The LSU Baseball team entered the weekend as the #2 team in the Country, looking to carry their momentum into a series against Texas A&M, which has started to turn things around as of late. The rain on Friday made it a busy two days for both teams as the Aggies took game one of the double header while Anthony Eyanson pitched LSU to victory on Saturday, setting both sides up for a rubber match on Sunday. LSU's bullpen couldn't hold the slight lead as Texas A&M exploded for 4 runs in the 8th inning giving the Aggies the series win.
The Series loss hurts the LSU Baseball team as Arkansas swept Texas, bringing LSU back into play for the SEC Regular Season Title but, the Tigers couldn't handle their own business. The top priority now for the LSU Baseball team is staying in the Top 4 of the standings in order to secure a double bye in the SEC Tournament. LSU is currently 3rd in the Conference but, the Tigers have a tough series against Arkansas next week before facing South Carolina.
Leaving this weekend, three key takeaways stick with us leaving another Weekend Series loss for the Tigers.
Nate Yeskie came up with the plan and LSU's staff dominated until they didn't
Coming into the weekend, two players scared you as LSU fans in Jace LaViolette, who's the projected 1st overall pick in this summer's draft and Caden Sorrell. While the Tigers lost this series, the pitching staff held the duo in chec,k thanks in part to the relief pitchers until the final inning of the weekend.
The plan Yeskie came up with almost worked to perfection as LSU's pitchers held the dominant duo to a 3-22 weekend at the plate with 12 strikeouts but, Jace LaViolette and Caden Sorrell came through when it mattered most. LaViolette was able to get his first hit of the weekend with a soft ground ball that he was able to beat out bringing the go-ahead run to the plate in the 8th. Caden Sorrell did damage for the first time all weekend two batters later blasting the game winning home run to make it 6-4 in game three.
The offense is still out of sync
In the last 6 SEC games, the Tigers' offense has had their struggles for 5 of 6 with one massive showing against Tennessee. This weekend, the struggles at the plate continued as the Tigers scored just 7 runs across 27 innings. In the 2 games, the Tigers dropped the offense left a combined 15 runners on base, which easily could've been the difference in this series.
This weekend a few players didn't have much luck at the plate, which is a part of the Tigers' struggles at the plate. Derek Curiel's first hit of the weekend came in the 8th inning of Sunday's game, and he's normally the one at the top of the order putting pressure on the opponent. Daniel Dickinson managed one hit this weekend with a few walks but, he's supposed to be one of the players that drives the offense. In the end, a ton of the struggles could be pointed to the wind keeping a ton of fly balls in the field as well as the Aggies staff not giving up walks.
This weekend showed Zac Cowan is human
All season long whenever Zac Cowan came out of the bullpen LSU fans considered it game over as the Tigers star quickly became one of the best relievers in the Country. In Game One of this Series, Texas A&M racked up 3 hits and a pair of runs chasing Cowan before he finished the inning in what was a tied ball game.
On Sunday, Cowan came in during the 8th inning as LSU needed one crucial out to hold the score at 4-3. A bloop single that only dropped because of the win followed by a two-run blast by Caden Sorrell stunned the Tigers as everyone expected Cowan to shut the game down.
The Tigers have asked a ton out of Zac Cowan this season, and it's his first rough weekend of the year, but it's just a poorly timed weekend to have a rough weekend. Casan Evans was starting, which made Cowan the lone go-to-guy in the back end. Now it's all about bouncing back for Cowan as the Tigers will need him to make crucial outs down the stretch if the Tigers are going to make a run to Omaha.