South Alabama hands LSU another mid-week loss, 7-6
South Alabama scored three runs in the top of the ninth inning and held on for a 7-6 victory against LSU in a non-conference game at The Box on Tuesday night.
HOW THEY SCORED
South Alabama first inning – Dylan Hardy and Colton Thomas singled. After Brendan Donovan hit into a 5-4-3 double play, Hardy scored on a single by Travis Swaggerty. SOUTH ALABAMA 1, LSU 0
LSU first inning – Kramer Robertson doubled and advanced to third base on a sacrifice bunt by Cole Freeman. After Antoine Duplantis popped out to the shortstop, Greg Deichmann hit a two-run homer over the leftfield fence. LSU 2, SOUTH ALABAMA 1
LSU second inning – Josh Smith doubled and Beau Jordan was hit by a pitch. Jordan was forced at second base on a ground ball to the third baseman by Rankin Woley. Smith scored on a single by Jake Slaughter. Robertson walked to load the bases. Woley scored when Robertson was forced at second base on a ground ball to the second baseman by Freeman. Slaughter scored on a single by Duplantis. LSU 5, SOUTH ALABAMA 1
South Alabama fourth inning – Thomas and Donovan walked. Thomas moved to third and Donovan went to second on a passed ball by Jordan Romero. Thomas scored on a sacrifice fly to the centerfielder by Swaggerty. LSU 5, SOUTH ALABAMA 2
South Alabama fifth inning – Jared Barnes doubled and advanced to third base on a ground out to the first baseman by Will Luft. After Hardy popped out to the second baseman, Barnes scored on a double by Thomas. LSU 5, SOUTH ALABAMA 3
South Alabama sixth inning – Swaggerty walked and moved to second base on a ground out to the first baseman by Wells Davis. After Paul Russo grounded out to the pitcher, Drew LaBounty walked. Swaggerty scored on a single by Barnes. LSU 5, SOUTH ALABAMA 4
South Alabama ninth inning – Donovan walked and Swaggerty singled. Donovan went to third base on a fly out to the centerfielder by Davis. Donovan scored on a safety squeeze bunt by pinch-hitter Matt Bolger. Swaggerty advanced to third and Bolger moved to second on a throwing error by the first baseman Slaughter on the play. After LaBounty was intentionally walked, Swaggerty scored on a sacrifice fly to the centerfielder by Barnes. Bolger scored on a single by Luft. SOUTH ALABAMA 7, LSU 5
LSU ninth inning – With two out, Robertson singled and went to second on a balk by Matt Peacock. Robertson scored on a single by Freeman. SOUTH ALABAMA 7, LSU 6
KEY STRETCH OF GAME
For the second time this season, LSU lost a game when it had the lead going into the ninth inning. Texas A&M beat the Tigers 4-3 on Apr. 1. Nick Bush walked the leadoff batter and gave up a single to the second hitter in the inning. With runners on first and third and one out, Bolger put down a successful safety squeeze bunt to score the tying run. Slaughter attempted a glove flip to Michael Papierski, but the ball went over the catcher’s head. That misplay set up the next two runs – one coming across on a sacrifice fly and the second on a two-out single. At first, it was ruled that Deichmann threw Bolger out at the plate on Luft’s two-out hit. But, the umpires reviewed the play and reversed the call. That run ended up being the difference in the game.
KEY TEAM STATISTICS
Both teams had ten hits and made on error. . .South Alabama stranded 12 runners – nine in scoring position. The Jaguars were 4-for-17 with runners in scoring position. . .LSU only had one runner get past first base from the third through the eighth innings. . .Tigers pitchers walked ten and struck out seven. South Alabama pitchers walked one and struck out nine.
INDIVIDUAL STAT LEADERS
LSU
Kramer Robertson: 3-for-4, 2 runs scored, 1 double
Antoine Duplantis: 2-for-5, 1 RBI
Greg Deichmann: 1-for-4, 2 RBIs, 1 run scored, 1 home run
Cole Freeman: 1-for-4, 2 RBIs
Caleb Gilbert: 2 innings, 3 hits, 1 run, 1 earned run, 2 strikeouts
SOUTH ALABAMA
Travis Swaggerty: 2-for-2, 2 RBIs, 2 runs scored
Jared Barnes: 2-for-3, 2 RBIs, 1 run scored, 1 double
Colton Thomas: 2-for-3, 1 RBI, 1 run scored, 1 double
Sean Trimble: 1.2 innings, 4 hits, 5 runs, 5 earned runs, 1 walk
LSU’S PLAYER OF THE GAME
Robertson tried to spark a rally with a two-out single in the bottom of the ninth. Robertson was balked to second base and scored on a single by Freeman. However, Duplantis popped out to the shortstop with Freeman at second base to end the game. Robertson had a double and two singles and scored two runs. He also reached base on a walk.
NOTES
Papierski, Nick Coomes and Zach Watson were not in the starting lineup. Romero was the catcher, Slaughter was the first baseman and Jordan was the leftfielder with Duplantis shifting to centerfield. With Romero starting behind the plate, Woley was the designated hitter. Romero was 0-for-4, Slaughter was 1-for-3 and Woley was 1-for-4. Coomes and Watson were unavailable due to minor injuries. . .The home run by Deichmann was his 16th of the season. The 16 home runs for Deichmann are the most for a LSU hitter in four years. Mason Katz hit 16 home runs in 2013. . .It was not a good night for the Tigers’ relief pitchers. Zack Hess and Hunter Newman were not available to throw. Will Reese threw a perfect third inning with two strikeouts. No other LSU reliever threw one complete scoreless inning. . .Hunter Kiel, who walked the only two batters he faced, gave up one run in the fourth. Collin Strall gave up a run in the fifth inning. Todd Peterson, who worked 2.1 innings, yielded a run in the sixth. . .Bush got out of trouble in the eighth, but was charged with the three ninth-inning runs. . .The Tigers used ten pitchers. . .South Alabama freshman Andy Arguelles threw 6.1 innings of scoreless relief behind the starter Trimble. Arguelles gave up four hits and struck out eight. . .Peacock, who pitched the ninth, recorded his ninth save. . .LSU is 32-17 overall, while South Alabama is 31-18. . .The paid attendance was 10,312. The actual crowd was about 3,500. . .Alex Lange will be the starting pitcher against Auburn on Thursday.
FROM THE LOCKERROOM
Coach Paul Mainieri’s comments: “We were really shorthanded with our lineup as well as our relief corps. That was unbelievable that we got through this game and almost were able to pull off a win. At the end of the day, we didn’t do enough. A few weeks ago, I thought we got (high number of walks) straightened out. It reared its head again. You give ten free passes to the other team and it’s going to come back and haunt you at some point.”
UP NEXT
LSU will play host to Auburn at The Box on Thursday in the opener of their three-game Southeastern Conference series. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Central. Auburn (32-18, 14-10) lost to UAB 8-2 in Birmingham on Tuesday night. . .The LSU-Auburn game will be available on ESPN2.