LSU remains No. 1 after taking opening SEC series
LSU remains No. 1 in the college baseball rankings following a pair of wins to open SEC play.
The Tigers took the first two games in College Station before dropping Sunday’s finale against Texas A&M.
While Sunday’s loss ended a 13-game win streak, the Tigers moved to 18-2 on the season.
On Monday morning, LSU stayed in the top spot as the No. 1 team in Baseball America’s Top 25, D1Baseball.com’s Top 25 and Perfect Game’s Top 25.
Here’s the recap from all three games from the weekend.
Game One
Junior right-hander Paul Skenes fired 6.1 scoreless innings Friday night and third baseman Tommy White drove in three runs to lead top-ranked LSU to a 9-0 win over No. 11 Texas A&M at Blue Bell Park.
LSU, which won its 12th straight game, improved to 17-1 overall and 1-0 in the SEC. Texas A&M dropped to 13-5 overall and 0-1 in conference play. The loss ended the Aggies’ eight-game win streak.
The teams resume the series at 2 p.m. CT Saturday in a game that will be broadcast on the LSU Sports Radio Network and streamed on SEC Network +.
Skenes (5-0), making his first career appearance in an SEC game, pitched a season-high 6.1 innings, limiting the Aggies to no runs on four hits with no walks and 11 strikeouts, firing 106 pitches in the outing.
“He could do it against a major league lineup right now and I believe that,” LSU coach Jay Johnson said in discussing Skenes’ outing.
LSU relievers Nate Ackenhausen and Christian Little worked the final 2.2 innings to preserve the Tigers’ seventh shutout this season. Little was credited with his second save of the season, as he entered the game when LSU held a 4-0 lead with two outs and two runners on in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Texas A&M starter Nathan Dettmer (1-2) was charged with the loss, as he allowed four runs on six hits in 6.0 innings with four walks and five strikeouts.
“We want to be a team that can win any type of game,” Johnson said. “When the wind is blowing in, or in a pitcher’s duel or a slugfest. We executed those nine runs, and the way batting practice was going with the wind blowing in, four runs seemed like 12 tonight.”
LSU grabbed a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning as second baseman Gavin Dugas lifted a sacrifice fly and leftfielder Josh Pearson delivered a two-out RBI single.
The Tigers expanded the margin to 4-0 in the third as first baseman Tre’ Morgan singled, moved to third on centerfielder Dylan Crews’ double and scored on a Dettmer wild pitch. Crews then scored on White’s sharp single to left field.
LSU erupted for five runs in the top of the ninth, as White highlighted the outburst with a two-run single, increasing his RBI total this season to 30.
Pearson started Friday’s game in left field, marking his first start since February 25. He responded with two hits and two RBI in the Tigers’ win.
“I have a lot of trust in Josh, and I’ve seen him match up in these games against these types of pitchers,” Johnson said. “Just because a guy hasn’t been in there every day doesn’t mean he’s not an SEC type of college baseball player. I had a good feeling about the work that he’d been putting in the last couple of weeks.”
Game Two
Freshman designated hitter Jared Jones blasted a three-run homer and collected seven RBI Saturday as top-ranked LSU defeated No. 11 Texas A&M, 12-7, at Blue Bell Park.
LSU won its 13th straight game and improved to 18-1 overall, 2-0 in the SEC. Texas A&M dropped to 13-6 overall and 0-2 in conference play.
The Tigers’ win streak is their longest since the 2017 club won 17 straight games. LSU’s 18-1 record is its best through 19 games since 2013, when the Tigers also posted an 18-1 mark.
The teams conclude the series at 1 p.m. CT Sunday in a game that will be broadcast on the LSU Sports Radio Network and streamed on SEC Network +.
Jones was 4-for-5 at the plate with a three-run homer, a walk and seven RBI in pacing LSU’s 13-hit output.
“We had really good plate discipline and really hit mistakes well today,” said LSU coach Jay Johnson. “Jared is super talented, and his biggest evolution is he’s really improved mentally. Just watching him slow the game down with runners on base gives me a lot of peace of mind. He’s in control of himself, so you know you’re going to get a quality at-bat. When a guy is that big, that strong and that physical, and he’s locked in, the results are going to be really good, and they were really good today.”
LSU reliever Garrett Edwards (3-0) earned the win in relief, entering the game in the fourth inning and limiting the Aggies to one run on three hits in 3.1 innings with three walks and five strikeouts.
“Garrett has been a big story for our team,” Johnson said. “We knew he was talented, but the way he’s throwing quality strikes and quality innings is awesome. What he’s doing is helping us in a big way.
Texas A&M reliever Matt Dillard (0-2) was charged with the loss, as he surrendered three runs on four hits in 0.1 inning.
The Aggies bolted to a 4-0 lead against LSU starter Ty Floyd by scoring two runs in both the second and third innings.
LSU, however, responded with a six-run fourth inning, as the Tigers sent 10 batters to the plate. The outburst was highlighted by three straight two-out, run-scoring hits – a two-run single by third baseman Tommy White, a two-run double by leftfielder Josh Pearson and a two-run single by Jones.
The Aggies narrowed the gap to 6-5 with a run in the bottom of the fourth inning, but LSU expanded the lead in the sixth when Jones launched a three-run homer, his team-high seventh dinger of the year.
The Tigers scored three more runs in the seventh as White contributed an RBI single, and Jones added a two-run single to give him a career-best seven RBI for the game.
Floyd pitched the first 3.1 innings for the Tigers and was charged with three earned runs on four hits with two walks and three strikeouts.
Relievers Riley Cooper and Blake Money followed Edwards on the mound and combined to limit the Aggies to one run on three hits over the final 2.1 innings.
Game Three
No. 11 Texas A&M struck for four runs in the bottom of the eighth inning Sunday to erase a 6-4 deficit, and the Aggies defeated top-ranked LSU, 8-6, in Blue Bell Park.
The loss ended LSU’s 13-game win streak, as the Tigers are 18-2 overall and 2-1 in the SEC. Texas A&M improved to 14-6 overall and 1-2 in conference play.
LSU returns to action at 6:30 p.m. CT Tuesday when the Tigers play host to Central Arkansas in Alex Box Stadium, Skip Bertman Field. The game will be broadcast on affiliates of the LSU Sports Radio Network, and it will be streamed on SEC Network +.
Run-scoring singles by centerfielder Stanley Tucker and shortstop Hunter Haas highlighted the Aggies’ eighth-inning rally, as Texas A&M salvaged Game 3 of the teams’ opening SEC series.
Texas A&M reliever Will Johnston (2-0) earned the win, as he fired three scoreless innings, allowing just one hit with no walks and three strikeouts.
LSU reliever Christian Little (2-1) was charged with the loss, allowing two runs on two hits in 1.0 inning with two walks and three strikeouts.
“I’m proud of the way our guys prepared and competed over the course of the weekend,” said LSU coach Jay Johnson. “We played great baseball for the majority of the weekend. We didn’t allow a ton of free bases from the mound, but we did today, and Texas A&M is a good enough team to cash in when that happens.
“I felt like we gave a good effort, but we obviously wanted to finish off the series with a win today.”
The Tigers raced to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning as second baseman Gavin Dugas drew a bases-loaded walk, leftfielder Josh Pearson ripped a two-run single and shortstop Jordan Thompson provided an RBI single.
The Aggies narrowed the gap to 4-1 in the bottom of the first when first baseman Jack Moss launched his first home run of the season.
LSU added a run in the second inning when centerfielder Dylan Crews doubled and scored on third baseman Tommy White’s single.
Texas A&M reduced the deficit to 5-4 in the fifth when Haas delivered a two-run double.
The Tigers increased their lead to 6-4 in the seventh when catcher Brady Neal lifted a sacrifice fly.
Editor’s note: This is a press release from LSUSports.net
