LSU drops two out of three in Houston

Photo By: Michael Bacigalupi

3/2/2020
By: Terrill J. Weil
Da Boot Sports!


       HOUSTON - This past weekend our LSU baseball team traveled to Houston, Texas to participate in the Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic. Poor hitting continues to plague the Tigers as they would drop two of three games, falling to 7-5 on the season. 
      On Friday the Tigers to started out well as they took down the Texas Longhorns, 4-3. The highlight of the game was Cole Henry and Jaden Hill combining for 16 strikeouts. With the score tied at 2-2, Daniel Cabrera would launch a two run homer to give the Tigers the lead. Henry would get the win (2-1), while Hill would pick up the save, the first of his career. The loss was the first of the season for Texas. 
     
      Baylor would be the next opponent for LSU on Saturday. The Tigers would take a 4-0 lead  into the bottom of the sixth inning. Baylor would respond with two runs in the sixth and four more in the seventh to defeat LSU 6-4. Branden Kaminer (1-1) would be charged with the loss. 
 "We were up 4-0, but honestly, I thought we should have been up by more," said LSU coach Paul Mainieri. "We had some opportunities to expand the lead, but we didn't get the job done. Our guys have to learn that we have to take advantage of those opportunities. It's a learning experience for a young team that has to learn how to win."   


      On Sunday LSU would face the Oklahoma Sooners. The Tigers wasted a brilliant performance by pitcher AJ Labas (1-2), by allowing Oklahoma pitcher, Dane Acker to pitch a no-hitter shutout. LSU only managed to get three batters on base. One would draw a walk, the other two, were hit by a pitch.  After seven inning, Labas had a no-hitter going, until he would give up a lead off home run in the top of the eighth for the difference in the ball game. 
  "AJ was great today, he threw a lot of strikes," said LSU coach Paul Mainieri. "Unfortunately, they got the bat on one pitch that left the ball park. "We hit a lot of balls hard, but it was one of those days with the roof closed here, the ball didn't carry very well. We hit several balls right at their fielders as well, but congratulations to their pitcher for his outing."  
"It was a tough day," Mainieri said, "but we're heading to Baton Rouge to get back to work and get ready for another week."


      LSU will now return home to play six straight at the Box, starting with Southeastern Louisiana on Tuesday, March 3rd at 6:30pm, then Grambling on Wednesday, March 4th at 6:30pm, followed by a three game weekend series with UMass Lowell. 




3/2/2020
By: Terrill J. Weil
Da Boot Sports!

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