Tennessee pitching chills Tigers in a 5-2 SEC tourney win

The SEC’s Pitcher of the Year chilled LSU just enough to send the Tigers into the league tournament losers bracket.

Tennessee right hander Chase Dollander struck out the first and the last three batters he faced, delivering nine strikeouts of four-hit baseball in 6.2 innings as the No. 1 ranked Vols downed LSU 5-2 Friday night/Saturday morning in Hoover (Ala.) Metropolitan Stadium.

The loss dropped fourth-seeded LSU (38-19) into a losers bracket elimination game early Saturday afternoon against Kentucky (32-25). The Wildcats, after losing to the Tigers 11-3 Thursday night, stayed alive with a 10-2 win over Vanderbilt in an elimination showdown earlier Friday afternoon.

If LSU beats Kentucky, it will again face Tennessee (51-7) in Saturday’s second semifinal. Second-seeded Texas A&M (37-17) beat 11th seeded Alabama (31-26) 12-8 earlier Friday to advance to Saturday’s first semifinal.

The Tigers got decent pitching in their sixth straight loss to Vols dating back to last season.

Starter Ty Floyd lasted 4.2 innings and gave up five runs (four earned) on six hits. Reliever Trent Vietmeier retired all 10 batters he faced in his 3.1 innings stint.

But LSU, which had averaged 14.4 runs and 12.8 hits in its five-game win streak entering the matchup with the Vols, went 2 for 16 with runners on base against four UT pitchers.

Dollander opened the game by striking out the side in the LSU first on just 14 pitches.

Tigers’ starter Floyd battled through a 27-pitch first inning in which he gave up an RBI triple to UT right fielder Jordan Beck with Beck then scoring on a wild pitch for a 2-0 lead.

LSU managed a pair of second-inning singles by first baseman Tre’ Morgan and designated hitter Gavin Dugas. But Beck made a tremendous third-out diving grab near the right field and the warning track of third baseman Collier Cranford’s probable two-RBI double.

The Vols extended their advantage to 3-0 in the second inning when Floyd walked in a run. It could have been much worse for the Tigers, but Tennessee left three runners on base when Floyd forced center fielder Drew Gilbert to pop out to end the inning.

LSU put together a potential rally in top of third when second baseman Drew Bianco singled, stole second and shortstop Jordan Thompson drew a two-out walk. But Morgan’s first-pitch line drive was gloved by UT shortstop Cortland Lawson for the third out.

The Tigers finally got on the scoreboard with a two-run fifth to cut the Vols’ lead to 3-2.

Bianco led off with a four-pitch walk and Crews drilled a double on which Bianco scored on a fielding error by UT left fielder Seth Stephenson. Then, Crews scored on Lawson’s error when he fielded Tigers' left fielder Josh Pearson’s hot grounder and overthrew first base.

Yet LSU left two on base when Thompson flew out to left field and Dollander struck out Morgan to end the inning.

Tennessee responded with two runs in its half of the fifth. First baseman Luc Lipcius led off with a walk, had a one-out steal of second base and scored on Gilbert’s RBI single to right field.

Then, Vols’ second baseman Jorel Ortega stroked Floyd’s 97th and final pitch of the night for an RBI double into the left field corner for a 5-2 UT lead. LSU reliever Trent Vietmeier entered and induced catcher Evan Russell into a rally-killing third out pop-up.

While the Vols were shutout and held hitless by Vietmeier in their final three innings, the Tigers couldn’t scratch any runs, either.