LSU Thrashes Kentucky in Game One of Weekend Series
You win some, you lose some. And in this case, you lose. Bad.
No. 12 Kentucky baseball made the trip to Baton Rouge for a weekend series with No. 1 LSU on Thursday and got blasted 16-6 in just eight innings by the Tigers. LSU is number one in the country for a reason.
Perfect Game’s Midseason Pitcher of the Year Paul Skenes got the start for LSU and showed why he is the best pitcher in all of college baseball. Skenes pitched six innings, threw 111 pitches and struck out 13 batters. Pair that with two Tiger grand slams and you’ve got yourself a recipe for a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.
A brutal start buried the ‘Cats, as they actually outhit the Tigers 9-8 on the night and outscored them 5-2 over the last five innings.
‘Cats Get Off to Rough Start
Things got off to a rough start for the ‘Cats. Skenes started off hot for the Tigers, breezing through the top of the Kentucky lineup on just 12 pitches. This was just an omen of how this one was going to go for Kentucky.
Redshirt sophomore Zach Hise, a transfer from Missouri, made his first career start for the ‘Cats and it was… rough. Hise plunked LSU’s Gavin Dugas to start the game, and Dugas would advance to second on a fielder’s choice. LSU superstar Dylan Crews was intentionally walked, bringing NC State transfer Tommy “Smokes” White up to bat. White blasted a two-run double down the third base line, giving LSU an early lead. Hise, who was visibly shaken up, plunked his second batter of the inning.
Things would get even worse for the ‘Cats as Nolan McCarthy lost a Jordan Jones can-of-corn in the sun, allowing the ball to drop in for a single. The bases were loaded for Jordan Thompson, who had homered in three straight games. With ducks on the pond, Thompson made it four. Thompson belted a grand slam, propelling the nation’s number-one team to an early 6-0 lead. Statement made.
LSU Pours It On
After going down 6-0, Kentucky seemed to find some life. Émilien Pitre kicked off the top of the second with a single up the middle. Hunter Gilliam followed him with one of his own, putting runners on first and second with no outs for the ‘Cats. After Petey advanced to third on a sac-fly, Ryan Waldschmidt singled up the middle to drive in the first Kentucky run of the day. After a slight glimmer of hope made its way to the minds of Kentucky fans, LSU quickly dashed those hopes.
Zach Hise trotted back out to the mound to start the bottom of the second. After getting a quick two outs, LSU capitalized on a Jase Felker error to score five more runs. Hise plunked Beloso, loading the bases for Jared Jones. Jones drew a bases-loaded walk, allowing a run to trot home. With the bases still loaded, Brayden Jobert launched LSU’s second grand slam of the game to increase the lead to 10. With that, Hise’s day was mercifully over.
The ‘Cats went down in order in the third, leading to another run outburst for the Tigers. With runners on second and third, Cade Beloso smoked a three-run home run to right field, making it a 14-1 game through three innings. Not great, Bob.
Dash of Hope for Wildcats
Down 14-1 in the top of the fourth, the ‘Cats could have just given up. Facing the best pitcher in the country, they refused to do just that. For the second time in the game, Émilien Pitre and Hunter Gilliam opened an inning with back-to-back singles. Ryan Waldschmidt stepped up to bat and roped a two-run double over Dylan Crews’ head in center field to score two runs for Kentucky.
The ‘Cats continued to cut into the deficit in the top of the fifth thanks to a Pitre two-run double down the first base line. Petey had Skenes’ number on Thursday night, going 3-3 with a double and two RBI. He continued his big night in the top of the seventh, driving in another run with an RBI single. Pitre was a bright spot in a mostly unmemorable night.
Seth Logue took over in the bottom of the fourth and shut down the LSU offense. Logue allowed just one hit in three shutout innings. This would have been a completely different ballgame if just a few things went differently in the first two innings.
After Alex Milazzo scored on a passed ball in the bottom of the seventh, the redshirt junior singled with the bases loaded to mercifully end this one in the eighth.
Kentucky will look to snap its three-game losing streak in game two of the weekend series, which is scheduled to begin Friday night at 7:30 p.m. EST. Kentucky falls to 27-6 on the season while LSU improves to 28-5.
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