After Sunday’s baseball game against Florida ended in an 8-8 tie, LSU coach Smoke Laval said Florida head coach Pat McMahon approached him and said, “We’ve got to get this changed.”
McMahon was referring to the Southeastern Conference travel regulations which forced a time limit on Sunday’s game. No new inning was allowed to begin after 4 p.m. LSU catcher Matt Liuzza hit into a double play at 4:03 p.m. to end the ninth inning with the game tied 8-8.
The weather also had something to do with the result of the game. A rain delay forced the game to start at 12:53 p.m. instead of its scheduled 12:30 first pitch time.
The Tigers (13-7-1, 2-0-1 SEC), who won the first two games of the series 9-0 and 3-2, blew an 8-5 eighth inning lead Sunday and failed to gain their second consecutive weekend sweep.
“We all feel like we should have won,” said second baseman Blake Gill. “We had our opportunities. We played our hardest. We did our best, but there’s nothing we can do.”
After struggling offensively against LSU starters Brian Wilson and Bo Pettit in the first two games, Florida jumped all over Jake Tompkins for three runs and six hits for a 3-0, second-inning lead.
The Tigers scrapped back with a run in the bottom of the second on a Bruce Sprowl sacrifice fly, scoring Clay Harris.
The Gators (15-5-1, 0-2-1) appeared to be on the verge of busting the game open in the top of the fourth inning when Florida had runners on second and third with only one out. Justin Meier relieved Tompkins and struck out two Florida batters to end the threat.
Meier then ran into trouble in the sixth inning, giving up three-straight hits to start the inning before Billy Sadler relieved him.
Florida scored two runs in the sixth to go up 5-3, but Sadler killed the rally with two strikeouts to end the inning.
Laval said Sadler’s pitching in the sixth inning got the momentum back for the team.
“But this is a Sunday game in the SEC,” he said. “You know how those go.”
The Tigers regained the lead in the bottom of the sixth. Ivan Naccarata, who earlier extended his hitting streak to 18 games, ripped a two-run single to tie the game, 5-5. Two batters later, Harris launched a three-run home run to give LSU an 8-5 lead.
“You get a good pitch to hit, and you try and do your best with it,” Harris said. “It definitely would have been nice to win this game and take a sweep out of here.”
Sadler cruised through the seventh inning before Florida put together a two-out, three-run rally in the bottom of the eighth.
Even though they scored eight runs, the Tigers had numerous chances offensively. LSU hit into four double plays, including one with the bases loaded in the fourth inning. Both teams left 10 runners on base.
“They were up, and we made a comeback,” Laval said. “We were up, and they made a comeback. We had some chances. So did they. That’s baseball.”
The Tigers appeared on the verge of a sweep after winning the first two games.
Wilson (4-2, 3.16 ERA) threw a complete game shutout Friday night in a 9-0 win.
“Wilson threw a gem against a tremendous, offensive ballclub,” Laval said. “The game was in Wilson’s hands. He did an outstanding job.”
Pettit (3-0, 1.57) followed Wilson with a complete game 3-2 win Saturday.
“I felt like I was pitching in a war out there,” Pettit said. “It was fun. It’s the kind of game that will do a lot for our confidence.”