By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
No. 2 LSU’s offense finally resurfaced, but it was too late as the Tigers lost to Northeastern – the No. 205 ranked team in the nation by the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) – Monday night at Alex Box Stadium.
LSU (11-2) got 10 hits, breaking a string of four straight games of single-digit hits, but played more like its No. 43 RPI as it committed four errors with three wild pitches, four walks and a passed ball.
Northeastern improved to all of 3-6 with 15 hits and took a 10-0 lead in the third inning.
“There are some growing pains we’re going through,” LSU coach Jay Johnson said. “We didn’t play our best over the weekend.”
The Tigers do not have long to regroup as they play at No. 14 RPI Louisiana-Lafayette (9-3) on Wednesday night (6 p.m., SEC Network).
The Huskies took a 4-0 lead in the second inning off LSU starter Cooper Williams, who allowed only one earned run on three hits and a walk as Williams and first baseman Omar Serna Jr. each made errors in the inning. Williams (0-1) took the loss.
“We made two errors immediately,” Johnson said. “Good first inning for Cooper, and then we didn’t handle the ball twice. The big inning is going to win these games. The four-run inning, and then the next one. That’s going to be key for this team is to stay out of the three- and four-run inning.”
Zac Cowan got out of the jam in the second inning but allowed four runs on five hits in the third inning with a three-run home run to Chris Walsh for an 8-0 deficit. Northeastern got an earned run and an unearned run off Reagan Ricken on an error by Jake Brown in right field for the 10-0 lead.
The Tigers gradually cut into the Huskies’ lead.
Trailing 13-7 entering the bottom of the ninth, LSU got a lead-off triple from Ethan Clauss, who scored on an RBI single By Jack Ruckert after one out. Then William Patrick singled, and Daniel Harden singled in another run to cut Northeastern’s lead to 13-9 and put runners on the corners with one out. A wild pitch got Patrick home, and it was 13-10.
But Edward Yamin IV flew out to center, bringing up Tanner Reaves, who lined out to center to end the game.
LSU cut it to 10-1 in the fourth, but that was a disappointment as the Tigers loaded the bases with no outs. Steven Milam drove in the run with an RBI ground out to second. Then Northeastern starter Ryan Griffin struck out Brayden Simpson and got Seth Dardar to ground out to second.
The Tigers got to within 11-2 in the sixth on an RBI single by Milam, but the Huskies extended their lead to 13-2 in the seventh with two more runs.
LSU faced losing by the 10-run rule entering the bottom of the seventh trailing 13-2, but the Tigers rallied for three runs on a bases-loaded walk, a wild pitch and a ground out as the Huskies ran thin on pitching, walking four and hitting a batter in the inning. But the Tigers left three on when Braun struck out on a ball out of the strike zone and Ruckert grounded out on a one-ball, no-strike count to end the inning. Each should have been taking until a strike was thrown.
The Tigers crept closer in the eighth on Yamin’s first home run of the season – a towering two-run blast to left field – that cut the deficit to 13-7.
“First road game Wednesday, we’ve got to be ready to go,” Johnson said. “A team (ULL) that is 9-3. I’m sure it’ll be a packed house. They love their baseball. Let’s be better for what happened tonight.”
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