After being held down for the first four innings on Tuesday night, the LSU Tigers offense exploded en route to a big 8-5 win over Mississippi State to advance in the SEC Tournament and more importantly improve their chances of making it to the field of 64.
How It Happened
The Bulldogs drew first blood in the top of the third with a two-run double out to left center by Justin Foscue. They added another run with a sac fly by Tanner Allen, scoring Josh Hatcher.
LSU responded though in the bottom of the fifth with a two-run inning highlighted by an RBI single from Antoine Duplantis to chip away at Mississippi State’s lead. However, Allen made it a two-run ballgame yet again in the top of the sixth with an RBI single up the middle.
After Beau Jordan got Daniel Cabrera across with a sac fly to center field in the bottom of the sixth, Brandt Broussard evened things up with an RBI single out to center field to score Nick Coomes.
The Tigers took the lead in an unconventional way in the 7th when Slaughter was plunked in the bottom of the seventh. Later in the inning, Coomes added to the lead with a sac fly, scoring Duplantis.
After Jake Mangum hit an RBI single in the top of the eighth, Duplantis slammed the door shut with an RBI triple that landed right at the warning track.
Devin Fontenot improved to 2-0 on the season with a shutout inning in the seventh.
Big Number: 5
When you have a multiple day tournament like the SEC does, using five pitchers in the ballgame could be a telling number if they can go the distance. With Ma’Khail Hilliard starting against Florida, there needs to be a big performance from him if they want to keep the bullpen fresh.
Player of the Game: Antoine Duplantis
Mr. Consistency may have a new nickname and that’s Mr. Clutch. Duplantis went three-of five with two RBIs with an RBI triple in the eight really slamming the door shut on a potential rally by the Bulldogs.
Next Up: vs Florida; First Pitch “Scheduled” for 4:30 pm
-Clint Domingue