LSU eliminated from SEC tournament by 12th seed Kentucky

LSU’s hopes of hosting an NCAA regional may have evaporated Saturday afternoon when the last seed in the 12-team SEC baseball tournament sent the Tigers packing.

Almost flawless pitching by Kentucky starter Tyler Bosma combined with a Wildcats offense that scored all its runs in four of the first five innings was more than enough for 7-2 UK victory in an elimination game in Hoover (Ala.) Metropolitan Stadium.

The Tigers managed just two hits off three UK pitchers and struck out 12 times while Kentucky banged 12 hits off five LSU hurlers.

While Kentucky (33-25) advanced to Saturday night’s semifinals against No. 1 nationally ranked Tennessee – the Wildcats won the regular season series over the Vols -- LSU (38-20) headed home to await Monday's NCAA tourney bracket announcement at 11 a.m. on ESPN2.

“I'm not pleased with today, but it's time to move on, so we'll either get ready to play at home or we'll get ready to get on a bus or a plane on Wednesday and go to work," LSU first-year head coach Jay Johnson said after the loss to UK. "We’re excited to move on to the NCAA tournament. I’m proud of our team for putting ourselves in position to be in the NCAA field. We’ve had a good overall season, but we didn't play well today."

Prior to Saturday's loss, D1 Baseball had LSU projected as the 14th of the top 16 seeds hosting a regional site.

Last season, the Tigers won the Oregon Regional over the top-seeded host Ducks before losing two straight at Tennessee in the Super Regional. The last time LSU hosted a regional was 2019 when it also advanced to a Super Regional it hosted and lost in two games to Florida State.

After losing to Tennessee 5-2 Friday night and dropping into the losers bracket vs. Kentucky which lost 11-6 to LSU Thursday night, the Tigers were hoping for a second win over the Wildcats and a rematch against the Vols might be enough to get picked to host a regional that starts next Friday.

But whether it was Bosma expertly mixing his pitches or LSU simply fatigued from playing Saturday just 12 hours after it lost to Tennessee, the Tigers appeared to be in a fog from the opening pitch.

Bosma, a graduate student transfer from Miami of Ohio where he was 5-6 in three seasons as a lefty hurler, improved his one-season UK record to 4-3. While Kentucky built a 7-0 lead, Bosma retired the first 18 of 22 LSU hitters before first baseman catcher Tyler McManus got the Tigers’ first hit on Bosma’s 101st pitch of the day with a no-outs RBI triple in the seventh.

Immediately following McManus’ hit, Bosma was replaced by reliever Wyatt Hudepohl, exiting with 10 strikeouts and two walks after throwing 64 pitches. He was charged with allowing two runs when McManus scored on designated hitter Gavin Dugas' sacrifice fly off Hudepohl.

LSU’s day immediately went in the tank when pitcher Jacob Hasty imploded in his first college start after 29 career relief appearances. He didn’t make it out of the first inning in which he walked three batters, threw two wild pitches, allowed two hits and two runs (both earned) and recorded but one out.

The redshirt sophomore lefty was pulled after throwing just 12 strikes in 30 pitches, leaving LSU’s fast-balling reliever Eric Reyzelman with a bases-loaded jam. Reyzelman struck out UK right fielder Adam Fogel on three consecutive 95 miles per hour-plus fastballs.

Kentucky opened the scoring in the first inning. Hasty gave up a leadoff single to UK centerfielder John Thrasher who advanced to second on a Hasty wild pitch, moved to then induced Wildcats’ catcher Devin Burkes into an inning-ending ground out.

UK nine-hole hitter first baseman Jacob Plastiak led off the Wildcats’ second by slamming Reyzelman’s first pitch for a solo homer over the right field wall for a 3-0 lead. Reyzelman responded by retiring three straight batters, striking out two.

Reyzelman lasted three innings, threw a season-high 53 pitches and recorded five strikeouts before exiting with one out in the fourth. It’s when UK loaded the bases on two singles and a walk and added two runs for a 5-0 margin on left fielder Hunter Jump’s sacrifice fly off Reyzelman and an RBI groundout by Kentucky third baseman Chase Estep forced by LSU reliever Bryce Collins.

The Wildcats upped their lead to 7-0 with Collins giving up a one-out homer in the fifth to UK right fielder Adam Fogel. Four batters later and out later, LSU reliever Trey Shaffer replaced Collins and was tapped for an RBI single by Jump.

LSU’s two-run seventh could have been more. But the Tigers stranded two runners when UK reliever Daniel Harper was able to retire Crews, the SEC co-Player of the Year, for a rally-killing third out on a grounder to second baseman Daniel Harris IV.