Sitting on an 8-0 lead after 1 ½ innings, during which the Lamar pitching staff seemed in complete disarray, No. 5 LSU appeared to be cruising to a comfortable victory in its first midweek contest of the year.
By the end of Wednesday night’s matchup in Beaumont, Texas, the tables had turned, as poor relief pitching from the Tigers’ couldn’t mask a 12-hit night from the LSU offense.
The Cardinals’ (5-0) five-run sixth inning knotted the score at eight runs apiece, and the Tigers lost a one-run lead in the bottom of the eighth in 12-11 loss at Vincent-Beck Stadium.
“It’s tough loss, but we can certainly learn from this experience,” said LSU coach Paul Mainieri in a news release. “We were playing in a tough road environment early in the season with a young team, and though we competed extremely hard, we fell short tonight. It was an intense atmosphere, the type of environment we’ll face throughout the season.”
LSU starting right-handed pitcher Austin Bain gave up three earned runs, walked three and hit another batter in his four-inning season debut, but more trouble emerged when he left the game with a five-run cushion. In his first appearance in purple and gold, Tiger right-handed pitcher Riley Smith allowed a two-out, two-run shot from Lamar designated hitter Cutter McDowell in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Then, a one-out walk and an RBI double kicked off Lamar’s offensive surge in the bottom of the sixth, as Smith walked two more to load the bases with two outs. Cardinal third baseman Jake Nash followed by plating two runs on a single through the left side, forcing Mainieri to go to his bullpen.
Right-handed reliever Hunter Newman, however, couldn’t escape the jam quietly, as McDowell drove a two-run double to give Lamar its first lead, 10-8.
“Just looking for good pitches, that what it comes down to,” McDowell said in a postgame interview with Cox Sports Television. “Just swinging at strikes and making sure you’re taking those borderline pitches.”
Meanwhile, LSU’s offensive explosion in the top of the second, aided by Lamar’s shaky performances from its starter and first reliever, was eased by Cardinal reliever Brett Brown.
Along with six hits, including an RBI single, two RBI doubles and three-run home run from freshman third baseman O’Neal Lochridge, the Tigers reached the base paths via four walks and hit batsman in the second inning. But Brown squeezed out of a one-out, bases-loaded jam by inducing a force out at home and striking out Lochridge.
Brown then retired 13 of the next 16 Tigers he faced, allowing just two hits while walking none.
“It felt really good, but I couldn’t have done it without these guys behind me,” Brown said in the postgame interview with CST. “You saw them making a lot of plays that I needed, so it just feels amazing.”
LSU finally solved Brown in the top of the seventh, as sophomore first baseman Greg Deichmann’s single scored sophomore designated hitter Bryce Jordan and sophomore catcher Michael Papierski, who avoided a tag near the plate to slide in safely.
LSU junior third baseman Cole Freeman drove in Deichmann two batters later, regaining the lead, 11-10.
“I left Brett in there one hitter too long,” said Lamar coach Jim Gilligan said in the postgame interview with CST. “He wanted to stay out there. I’m glad we got him off the hook, but he deserved the win tonight. He pitched that good for us. He kept us in, in the middle innings…Brett was the key to this game, besides the guys coming back, keeping us in the game.”
Tiger junior right-handed reliever Alden Cartwright replaced Newman for the bottom of the seventh but was quickly pulled after hitting consecutive batters with one out. Junior right-hander Parker Bugg later escaped a bases loaded jam after hitting the third batter in the inning, but Bugg again loaded the bases in the bottom of the eighth off two walks and a single.
In total, LSU pitchers walked eight batters and hit four more.
Tiger freshman right-hander Caleb Gilbert struck out the following two Cardinals, but Cardinal second baseman Robin Adames, who was 2-for-4 with three RBIs, delivered on the next at-bat. His two-run single up the middle gave Lamar all it needed to clinch its fifth victory.
Cardinal reliever Enrique Oquendo plunked Jordan to lead off the top of the ninth, but he retired the next three hitters he faced, including a game-ending strikeout, to record the save.
“What’s important is for us to move forward and continue to develope our team,” Mainieri said in the release. “We have a lot of games to play this season, and we’ll be ready for the next challenge, beginning this weekend [against Sacramento State].”