The No. 2 LSU baseball team took on Baylor in a defensive struggle, rallying late to defeat the Bears (6-7), 2-0.
The Tigers’ (14-1) freshman pitcher Alex Lange and the Bears’ starter Daniel Castano faced off in a highly competitive pitchers duel in which both pitchers went at least seven innings.
Lange was sharp in his fourth outing for the Tigers. He went seven innings, striking out four of the 29 batters he face while battling out of back-to-back jams to keep the Bears off the board.
The 6-foot-3, 198-pound freshman is 4-0, leads all Tigers’ starters in strikeouts and opposing batting average at .179 coming into this afternoon.
The game stayed scoreless for seven innings until the Tigers ended the drought in the top of the eighth. LSU junior right fielder Mark Laird started off the inning with a double down the left field line, which was followed by a single by junior shortstop Alex Bregman to give the Tigers runners on the corners with no outs.
After a groundout to third from junior designated hitter Chris Chinea put runners on second and third, senior third baseman Conner Hale hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score Laird and give the Tigers a 1-0 advantage.
LSU picked up where it left off in the top of the ninth, getting a leadoff triple by junior center fielder Andrew Stevenson to give the Tigers a runner in scoring position and a chance to extend their lead. The Tigers took advantage two batters later as sophomore second baseman Kramer Robertson singled through the left side to score Stevenson and give the Tigers a 2-0 cushion.
LSU freshman closer Jesse Stallings took the mound for his seventh save attempt on the season and dug himself into trouble. The Bears rattled the freshman and loaded the bases on one hit with two outs before Stallings struck out Baylor designated hitter Darryn Sheppard to get out of the jam and pick up his seventh save of the year.
Missed opportunities plagued the Bears, who stranded 11 baserunners on the night while committing two errors.
LSU stranded 10 baserunners of its own, including two in the ninth which almost could have proved costly for the streaking Tigers.
The Tigers experienced some unlucky base-running throughout the afternoon.
Hale became the Tigers’ first baserunner of the game, taking a five-pitch walk with one out in the top of the second. He advanced to second on a groundout to third by LSU senior catcher Kade Scivicque, giving the Tigers a runner in scoring position with two outs and Stevenson stepping up to the plate.
Stevenson slapped a single to right field and Hale took off for home, but to no avail. Baylor right fielder Adam Toth threw out Hale, keeping the Tigers off the board early.
The Tigers ran into trouble again in the third with Robertson getting caught at the plate after attempting to stretch a single by Laird.
LSU now sets its sights on Nebraska and will take on the Cornhuskers at 11 a.m. Sunday to wrap up the Tigers’ Houston College Classic trip.