LSU wins Sunday game over Alabama, 7-5
LSU rallied for six runs in the bottom of the eighth to defeat Alabama 7-5 and salvage one game in their Southeastern Conference series Sunday afternoon at The Box.
HOW THEY SCORED
Alabama first inning – Hunter Webb singled and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Chandler Avant. After Chandler Taylor struck out, Webb scored on a single by Cody Henry. ALABAMA 1, LSU 0
Alabama third inning – Daniel Cucjen singled and went to second on a sacrifice bunt by Webb. Cucjen advanced to third on a wild pitch by John Valek and scored on a single by Avant. ALABAMA 2, LSU 0
LSU fifth inning – Cole Freeman reached on an error by the third baseman Cucjen. Freeman moved around to third on ground outs to the second baseman by Kramer Robertson and Jake Fraley. Freeman scored on an infield single by Antoine Duplantis. ALABAMA 2, LSU 1
Alabama seventh inning – Cucjen singled and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Webb. After Avant struck out, Taylor hit a home run over the rightfield fence. ALABAMA 4, LSU 1
LSU eighth inning – Jordan Romero walked and Greg Deichmann singled. A single by Bryce Jordan loaded the bases. Romero and Deichmann scored on a pinch-hit single by Brody Wofford. Freeman was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Bryce Jordan and pinch-runner Brennan Breaux scored on Kramer Robertson’s single on a fly ball lost in the sun by the rightfielder Taylor. Fraley struck out and Duplantis popped out to the shortstop. Freeman scored on a single by Beau Jordan and Robertson scored when the leftfielder Webb misplayed the hit. LSU 7, ALABAMA 4
Alabama ninth inning – Avant singled. After Taylor struck out, Avant moved to second on defensive indifference. After Gene Wood fouled out to the third baseman, Avant scored on a double by Cobie Vance. LSU 7, ALABAMA 5
LSU MISSED SCORING OPPORTUNITIES
First inning – With one out, Fraley reached on an error by the shortstop Avant. Fraley moved to second on Duplantis’ hit-and-run ground out to the second baseman. Fraley advanced to third on Beau Jordan’s infield single. Romero forced Beau Jordan at second on a ground ball to the shortstop.
Third inning – With one out, Robertson walked and Fraley singled. Fraley was forced at second on Duplantis’ ground ball to the second baseman. Beau Jordan flied out to the centerfielder.
Sixth inning – With two out, Chris Reid reached on an error by the shortstop Avant. Freeman singled. Robertson grounded out to the third baseman.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Beau Jordan had his second straight three-hit game. His third single of the game capped a six-run eighth inning. Beau Jordan’s hit in the eighth drove in what proved to be the difference in the game. One run scored on his single and a second run scored when the leftfielder Webb let the ball get past him. Beau Jordan’s batting averaged improved to .354.
ABOUT THE HITTERS
Bryce Jordan was the only LSU player other than his brother Beau to have more than one hit. Bryce Jordan had two singles. . .Romero and Chris Reid were the only starters without a hit. . .Wofford had the key hit in the game – a two-run pinch-hit single which brought the Tigers within one run at 4-3 in the eighth. Wofford was 3-for-13 coming into the game. . .LSU stranded ten runners – five in scoring position. The Tigers were 6-for-15 with runners in scoring position.
ABOUT THE PITCHERS
Valek did his job by giving the Tigers an opportunity to win the game. Valek allowed two runs and seven hits in six innings. Valek gave up RBI singles to Henry in the first and Avant in the third. He stranded runners in scoring position in the fourth through the sixth innings. Valek got Will Haynie to pop out to the second baseman with runners at first and third and two out in the fourth. He again retired Haynie on a pop out to the first baseman with runners at second and third and two out in the sixth. Valek struck out Taylor with a runner at second and two out in the fifth. Valek walked one and struck out a season-high eight batters. . .Hunter Newman was unable to keep LSU’s deficit at one run when he relieved Valek in the seventh. Newman gave up a leadoff single to Cucjen and a two-run homer to Taylor. . .Caleb Gilbert was the beneficiary of the late rally and picked up his second victory of the season. Gilbert struck out Vincent with two runners on base to end the seventh. He struck out Webb with a runner on second base and two out in the eighth. Alabama scored a run and had the tying runs in scoring position with two out in the ninth when Gilbert struck out Georgie Salem. Gilbert had four strikeouts in 2.1 innings. . .LSU pitchers walked four and struck out 13.
NOTES
There was one change in the LSU lineup for the series finale. Romero was the catcher instead of Michael Papierski. Bryce Jordan played first base and Deichmann was the designated hitter. . .Duplantis extended his hitting streak to 19 games with an infield single in the fifth. . .Alabama committed four errors. . .Taylor hit his home run off Newman after striking out three times against Valek. . .For the second time in the series, the Crimson Tide has 12 twelve hits. Vincent had three singles. Vance had a single and a double, while Avant had two singles. . .Alabama stranded 11 runners – eight in scoring position. The Crimson Tide was 5-for-16 with runners in scoring position. . .By winning, LSU avoided what would have been just the second sweep by a SEC team at The Box since Paul Mainieri became coach in 2007. Florida won three games from the Tigers in Baton Rouge in 2011. Alabama has not swept a series from LSU in Baton Rouge since 1977. . .LSU is 14-5 overall, 1-2 in the SEC. Alabama is 13-6 overall, 2-1 in the SEC. . . No SEC West team won all three games this weekend. Four Western Division teams won series – Alabama, Mississippi State against Vanderbilt, Ole Miss against Tennessee and Texas A&M against Auburn. Those four teams all won their series on the road. . .The paid attendance was 10,376. The actual crowd was about 4,900.
UP NEXT
LSU will play Louisiana-Lafayette in the Wally Pontiff, Jr. Classic at Zephyr Field in Metairie on Tuesday. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. Central. The Ragin’ Cajuns (12-8) lost two of three games at Arkansas-Little Rock this weekend. The LSU-UL-Lafayette game will be broadcast on Cox Sports Television.
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