By his own standards, LSU sophomore right-hander Alex Lange had experienced better outings that his second start of the 2016 season.
During No. 6 LSU’s 5-4 loss to Sacramento State in Game 2 of last weekend’s series, Lange recorded nine strikeouts on the afternoon and left the game with the lead. Yet he gave up three earned runs on six hits and walked three batters in five innings. On that day, the LSU offense couldn’t muster enough runs to give him his 14th win of his LSU career.
But, after Saturday’s Game 3 win against Fordham, Lange can tip his cap to the Tiger bats in the second contest of a doubleheader. The Lee Summit, Missouri native spotted the Rams a three-run lead by the time he left the game in the bottom of the sixth, and the LSU offense erupted in the bottom of the seventh, keeping the second-year hurler’s undefeated streak alive.
LSU (9-2) notched six of their seven hits and all seven of their runs with two outs in the seventh, rallying from a four-run deficit en route to a 10-7 victory and a series sweep at Alex Box Stadium.
“That was as great a rally as you will ever see with two outs,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri. “Our first two outs of the inning were balls that we crushed…You start to think, ‘Man, the luck is against us late in the game.’ But then, oh my goodness, one great at-bat after another.”
With the bases loaded and Fordham holding a 7-4 lead, junior shortstop Kramer Robertson belted a first pitch fastball down the left-field line, clearing the bases on a three-run double and tying the game at seven runs apiece.
Junior center fielder Jake Fraley then gave the Tigers the lead for good on an RBI infield single. Freshman right fielder Antoine Duplantis and sophomore left fielder Beau Jordan smacked an RBI triple and an RBI double, respectively, to pad the late-inning comeback.
Jordan, who led off the seventh with a double and later scored the first run of the rally, said he called the team together during the game and preached about picking up their struggling starting pitcher.
“I told these guys, ‘Lange has carried every team his whole life, and he needs our help tonight. So, if you don’t want to get up and do it, let somebody else hit.’”
In the top of the first, Lange overpowered Fordham hitter with his low-90s fastball, and his diving breaking ball triggered wild swings. He struck out the side in order, needing just 11 pitches to do so. He then breezed through an eight-pitch second inning, inducing three straight groundouts.
With Lange cruising through his first two frames, LSU scratched three total runs across in the bottom halves of the first two innings. Fraley drove a one-out single up the middle in the top of the first, and immediately swiped second and third base. Freshman right fielder Antoine Duplantis then legged out an RBI double, and sophomore left fielder Beau Jordan followed with run-scoring single through the left side.
Sophomore catcher Michael Papierski then led off the bottom of the second with double off the right-center field wall and later scored on a sacrifice fly from junior second baseman Cole Freeman, which gave LSU a 3-0 lead.
Entering the top of the third, Lange had registered just 19 pitches, but that’s when his dominant start began to turn.
Fordham shortstop Joseph DeVito led off the top of third with the Fordham’s first hit of the game, and he advanced to third base on sacrifice bunt and a wild pitch. Then Lange issued back-to-back, four-pitch walks to load the bases. With Papierski running into the home plate umpire on another wild pitch from Lange, DeVito raced home to cut Fordham’s deficit to two runs.
Lange fanned Ram first baseman Matthew Kozuch for the final out of the inning, stranding two runners in scoring position, but he more than doubled his pitch count from the previous two innings.
Lange worked around a one-out single in the fourth with an inning-ending double play, but more trouble was lurking around the corner in the top of the fifth.
After his second consecutive single to lead off an inning, DeVito advanced to second base on the second of four Ram sacrifice bunts in the game. Lange then walked junior center fielder Jason Lundy on five pitches before both runners moved into scoring position on a fielder’s choice.
With two outs, Lange conceded three straight singles, plating three total runs and giving Fordham its first lead of the series, 4-3. In three of the four at-bats where the hitter reached the base, Lange pitched from behind in the count and the other hit came on the first pitch of the at-bat.
“Everything,” Lange said when asked about what he needed to improve on. “I just got to get better. I’ve got to throw the curveball for strikes. I have to throw the changeup for strikes. I got to put guys away when I can, and I got to pitch in the clutch. I didn’t do that tonight.”
Lange returned for the sixth and allowed his third single to the leadoff hitter of an inning, which was also on the first pitch of the at-bat. Another sacrifice bunt moved third baseman Luke Stampfl to second base, but Lange responded with punch out for the second out of the frame.
However, Lange once again fell behind in the count as center fielder Jason Lundy drove a 3-1 offering to right field to score Stampfl. Then, LSU freshman Trey Dawson, making his first start at third base, misfired on slow ground ball, allowing Lundy to score from second base and giving the the Rams a 6-3 lead.
Mainieri then pulled Lange for right-handed reliever Parker Bugg, and Lange ended his evening with career-highs in runs and earned runs allowed.
Though Bugg escaped the sixth on one pitch, he gave up a double and walk to the first two batters he faced in the top of the seventh. Sophomore reliever Jesse Stallings allowed an RBI single before freshman reliever Caleb Gilbert replaced him and ended the inning with a strikeout.
On top of his command struggles, Lange received no help from the LSU offense after the second inning. The Tigers left six total runners in scoring position during the third, fourth, fifth and sixth innings, including the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth.
But LSU pulled Lange off the hook with the monstrous seventh inning, and Gilbert shut down the Rams in his 2.1 innings of relief, including a game-ending double play.
“I can’t say enough about these guys,” Lange said. “Beau called them together today at the end of the dugout after the fifth inning, and just said, ‘Hey, we got to figure this out.’ When you got leaders like that who are going to step up – obviously, you want to go out there and have the best game you can every time, but that’s not going to happen. So, hats off to those guys. They picked me up big time.”