Starkville, MS- One strike away from victory, a four-run ninth inning for the #19 LSU Tigers gave Mississippi State a 5-2 loss.
Both ballclubs got spectacular outings out of their starters. For the Bulldogs, Preston Johnson had his best outing in SEC play, striking out ten LSU hitters in six innings of work. The native of Pearl Springs, MS, surrendered just two hits, but walks allowed LSU to get a run across in the fourth. A pair of free passes to the first two hitters and a groundball to move them set up an RBI sac-fly for LSU right fielder Josh Pearson.
State had no trouble getting runners on base, as they gathered ten hits off LSU starter Ma'Khail Hilliard but struggled with runners on base. The Bulldogs, however, struggled to string the hits together, as the only runs driven in came off the bat of Luke Hancock for a 2-RBI single in the fifth inning.
LSU's bullpen dominated the Mississippi State offense, as righty Eric Reyzelman, a transfer from San Francisco, entered in a jam with 2-runners on and no outs in the seventh. He started out getting Drew McGowan to strike out, and Kamren James followed with a ground ball to 2nd resulting in R.J. Yeager being thrown out at home plate. After a walk from Luke Hancock, Reyzelman battled out of it striking out Logan Tanner.
"We had some opportunities all game," said Mississippi State Head Coach Chris Lemonis. "It probably should've been a four or five-run game.
When LSU made the switch to Riley Cooper, who transferred in from Arizona following head coach Jay Johnson, it was no different as he shut the Bulldogs down for a 1-2-3 inning.
K.C. Hunt did a phenomenal job in relief of Preston Johnson in the seventh in eighth innings, holding the 2-1 lead allowing just one hit and one walk with a pair of strikeouts. The New Jersey product missed six weeks with an undisclosed injury after making an opening weekend start against Long Beach State and has been an excellent piece to the bullpen in his four appearances since returning last week.
After being the hero in the win over Arkansas last Sunday, Jackson Fristoe came in to pitch the ninth, but it didn't go as well as he hoped. He retired the first two LSU batters, and the Tigers would be down to their last strike as catcher Hayden Travinski worked a full count and drew a walk. Fristoe followed that up by hitting pinch-hitter Josh Stevenson with a pitch, bringing up the top of the order in All-American 1st baseman Tre' Morgan. After a wild pitch that moved the runner to 2nd and 3rd, Morgan delivered a single into center knocking in the two runs to take a 3-2 lead.
Brooks Auger replaced Fristoe, and in his first batter faced he hung a breaking ball to All-American outfielder Dylan Crews, who gave it a ride over the wall in right-center, giving the Tigers a 5-2 lead. LSU turned to right-hander Paul Gervase in the ninth, and he retired the side to win the game for the Tigers.
