The LSU Tiger baseball team earned a midweek win, beating Northwestern State 4-2 at home after getting swept by Ole Miss on the road last weekend. Their next opponent was the visiting Texas A&M Aggies.
The Bayou Bengals fell behind in the middle inning and couldn’t rally late as they fell on Friday, 10-4. The loss dropped LSU’s record to 23-16 and 6-10 in conference play.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Casan Evans had a strong start before allowing the game’s first run. Through the first two and one-third innings, Evans struck out five Texas A&M batters, including three in the opening frame.
The Aggies scored the first run in the top of the third after Bear Harrison walked and Boston Kellner singled to center field, putting runners on the corners. Caden Sorrell then hit an RBI sacrifice to score Harrison. Chris Hacopian also grounded out to third base to end the inning.
LSU threatened to score back in the first when Chris Stanfield and Cade Arrambide singled. Both runners were left stranded after Steven Milam hit an infield pop-up. The Tigers flew out four more times between the second and third innings as they didn’t record a hit in either frame.
Milam ended the hit drought for LSU at the bottom of the fourth when he hit a solo home run into the Left Field Landing, tying the game at one a piece. Omar Serna Jr followed that up with a double, but didn’t score after Mason Braun and John Pearson grounded out to end the inning.
Texas A&M reclaimed the lead at the top of the fifth. Harrison walked before a pair of outs by Kellner and Grahovac. After that, Caden Sorrell singled, and Hacopian drove in a run with a hit up the middle. That put runners on first and third before Hacopian stole second. Jake Duer then put the Aggies ahead 4-1 with a two-RBI single into center field.
The Tigers cut into the lead in the fifth frame. Brayden Simpson and Stanfield struck out between a Derek Curiel single and a Brown single, putting runners on the corners. That led to A&M making a pitching change from Shane Sdao to Gavin Lyons. Arrambide took advantage of the new pitcher on the mound by hitting an RBI single down the right side of the field.
The Aggies extended their lead in the sixth as Terrence Kiel II hit a leadoff single, and Jorian Wilson followed that up with a two-run shot into the Left Field Landing, putting A&M ahead 6-2 with no outs. LSU skipper Jay Johnson then pulled Evans for Grant Fontenot. LSU’s relief pitcher struck out a pair of batters before Grahovac went yard to add another run to the board.
In the eighth, Connor Benge went on to pitch for LSU and started strong, striking out Harrison and Kellner to open the inning. It was downhill after that as Grahovac singled, and that was enough for Benge to get replaced by Ethan Plog, who faced just one batter and walked him before he was taken out for Mavrick Rizy. The 6’8″ relief pitcher also struggled in the inning as he hit Hacopian in the face with a pitch to load the bases. An air-mailed pitch on the next at-bat scored a run for Texas A&M. LSU was down 8-2 with six outs left.
At the bottom of the eighth, the Tigers added a couple more runs on the board. Arrambide singled, and Milam doubled to put both in scoring position. Serna Jr reached on a throwing error by third base, resulting in the first of two runs scored. Ethan Darden then replaced Lyons on the mound, who struck out Braun but gave up a sacrifice fly to Pearson as Milam made it home.
A&M responded in the ninth with two more runs, with Kiell II hitting a leadoff double down the left-field line. Wilson then hit a two-run homer to put the Aggies ahead by six heading to the bottom of the frame.
LSU couldn’t mount a comeback and fell on Friday, 10-4 to Texas A&M. The loss dropped LSU to 23-16 and 6-10 in SEC play.
BIG NUMBER: 6
LSU’s pitching staff, allowing six runs between the middle innings, was more than enough for Texas A&M to get the win in Friday night’s game one in Baton Rouge. The Aggies also recorded half of their hits in that two-inning stretch.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Jorian Wilson
Wilson had a good night, going 2/5 from the plate with two home runs. Those Friday bombs resulted in four RBI and a 10-4 win over LSU. The loss dropped the Tigers’ record to 23-16 and 6-10 in the conference.
UP NEXT: Game two between the LSU Tigers and Texas A&M Aggies is set for 7:00 PM on Saturday, April 18th, inside Alex Box Stadium. The action can be heard on ESPN 103.7 Lafayette and 104.1 Lake Charles.