball club, and they showed why.”
After harmless second innings, both hurlers conceded two more runs in the third inning. LSU junior catcher Jordan Romero belted a two-run double to left center, while the Rebels notched doubles in three of their first four at-bats in the bottom half of the inning.
LSU put runners on first and second base with one out in the fourth, which chased Bramlett from the game in favor of right-hander Andy Pagnozzi. Bramlett threw 87 pitches in 3.1 innings.
Pagnozzi immediately allowed a single to Tiger junior center fielder Jake Fraley, but Rebel center fielder J.B. Woodman gunned out junior second baseman Cole Freeman at the plate, eliminating LSU’s best chance to score in the frame.
Woodman’s outfield assist, his seventh of the season, would be a troubling sign of things to come for the Tigers.
Though Poche’ allowed the first three hitters of the fifth to reach, Romero threw out a base stealer, and Rebel shortstop Errol Robinson lined into a double play with a runner in scoring position.
“Jared was out there competing as hard as he could,” Mainieri said. “He obviously didn’t have his ace stuff tonight. He got us through four innings.”
However, that would be Poche’s final inning, marking the third-straight start where he allowed at least four earned runs since seven shutout innings against Vandebilt.
Ole Miss loaded the bases off LSU right-hander Parker Bugg in the fifth, but Bugg struck out his second of two batters in the frame to escape the jam.
Despite LSU briefly grabbing its third lead of the game, the Rebels would make Bugg pay in the sixth, as they picked up three runs off one hit and error.
The hit, an RBI triple from Robinson, set up the error.
Bugg fielded a soft grounder on the next at-bat and overthrew Romero, as Robinson took off for home. Later in the inning, second baseman Tate Blackman sent an RBI sacrifice fly to right field to take a 7-5 lead.
The Tigers cut the deficit to one run in the following inning on junior first baseman Greg Deichmann’s RBI fielder’s choice, and right-handed reliever Russell Reynolds stranded the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh.
“I thought Parker [Bugg] threw well and I thought [Russell] Reynolds threw well,” Mainieri said. “We had an inning there where we just had a few plays we could have made but didn’t. It was just the story of the game.”
LSU, though, fell victim to a similar play in the eighth by Woodman, squashing its last opportunity to tie the game.
With a two outs and freshman pinch runner Brennan Breaux at second base, Woodman scooped Tiger freshman right fielder Antoine Duplantis’ single and fired home to catch Breaux charging to the plate.
“I thought it was a great ball game. It was exciting, and our kids played so hard,” Mainieri said. “The difference was very slight between what we did and what they did tonight.”