Tigers Run Out Of Gas In Hoover

After the insane marathon of a week that LSU had in Hoover at the SEC Tournament, there wasn’t much to be expected from the last available arms of the Tiger’s already damaged and depleted pitching staff. But the game still had to be played and, despite their own best efforts at an early escape, LSU went a full nine against one of the most powerful offenses in the country.

A detailed recap of the game is hardly necessary, and only a few items are even noteworthy in this post-mortem. Devin Fontenot was the man unlucky enough to get the start and for his efforts was handed his second loss of the season and his ERA spiked up .5. Little used relief arm Will Ripoll managed to hold JJ Bleday, one of the most powerful hitter’s in the country, to a swinging strikeout and a pop fly. All told, LSU pitching gave up 13 runs on 13 hits and 6 walks, with 12 strikeouts between the 5 arms that appeared. Antoine Duplantis notched the 16th triple of his career, breaking the LSU Career record held by Todd Walker. After Vandy pulled ahead enough to activate the mercy rule in the 6th, Coach Mainieri decided to empty the bench for what should have been the final three outs of the game. But Gavin Dugas and Braden Doughty decided to take advantage of their chances, scoring a groundout RBI and inducing a wild pitch that scored another run to bring the score to 13-4 and continuing the game to it’s full nine conclusion.

But the game, and discussions of shitheel fans who exist solely to annoy, are of little consequence. I said on Monday that LSU traveled to Hoover with a tournament resume that was lacking and the Tigers did their level best to improve their standing. The 17 inning game and the walk-off 2 run wild pitch will live on in lore forever, but run-ruling State on Friday, against their $3 Million freshman, was the final push LSU needed to become one of the Top 16 National Seeds and insure home field advantage in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

So kick back and enjoy this holiday Sunday. Watch the Indy 500 (LET’S GO SATO!) or even some Pre Season Canadian Football. Toss some steaks on the grill and relax with your family. Just don’t voluntarily subject yourself to a Vanderbilt baseball game.

The NCAA Selection Show begins at 11 AM on Monday, live on ESPNU.