Tigers win opener over Vols, 2-1
Kramer Robertson singled home Cole Freeman with the winning run in the eighth inning and Alex Lange and Hunter Newman combined on a four-hitter as LSU defeated Tennessee in the opening game of their Southeastern Conference series Friday night at Lindsey Nelson Stadium in Knoxville.
HOW THEY SCORED
Tennessee second inning – Tyler Schultz walked and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Max Bartlett. Schultz scored on a double by Brodie Leftridge. TENNESSEE 1, LSU 0
LSU third inning – With one out, Freeman hit a home run over the leftfield fence. LSU 1, TENNESSEE 1
LSU eighth inning – Freeman was hit by a pitch and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Antoine Duplantis. After Jake Fraley popped out to the second baseman, Freeman scored on a single by Robertson. LSU 2, TENNESSEE 1
LSU MISSED SCORING OPPORTUNITIES
Fourth inning – With one out, Jordan Romero and Chris Reid singled. Both Romero and Reid moved up a base on a wild pitch by Will Neely. Romero was thrown out at the plate on a ground ball to third baseman Nick Senzel by Bryce Jordan. Beau Jordan popped out to the shortstop.
PLAYER OF THE GAME
Freeman had a hand in both LSU runs. With one out in the third, Freeman tied the score at 1-1 with his first home run of the season. With the score still tied in the eighth, Freeman was hit by a pitch to open the inning. Freeman went to second on Duplantis’ bunt and scored one out later on a single by Robertson. Freeman reached base in all three of his plate appearances as he drew a walk in the fifth.
ABOUT THE HITTERS
Bryce Jordan was the only LSU player with more than one hit. Bryce Jordan had singles in the seventh and ninth innings. The Tigers collected seven hits – six singles and the home run by Freeman. Three starters went hitless – Beau Jordan (0-for-4), Duplantis (0-for-3) and Greg Deichmann (0-for-3). . .LSU stranded five runners – two in scoring position. The Tigers were 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position. Robertson had the one RBI single to win the game in the eighth.
ABOUT THE PITCHERS
Lange struggled with his control as he walked six batters and hit two others in his eight innings. However, Lange gave up just four hits and struck out seven in picking up his seventh victory of the year. Tennessee was 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position against Lange. The Vols loaded the bases with no one out in the first on an error by the second baseman Freeman, a hit batter and a walk. Lange got Vince Jackson to line out to the rightfielder Duplantis, who doubled Senzel off first base. After issuing another walk, Lange struck out Derek Lance. The Volunteers stranded a runner in scoring position in both the second and the third innings. Chris Hall flied out to the centerfielder Fraley to end the second and Lance struck out for the final out in the third. . .Hunter Newman registered his fifth save of the season with a 1-2-3 ninth inning. Newman got two of the outs by strikeout.
NOTES
LSU went back to its normal lineup – Romero catching, Deichmann at first base and Bryce Jordan as the designated hitter. . .The Tigers had two runners thrown out stealing by Schultz at second base – Fraley in the third and Freeman in the fifth. Romero was thrown out at the plate on a ground ball to the third baseman in the fourth and Beau Jordan grounded into a double play in the ninth. . .Fraley extended his hitting streak to 11 games with an infield single in the third. Fraley has one hit in nine of the 11 games . . .Duplantis’ slump continued as he has just three hits in his last 33 official at-bats. Beau Jordan has just three hits in his last 21 official at-bats. . .Robertson’s game-winning single gave him a five-game hitting streak. . .Tennessee starting pitcher Will Neely allowed one run and five hits in seven innings. Andy Cox gave up the game-winning run in the eighth. . .Freeman made LSU’s only error. Freeman also started a double play in the fourth. Romero threw out two runners trying to steal second base. . .No Tennessee player had made than one hit. . .LSU extended its winning streak to six games – five by one run. For the first time in school history, the Tigers have won five games by one run in a six-game stretch. LSU has won three straight games by one run for the first time in 30 years. . .The Tigers are 34-16 overall, 15-10 in the SEC. LSU is in sixth place in the overall SEC standings – 2½ games behind Florida, which beat Vanderbilt 4-2 on Friday night. Tennessee is 26-24 overall, 7-18 in the SEC. The Vols are tied with Arkansas for last place in the overall league standings. .. The paid attendance was 2,349.
FROM THE LOCKER ROOM
Coach Paul Mainieri’s comments: “This was a very important win for our team. Alex Lange again demonstrated why he is such a great pitcher. Tennessee has a very potent offensive club with three players with 50 or more RBIs. Alex battled them throughout the entire night. He didn’t get off to a great start, but he continued to pitch with intensity. He seemed to gain strength as the game wore on. Our team plays with a lot of tenacity. Alex Lange embodies that attitude.”
UP NEXT
LSU will play Tennessee in the second game of their Southeastern Conference series at Lindsey Nelson Stadium in Knoxville on Saturday. First pitch is set for noon Central. Jared Poche (5-4) will be the starting pitcher for the Tigers. The LSU-Tennessee game will be broadcast on the SEC Network.