Baseball Swept by Tennessee

LSU baseball had a pretty bad weekend on Rocky Top, getting swept by the Vols and falling to 16-8 overall and 1-5 in SEC play.

It started on Friday with Landon Marceaux, not Jaden Hill, taking the bump in the series opener. LSU dropped the opener 3-1 and Marceaux was charged with his second loss of the 2021 season. Despite throwing 96 pitches, Marceaux would only go five innings. He only allowed three hits but they all went for extra bases.

Luc Lipcius hit a double in the second inning but Tennessee wouldn’t capitalize on the scoring opportunity. But the Vols got another shot in the third and were able to score a pair of runs. It started with a leadoff double by Liam Spence, who came around to score two batters later thanks to an RBI triple by Jake Rucker. Rucker would come home on a passed ball to give Tennessee a 2-1 lead.

Tennessee would tack on an insurance run in the seventh and LSU, who could only muster five hits Friday night, dropped game one 3-1.

Game two was a wild one that wouldn’t be resolved until Sunday due to rain.

Hill had another rough outing, giving up six runs in four innings. Hill was tagged for five hits, including a pair of two-run homers by Evan Russell, and surrendered four walks. Despite LSU jumping out to a 2-0 lead, Hill couldn’t hold it and was pulled in the fifth but not before allowing Evan Russell to go deep again and then walking the bases loaded.

The fifth inning was kind to Tennessee with the Volunteers scoring four runs off of only one hit and then they’d tack on an additional run in the sixth inning.

Trailing 7-3 heading into the seventh inning, the LSU offense came alive. LSU scored two runs in the seventh and three more to grab an 8-7 lead in the eighth. The rally started with a leadoff double by Dylan Crews, who was then brought home by an RBI double thanks to Tre Morgan.

After a Cade Doughty single and Cade Beloso walk, Morgan was brought home by a Zach Arnold RBI single to right. LSU then used the long ball to its three eighth inning runs. Crews hit a solo shot to centerfield and Gavin Dugas would follow that up with a two-run blast to center, scoring himself and Doughty.

The game was paused until Sunday morning because of rain in the ninth and when things picked back up, disaster struck for LSU. Leading 8-7 and with Tennessee down to its final strike, Ty Floyd couldn’t close the door and surrendered a game-tying double to Drew Gilbert. Gilbert would play the hero again in the 11th, hitting a walk off home run off Devin Fontenot to give Tennessee its first series victory over LSU since 2009.

Unlike last weekend against Mississippi State, the Tigers failed to avoid the dreaded sweep and lost a close game three by a score of 3-2.

Because Saturday’s game was pushed to Sunday, the third game was only scheduled for seven innings. Tennessee would walk off LSU for the second time in extra innings, thanks to a bases loaded, RBI single from Lipcius.

AJ Labas put up a good fight going seven innings. Garrett Edwards came on in the eighth and gave up the winning run.

LSU will have to try and get back on track in a hurry because after a Tuesday evening contest against South Alabama, No. 1 Vanderbilt comes to Baton Rouge for a three-game set starting on Thursday.