The drab skies on Saturday set the vibe in Alex Box Stadium perfectly: less like a baseball game, more like a funeral procession for LSU baseball’s season.
The ceremony lasted exactly three hours, and in the end, the Tigers fell to Texas A&M, 7-2. LSU, desperate for SEC wins in a postseason picture that it has been pushed out of more and more over the last few weeks, was never really in it.
“Got beat today,” LSU head coach Jay Johnson said. “[Texas A&M] is flowing a little bit better than we are and played better today.”
A day after Johnson made comments indicating that he was reckoning with the fate of the Tigers’ season, resignation seemed to manifest on the field. In the home first, center fielder Derek Curiel went down on strikes looking and was followed up by a pair of swinging strikeouts.
In the next frame, LSU starter William Schmidt failed to stay out of the middle of the zone. He got away with it early, a pair of hard-hit fly outs broken up with the one bit of weak contact he got resulting in an infield single.
That luck would not last. Texas A&M’s right fielder continued his torrid stretch in Baton Rouge by lacing a single against a shifted infield. That scored a run and set the table for a back-breaking two-run homer by catcher Bear Harrison.
The first batter for LSU after the big inning, shortstop Steven Milam’s second home run in as many days, gave those in attendance at the Box a sense of hope. It would not last; LSU went down in order after Milam and managed just one more hit in the first four innings.
Conversely, the Aggies throttled up after taking the lead. First baseman Gavin Grahovac led the third inning off with a homer to make it 4-1, then a pair of loud hits set the table for designated hitter Jake Duer to cash in and bring in a run on a sacrifice fly.
In the fifth, Texas A&M would score another run on a sacrifice fly. Caden Sorrell opened the inning with a double, reached third on a wild pitch and walked home when second baseman Chris Hacopian smoked a ball that sent Curiel deep enough to erase any doubt of a play at the plate.
Still, Curiel went through the motions and threw the ball into Milam. Milam received the ball, took a deep inhale and sighed as he flipped the ball to second baseman Tanner Reaves.
“It is frustrating, going from the highest highs to the lowest lows,” Milam said, referring to the team’s struggle after winning it all a year prior. “It’s a tough one.”
LSU got one back in the bottom half of that inning. The first two batters of the inning reached base, stirring the faithful at Alex Box Stadium back to life. Those voices, at full volume but tinged with a sense of obligation to be loud, were rewarded.
Ground outs from Reaves and left fielder Chris Stanfield worked first baseman Mason Braun across the plate.
That run served to add to what was a Sisyphean effort. Texas A&M bounced back in the next frame to erase the dent in its lead, loading the bases and scratching one home on a Grahovac single.
In the bottom half of the inning, catcher Cade Arrambide made loud contact on a fly ball to left. There was no pop from those in attendance at the sound of the bat. Texas A&M left fielder Terrence Kiel II drifted towards the track and proved the crowd’s silence right.
Stanfield’s eighth-inning single got the Tigers their first hit since the fifth. It would be erased one batter later when Curiel lined out to Grahovac at first, setting up a double play.
“We’ve got to get that two-out hit or two-strike hit, and just keep on moving the offense,” Milam said. “We haven’t been doing a good job.”
Then, right fielder Jake Brown struck out on three pitches. That sequence initiated a stream of fans towards the exits.
Those who left early missed out on a second consecutive shutout inning from Marcos Paz and a zero in the home ninth. One fan exclaimed, “Big Poppa, save us!” in reference to Zach Yorke, who stood on deck in SEC play for the first time in weeks. Yorke popped out.
Paz’s outing was identified by Johnson as LSU’s main, and perhaps only, bright spot.
“I liked the bullpen, and I will take that as a positive,” Johnson said.
LSU fell to 23-17 overall and 6-11 in SEC play following Saturday’s loss. It’s road to being on the bubble of an NCAA Tournament bid now requires it to win at least eight of its final 13 SEC games.
“It’s baseball,” Milam said. “We have to keep going, and we’re going to get on the other side of this.”
LSU has an opportunity to start that turnaround and salvage a win in its series against Texas A&M on Sunday.
