Late rally falls short as Tigers drop series to Bulldogs 9-7
An eighth inning rally came up short for the Tigers as late insurance runs from the Bulldogs lead to a rubber match win 9-7.
Trailing 6-1 in the top of the eighth with only four recorded hits on the day, the LSU offense broke out of a severe slump with a four run explosion lead by the top of the lineup.
A Josh Smith solo home run in the eighth inning and a sac fly from Chris Reid started the comeback. A two run shot from Daniel Cabrera cut the Georgia lead to 6-5.
Freshman Giovanni DiGiacomo drew his second walk of the game and Cade Beloso followed suit with a one out single that put runners on first and second. The Tigers would strand DiGiacomo and Beloso on base but had the top of the order due up in the ninth.
The Bulldogs would knock in three insurance runs off a two run homer from Austin Biggar and a solo shot from the nine hole hitter made it 9-5 Georgia.
Smith singled to leadoff the ninth but centerfielder Zach Watson was robbed of a homer in that would’ve cut the deficit in half, but the ball was tracked down over the wall by Randon Jernigan. Still, LSU loaded the bases with one out for Cabrera, who had just come off a homerun the previous inning.
Cabrera lifted a single into left field that brought home one run but after an intentional walk to Beloso, Broussard hit a hard grounder right at the third baseman to end the game.
Combining for just three runs through two games, it was no surprise that Sunday’s rubber match would result in more runs, but it was the Bulldog offense that got hot while the LSU (17-7, 4-2) bats remained cold for most of the game.
Walker got the rubber match start for the Tigers after having his best outing of the season last week against Kentucky, where he lasted just over four innings.
Locey differed from Walker as he tried to blow the LSU offense away with 95 and 96 mph fastballs. Walker painted the corners and made timely pitches to match Locey the first two innings.
A second inning leadoff single followed by a double into right field by Georgia left runners on second and third with one out. The always poised Walker retired the next two batters to keep the game scoreless.
The third inning is where the game got away from Walker as the sophomore was hit for back-to-back singles with two outs and intentionally walked the next batter. With the bases loaded, Bulldog designated hitter John Cable stepped up to the plate and took the first pitch he saw for a game-opening grand slam, making it 4-0 Georgia after three innings.
Walker would respond to the rough third inning by striking out the side in the fourth and a scoreless fifth inning, making it the longest start of the season.
Relief pitcher Matthew Beck would replace Walker in the sixth inning, with Walker striking out five batters in five innings with four earned runs, all in the third inning.
After a 3-for-7 start on Friday and Saturday, the designated hitter DiGiacomo added another hit on Sunday as the rest of the order continued to struggle. Coach Paul Mainieri wants DiGiacomo in the lineup for his consistency and speed on the bags so the strong weekend was a positive sign from the freshman.
Through four innings the Tigers still hadn’t figured Locey out, but after issuing consecutive walks to start the fifth, LSU had two runners on base with no outs. A sac fly from second baseman Brandt Broussard brought home one run but that was the only scoring for LSU in the inning.
Georgia would tack on two insurance runs on the LSU bullpen staff that made it 6-1 before the offensive explosion.
The LSU offense will now have to regroup for a midweek game against McNeese State on Tuesday with first pitch at 6:30 p.m