In the first road game of the season, Texas dropped the series opener to LSU, 13-4. The Tigers pounded out 16 hits and took advantage of 3 Longhorn errors.
The loss drops Texas’ overall record to 3-2, while the win lifts LSU’s record to 3-2.
Starter Nolan Kingham was only able to last 3 innings, surrendering 8 runs (4 earned) on 8 hits and walking 2. Relievers Matthew Whalen and Brandon Ivey followed Kingham, and the duo combined to throw 2 ⅔ innings, allowing 5 runs on 5 hits and 4 walks. The lone bright spot on the mound was Parker Joe Robinson, who threw 2 ⅓ scoreless innings with 4 strikeouts. At the plate, LSU starter Zach Hess kept the Longhorns at bay for most of the night, finishing with 10 strikeouts in 6 innings, only yielding 2 runs. Kody Clemens collected two more hits, raising his season to .500.
LSU capitalized on several Texas miscues in the first inning to jump out to a 5-0 lead.
The Tigers collected 4 hits in the innings and were helped by erros from Masen Hibbeler and Nolan Kingham, leading to 4 unearned runs.
Texas cut into the lead during the top of the 2nd. D.J Petrinsky led off the inning with a single, and scored 2 batters later when Tate Shaw roped a triple into the right field gap. Ryan Reynolds then drove home Shaw on a sacrifice fly, cutting the deficit to 5-2.
The Tigers responded with 3 runs in the 3rd inning. After allowing a leadoff single, Kingham retired the next two hitters before allowing 4 straight baserunners to reach, punctuated by a 2 run double by Daniel Cabrera.
In the 4th, LSU padded their lead with more successful 2 out hitting. After the first two batters were retired, the Tigers loaded the bases, and Brandt Broussard delivered a 2 run single to stretch the lead to 10-2. LSU added 3 more runs in the 6th off of reliever Brandon Ivey to extend the lead to double digits, 13-2.
Tate Shaw and Michael McCann delivered the final runs of the game with a pair of RBI singles in the 8th, cutting the lead to 13-4. The Longhorns finished the game with 8 hits, and head coach David Pierce said his team needs to continue to focus on getting guys home when they are in scoring position.
“We had guys in scoring position all night,” Pierce said. “They came up with clutch hits and we didn’t.”
Despite the loss, Pierce emphasized the need for Texas to put the tough night behind them and look ahead to the next two days.
“We just made every mistake you can make early,” Pierce said. “We’ve got to bounce back, we are trying to win a series still.”
The two teams will return to action with game 2 of the series tomorrow night. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 PM, with the pitching matchup featuring RHP Chase Shugart vs RHP Caleb Gilbert. The game will be broadcasted on SEC Network Plus, or on the WatchESPN app. As always, follow along here at Hornsports for live updates.
