LSU baseball’s offense fell flat while its defense didn’t bail it out, and the Tigers dropped the final two games of the series to Oklahoma, losing the final game 4-3 on Saturday.
The Tigers took the lead in the bottom of the first inning and didn’t give it back until two errors scored three Sooners in the top of the eighth.
It all changed when Jack Ruckert entered as a defensive replacement in the middle to late innings, and muffed a grounder that could have ended the eighth inning before anyone came around. Instead, his third error of the year allowed one to score on the play and the inning to continue, with the lead-taking run scoring a play later.
“You want to make that play,” head coach Jay Johnson said. “It’s going to be a type of play that is going to tip the scale in a game like this.”
LSU was out-hit eight to four and didn’t show much fight offensively outside of a pair of home runs.
Omar Serna Jr. got the start at first base for the first time this year as Zach Yorke took a seat on the bench after a four-strikeout Friday.
“He’s not coming out of the lineup,” Johnson said. “You have to be creative a little bit to do that, and that was our way today.”
Serna’s bat started the scoring for LSU with a two-run home run that continued his hot streak.
All three catchers were in the lineup with Serna at first, Cade Arrambide behind the plate and Eddie Yamin IV at the DH spot got his first start of the year.
The power hitters weren’t the only ones who were enjoying the breeze pushing balls out of the park. Chris Stanfield got a hold of one to open the fifth inning and dropped his first home run of the year in the left field seats.
“I wasn’t going up there trying to homer [but] just put a good swing on the ball,” Stanfield said. “I’ve been swinging at some lower pitches, and I think that’s why I was hitting grounders. So getting the pitch at the right height was key to that.”
But Oklahoma wanted to get in on the home runs.
William Schmidt gave up a solo shot in the first inning. He found trouble again in the third inning, where the bases were loaded with one out, but two huge strikeouts capped a 33-pitch inning to not allow any Sooners to cross home.
The strikeout was his best friend and got him out of another jam with two on in the fourth. He fanned seven batters over his four innings on the mound.
All of the hits against him were singles except the home run. He then allowed two more singles in the fifth inning, which chased him from the game after 90 pitches.
Gavin Guidry, a pitcher Johnson says he trusts with his life, came in to neutralize the threat. He got three huge outs with the assistance of sharp defense from Steven Milam.
Oklahoma kept making pitch counts high for LSU and drawing walks. The Tiger staff walked eight over the course of the game. The 8-9-1-2 hole hitters in the Sooners’ lineup drew four themselves, putting the pressure on while innings typically ended with the middle of Oklahoma’s lineup.
Camden Johnson, who was batting second and hit the home run in the first inning, got on base three more times by reaching on an error, a walk and a single.
Guidry was kept on the mound for an extended outing. He came back out in the eighth inning after throwing 56 pitches over the previous three and issued a four-pitch walk and a couple more singles.
That brought the game within one.
Deven Sheerin came in to clean up the eighth and pitch the ninth, where he wasn’t charged with any runs.
LSU is now 2-4 in SEC play, having taken only one game away from both Vanderbilt and Oklahoma. The Tigers’ next game is Tuesday at home against Louisiana Tech. First pitch is at 6:30 p.m. CT.
