LSU splits Saturday double-header with Auburn
Jared Poche pitched into the seventh inning and allowed just one run to help LSU defeat Auburn 8-6 and gain a split of their Southeastern Conference doubleheader Saturday at Plainsman Park. Auburn defeated LSU 8-5 in the first game.
GAME 1
HOW THEY SCORED
Auburn third inning – Cody Nulph walked. After Damon Haecker struck out, Anfernee Grier singled. Both runners moved up a base on Joshua Palacios’ ground out to the first baseman. Jordan Ebert walked to load the bases. Nulph scored, Grier went to third and Ebert moved to second on a wild pitch by Alex Lange. Niko Buentello walked to load the bases. Grier, Ebert and Buentello scored on a double by Blake Logan. AUBURN 4, LSU 0
LSU fourth inning – With two out, Kramer Robertson singled and Bryce Jordan walked. Chris Reid walked to load the bases. Robertson and Bryce Jordan scored on a double by pinch-hitter Jordan Romero. AUBURN 4, LSU 2
Auburn fourth inning – With two out, Grier was hit by a pitch and Palacios hit a home run over the rightfield fence. AUBURN 6, LSU 2
Auburn seventh inning – Grier singled and went to second on an error by leftfielder Beau Jordan. After Palacios flied out to the centerfielder and Ebert grounded out to the second baseman, Buentello walked. Grier scored on a double by Logan. AUBURN 7, LSU 2
Auburn eighth inning – Kyler Deese singled. Nulph flied out to the rightfielder. Deese advanced to second on Haecker’s ground out to the first baseman. Deese scored on a single by Grier. AUBURN 8, LSU 2
LSU ninth inning – Cole Freeman singled and stole second. Antoine Duplantis struck out. Freeman went to third on defensive indifference. Freeman scored on a single by Jake Fraley. Greg Deichmann hit a two-run homer over the rightfield fence. AUBURN 8, LSU 5
LSU MISSED SCORING OPPORTUNITIES
First inning – With one out, Fraley reached second base on an error by the first baseman Buentello. Deichmann flied out to the leftfielder and Beau Jordan grounded out to the pitcher.
Third inning – Michael Papierski walked and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Freeman. Duplantis grounded out to the first baseman and Fraley flied out to the centerfielder.
Fifth inning – With one out, Fraley walked and stole second base. Deichmann singled, but Fraley was thrown out at the plate by the leftfielder Palacios. Beau Jordan popped out to the second baseman.
Seventh inning – With one out, Freeman walked and stole second base. Duplantis walked. Fraley singled to load the bases. Deichmann lined out to the second baseman Haecker, who doubled Duplantis off second base.
Eighth inning – With one out, Robertson reached on an error by the shortstop Nulph. Bryce Jordan was hit by a pitch. Reid flied out to the leftfielder and Romero struck out.
GAME 2
HOW THEY SCORED
LSU second inning – With one out, Robertson reached on an error by the third baseman Deese and Brody Wofford singled. After Bryce Jordan popped out to the first baseman, Robertson and Wofford scored on a triple by Reid. LSU 2, AUBURN 0
LSU fourth inning – Romero hit a leadoff home run over the leftfield fence. LSU 3, AUBURN 0
Auburn fifth inning – Grier singled and went to third on a single by Palacios. Grier scored when Ebert hit into a 4-6-3 double play. LSU 3, AUBURN 1
LSU sixth inning – With one out, Deichmann struck out. However, Deichmann reached first on a wild pitch by Cole Lipscomb. Deichmann stole second base and scored on a double by Romero. LSU 4, AUBURN 1
LSU seventh inning – Bryce Jordan singled. Pinch-runner Brennan Breaux moved to second on a ground out to the second baseman by Reid. Breaux advanced to third on a single by Freeman. Breaux scored on a single by Duplantis. Freeman scored when Fraley reached on an error by Haecker. Duplantis scored on a single by Deichmann. LSU 7, AUBURN 1
Auburn eighth inning – Ebert doubled. After Buentello struck out, Ebert moved to third on a single by Logan. After Daniel Robert struck out, Ebert scored on a single by Nulph. LSU 7, AUBURN 2
LSU ninth inning – Freeman singled and went to second on a sacrifice bunt by Duplantis. After Fraley flied out to the centerfielder, Freeman advanced to third on defensive indifference. Deichmann walked and Freeman scored on a wild pitch by Ben Braymer. LSU 8, AUBURN 2
Auburn ninth inning – Pinch-hitter Jackson Burgreen singled. Greer grounded into a 4-3 double play. Palacios doubled and Ebert walked. Palacios scored on a single by Buentello. Ebert scored on a single by Logan. Robert walked to load the bases. Buentello and Logan scored on a single by Nulph. LSU 8, AUBURN 6
LSU MISSED SCORING OPPORTUNITIES
None
PLAYER OF THE DAY
Poche was on the field for just a little more than six of the 18 innings played Saturday, but his performance on the mound was much needed by LSU. After Lange was roughed up for seven runs in the opener, LSU faced almost a must-win situation in the nightcap. Poche gave his team just what was necessary as he gave up one run and five hits before being replaced with one out in the seventh. Poche, who won his third game of the year, walked four and struck out six. Poche got into trouble in the first when he gave up an infield single to Ebert and issued two walks. Poche struck out Robert to end the threat. Auburn got runners in scoring position in each of the next two innings. Poche struck out Grier with a runner on second and two out in the second. One inning later, he struck out Robert again with runners on first and second and two out. With LSU in front 3-0, Poche yielded back-to-back singles to Grier and Palacios to start the fifth. Poche stopped the potential of a big inning by getting Ebert to ground into a double play. Grier scored, but there would be no further damage. Poche was relieved by Hunter Newman after giving up a one-out single by Haecker in the seventh.
ABOUT THE HITTERS
Three LSU players had a team-best three hits in the doubleheader – Freeman (3-for-6), Romero (3-for-7) and Deichmann (3-for-9). Freeman scored three runs and stole two bases. Romero drove in four runs, while Deichmann had three RBIs. . .Duplantis and Reid each had just one hit in the twinbill. . .Deichmann extended his hitting streak to ten games. . .Both Fraley and Robertson had two hits in the first game and went hitless in the second game. . .Wofford had two hits in the second game. . .Bryce Jordan had just two hits in the two games, but he walked twice and was hit by a pitch twice. . .LSU struggled with timely hitting in the first game. There were five innings in which LSU got a runner to second base and did not score. Eight LSU players failed to get a hit with runners in scoring position – two times for both Duplantis and Deichmann. LSU stranded 11 runners – seven in scoring position. LSU was 4-for-14 with runners in scoring position. . .LSU was better with its clutch hitting in the nightcap. LSU stranded four runners – three in scoring position. LSU was 5-for-13 with runners in scoring position. Reid, Romero, Duplantis and Deichmann had run-scoring hits with runners in scoring position.
ABOUT THE PITCHERS
Lange again failed to deliver a quality start. It was a strange outing for Lange, who has won just two of his eight starts this season. In four of the first six innings, Lange permitted a total of one base runner on a walk and struck out six. However, Lange gave up seven runs in his other 2.2 innings on the mound. Auburn scored all seven runs with two out. In the third, Lange wild pitched home a run and allowed a three-run double by Logan. Palacios hit a two-run homer in the fourth. Logan had a run-scoring double in the seventh. In the three innings in which Auburn scored off him, Lange gave up five hits, walked five and struck out two. . .There was not much work for LSU relief pitchers. Doug Norman and Russell Reynolds handled the last four outs in the first game. Norman retired the one batter he faced in the eighth. Reynolds allowed a run on two hits in the eighth. . .In the second game, Newman and Caleb Gilbert took care of the last eight outs. Neither Newman nor Gilbert pitched effectively. Newman gave up four hits and a run in his 1.1 innings. He retired Deese on a fly ball with two men on base to end the eighth. Gilbert gave up four two-out runs in the ninth. With the tying runs on base, Gilbert got Deese to ground out to the second baseman Freeman. In his one inning, Gilbert gave up five hits and walked two.
NOTES
There were major changes in the LSU lineup in both games of the doubleheader. In the first game, Duplantis led off and went 0-for-4. Robertson batted fifth in the lineup and went 2-for-5. Papierski was the starting catcher, but he was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the fourth inning. Romero delivered a two-run double. Romero caught the rest of the first game and the entire second game. Beau Jordan, who was 0-for-3 and made an error in the first game, was replaced for a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning. Wofford played leftfield in the second game. Reid was the third baseman in both games. Deichmann played first base in the two games. . .LSU nearly rallied from a six-run deficit in the ninth inning of the first game. LSU had the tying run at the plate in Reid. Coach Paul Mainieri used Trey Dawson, who had no hits this season, as a pinch-hitter. Dawson struck out. Mainieri had elected not to take Bryce Adams on the trip. Adams was the designated hitter against Tulane on Tuesday. . .Three Auburn players had four hits in the twinbill – Logan (4-for-7), Palacios (4-for-9), and Grier (4-for-11). Logan drove in five runs. . .Auburn scored all but one of its 14 runs with two out. . .In the first game, Auburn starter Justin Camp allowed two runs and four hits in picking up his second victory of the season. Auburn second-game starter Cole Lipscomb gave up seven runs and eight hits in 6.1 innings. . .The victory in the second game ended a three-game LSU losing streak. LSU is 17-9 overall, 3-5 in the SEC. LSU trails SEC West leader Mississippi State by three games. Auburn is 13-14 overall, 2-6 in the SEC. . .The paid attendance for the doubleheader was 4,096.
LSU will play Auburn in the rubber game of the series at Plainsman Park on Sunday. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. Central. John Valek (4-1) will be the starting pitcher for LSU. The LSU-Auburn game will be broadcast on SEC Network+.