FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Dallas Keuchel pitched the Razorback baseball team to a series sweep of South Carolina, 4-2, on senior day in a crucial Southeastern Conference series with a career high 10 strikeouts on Sunday afternoon at Baum Stadium.
Arkansas (31-21, 13-13 SEC) records its first SEC series sweep of the season and first since the Razorbacks dispatched the Florida Gators in mid-April, 2007. The Arkansas victory could put the Razorbacks as high as fifth in the overall SEC standings depending on the results of the rest of the league. South Carolina (34-18, 13-14 SEC) continues to struggle against a Dave Van Horn coached Arkansas squad as it now stands at 4-11 against the Razorbacks since 2003.
The Razorbacks entered the weekend without naming a Sunday afternoon starter, instead waiting to see what pitchers might be available after the conclusion of Saturday night’s game. Keuchel was the clear choice for the Arkansas coaching staff and the Tulsa, Okla., native did not disappoint his coaches as he tossed eight innings of five hit baseball while striking out his career high 10 batters.
Keuchel would leave the game to a standing ovation from the Razorback crowd with a 4-0 lead in the top of the ninth after allowing a single to the #3 hitter in the South Carolina lineup. Keuchel’s replacement, Mike Bolsinger, would give up a two-run home run to the first batter he faced, but settled in to get the next three hitters and complete the series sweep.
The Razorback bats were not nearly as loud as they had been in games one and two of the series, but did enough to put Arkansas on top with six hits and four runs scored. Six different Razorbacks would record hits while four Hogs would score runs. The game-winning stroke came off the bat of freshman Andy Wilkins who laced a pitch to right center in the fourth inning to score Arkansas’ second and third runs.
Arkansas opened the scoring in the game in the bottom of the second inning when Wilkins drew a walk with one out. Jeff Nutt would get hit with a pitch forcing Wilkins to second and then a RBI single by Aaron Murphree with two outs scored Wilkins and put the Hogs on top.
The third inning would end up being the clincher as Wilkins’ RBI double plated to Razorbacks and made it a 3-0 game, more than enough run support for Keuchel who brought his ‘A’ game to the park on Sunday. Chase Leavitt would open the inning with a single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Ben Tschepikow. The Gamecocks chose to intentionally walk Logan Forsythe, who had been wearing out South Carolina pitching with six hits in eight at bats during the first two game, putting runners on first and second. A deep fly out by Casey Coon moved Leavitt to third leaving the door open for Wilkins drive to right center.
The Hogs would tack on an insurance run in the eighth inning when Coon delivered a RBI single against a drawn in infield with Ben Tschepikow on third base. Tschepikow had doubled to left-center field lead off the inning.
Prior to Sunday’s start, the Razorbacks honored their four seniors in a pregame ceremony. Travis Hill, Sean Jones, Murphree and Nutt each were given a framed picture and accompanied by family members on the field to the delight of those in attendance.
The Razorbacks are back in action on Monday afternoon when they host the Mississippi State Delta Devils at Baum Stadium with first pitch slated for 2:05 p.m. For more information regarding Razorback baseball or University of Arkansas athletics please visit www.hogwired.com.
OLE MISS RALLIES FOR 5-2 WIN OVER AUBURN TO CLAIM SERIES
OXFORD, Miss. – Junior right-hander Scott Bittle picked up his fifth win in relief on Sunday as the reliever held the Tiger offense in check over the final 4.0 innings as Ole Miss (33-20. 14-13 SEC) rallied for a 5-2 win over Auburn (27-25, 11-16 SEC) and claimed the series.
Bittle (5-1) struck out seven and walked one as he held the Tigers to only two hits and kept them off the board in his 4.0 innings on the mound. The seven strikeouts moved the reliever to 99 for the season.
Luke Greinke (4-4) suffered the loss for the Tigers as he allowed five runs on seven hits with one walk and six strikeouts.
Zach Miller was 2-for-3 to lead the Rebel offense, while Matt Smith came up with a solo home run in the fifth inning to get the Rebel offense started.
“Scott has come in and faced almost every situation,” said Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco. “He thinks he can throw 75 to 100 pitches if he needs to. Once we sensed the game was on the line, we decided to bring him in. We just hoped we wouldn’t have to bring him in too early so that he could finish. That’s why he’s so special and the best closer in the country.”
Auburn got off to an early start as Joseph Sanders hit a two-run home run in the top of the first to put the Tigers on the board. The two-out hit scored Trent Mummey who had walked to open the game.
Ole Miss answered in the fifth as Matt Smith opened the inning with a solo shot to right center to get the Rebels on the board and cut the lead to 2-1.
The Rebels tied things in the sixth when Jordan Henry scored on a single down the left field line from Logan Power. Henry singled to open the inning before moving to second on a wild pitch. He then advanced to third on a sac bunt from Fuller Smith before scoring on the Power hit.
Ole Miss took the lead in the seventh when Brett Basham came up with a bases loaded sac fly to center field, scoring a pinch running Michael Hubbard from third. Michael Guerrero was hit by a pitch to open the inning before being run for by Hubbard. Miller then singled before a pinch-hitting Tim Ferguson laid down a sac bunt that saw all runners advance safely as the throw to third was late. Auburn then went to the bullpen for Evan Crawford.
Crawford balked twice with Jordan Henry’s at bat to push Miller across the plate and move Ferguson to third. Henry then drew a walk before a Fuller Smith single scored Ferguson and moved Henry to third, leaving runners at the corners with one out. Auburn again went to the bullpen and the arm of Bryan Woodall.
Woodall and the Tigers got out of the inning with two outs as Henry got caught in a run down and Smith got thrown out trying to advance. The damage was done, however, as the 5-2 lead held up for the final margin of victory.
The Rebels will return to action on Thursday in the final series of the regular season as Ole Miss will travel to take on Kentucky. First pitch is set for 5:30 p.m. CDT and will be televised by the Big Blue Network and Fox Sports Net in Mississippi.
Georgia Baseball Wins the SEC Title
NASHVILLE, TENN. -- Eighth-ranked Georgia captured the 2008 Southeastern Conference title with a 12-10 win over 16th-ranked Vanderbilt Sunday at Hawkins Field.
It was the Bulldogs sixth overall SEC title in school history (1933, 1953, 1954, 2001, 2004, 2008), the third this decade including the second under head coach David Perno.
The Bulldog won the series over the defending SEC champion Commodores who took game one Friday to trim Georgia’s SEC lead to two games. However, the Bulldogs stormed back to win the series, marking the third time this year they have dropped game one of an SEC road series only to come back and win it. The Bulldogs (33-17-1, 19-7-1 SEC) close out the SEC regular season Thursday with Alabama coming to Foley Field for a three-game series. Georgia owns a four-game lead in the SEC over Vanderbilt and LSU as Sunday’s win clinched the 2008 crown.
In the second inning, Georgia batted around to build a 6-0 lead taking advantage of a leadoff error by third baseman Pedro Alvarez. The Bulldogs pushed across the first run on a fielder’s choice by Matt Cerione and then junior second baseman Miles Starr delivered a two-run double. Senior Ryan Peisel followed with an RBI-single to make it 4-0. Senior Matt Olson smacked a double as Peisel went to third. Gordon Beckham’s sacrifice fly scored Peisel and Olson would score on an RBI-double off the wall in left field by Rich Poythress. However, the Commodores (37-15. 15-11 SEC) responded with four runs in their half of the second highlighted by a two-run home run by Dominic de la Osa.
In the third, freshman Lyle Allen blooped a single to start the frame. He notched his first career stolen base and with one out, Cerione smashed his fourth home run of the year, a two-run shot that gave the Bulldogs an 8-4 lead. In the sixth following a one-out single by Peisel, Vanderbilt lifted Nick Christiani and turned to Taylor Hill. Olson greeted him with a three-run home run to extend Georgia’s lead to 11-4. Christiani surrendered 10 runs on 12 hits in 5.1 innings with no walks and six strikeouts. The teams exchanged runs in the seventh as Cerione collected his career-high fourth RBI while Alvarez tripled and scored to make it 12-5. In the eighth, Vanderbilt closed the gap to 12-7 on a two-out, two-run single by David Macias off freshman Justin Grimm. At that point, the Bulldogs turned to sophomore Dean Weaver and de la Osa lined an RBI-double down the left field line to make it 12-8. Alvarez followed with a run-scoring single to right to close the gap to 12-9.
In the ninth, Georgia brought in senior All-America closer Joshua Fields who recorded his 15th save of the year, tying the school record also held by Alex Barylak (1993). Fields owns the SEC record with 38 career saves. Vanderbilt did not go quietly, scratching for a run on one hit but then Fields struck out Brad French for the final out and the Bulldogs were 2008 SEC Champions.
“I am really proud of the team, they have played one of the nation’s toughest schedules and battled throughout the SEC season at home and on the road,” said Georgia coach David Perno. “We pitched well, played great defense and swung the bats extremely well today. Nathan (Moreau) came through with another big start and we got contributions from everybody in the lineup and off the bench. It was a lot of fun today even with my emotions up and down throughout the game.”
Moreau got the win to improve to 3-2 while Christiana got the loss to fall to 5-3. Moreau gave the Bulldogs six innings, scattering four runs on nine hits with a walk and four strikeouts.
Georgia will be back in action Tuesday at Turner Field in Atlanta against Georgia Tech. The sixth annual “Spring Baseball Classic For Kids” game between the Bulldogs and the Yellow Jackets will begin at 7:06 p.m. and be televised by SportSouth. The Bulldogs hold a 4-1 edge in the series played at the home of the Atlanta Braves and serves as a fundraiser for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and its Brain and Spinal Cord Tumor Program.
Wilkes, McClendon Pace No. 22 UK to Sweep at UT, 20-5
KNOXVILLE -- Behind 20 runs – including 13 runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings – the No. 22 Kentucky Wildcats notched its first series sweep over the Tennessee Volunteers in Knoxville in 20 years, handing UT a 20-5 loss on a windy Sunday afternoon at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Kentucky (38-14, 14-13 Southeastern Conference) got its first sweep over the Vols in Knoxville since 1988, utilizing monster days at the plate from Chris McClendon and Ryan Wilkes. Wilkes finished the game 3-for-4 with a club-high four RBI, including his ninth home run of the season. McClendon reached base safely each of his first five plate appearances, with doubles in three consecutive at bats. The junior third baseman finished 4-for-5 with three RBI.
The sweep is UK’s second SEC sweep of the year, as UK opened the conference season with a sweep of Alabama at Cliff Hagan Stadium.
During UK’s 4-0 week, Wilkes hit .476 (10-for-21) with eight runs scored, one double, three homers and 12 RBI, laying down one sacrifice bunt. On the year, Wilkes is batting .380 with 11 doubles, one triple, nine homers and 34 RBI. Brian Spear and Keenan Wiley each contributed multi-hit games as every Wildcat starter tallied a hit. UK finished with 16 hits and an SEC game-high 20 runs, getting home runs from Wilkes, Sawyer Carroll and Chris Wade. Spear finished with three RBI on a 2-for-4 day at the dish.
Carroll and Cowgill, UK’s two National Player of the Year candidates, had excellent days at the plate as well, as Cowgill reached base safely 6-of-6 times, going 1-for-3 with three walks, reaching on an error and a fielder’s choice. Carroll hit his 14th homer of the season, finishing 1-for-2 with three runs scored and three RBI. Both starters in the game lasted only seven outs before the bullpen was called upon. Greg Dombrowski, UK’s three-year Sunday starter and all-time career record holder for winning percentage, lasted 2.1 innings, allowing seven hits, five runs – four earned – striking out one. Andrew Albers pitched brilliant in relief of Dombrowski tossing 5.2 innings shut-out innings, allowing four hits and striking out eight. Brock Baber closed out the game, working a hitless ninth inning.
Tennessee (25-27, 11-16 SEC) starter Zan Stone worked 2.1 innings, allowing two hits and one run. The Vols then turned to DH Jeff Lockwood, who lasted only 0.1 innings, allowing three hits, two runs and walking one. Ty’Relle Harris followed Lockwood in the pen, working 1.1 innings, allowing three hits and five runs, walking two and striking out one. Steve Crnkovich worked one inning, allowing three hits and five runs. Ryne Simpson worked 1.1 innings, allowing three hits and five runs, walking two and striking out one. D.J. Leffler finished off the game for UT, going 2.2 innings and allowing two hits and two runs, walking three and striking out two.
Kentucky returns to action with a rare Monday game, its final non-conference game of the season with Murray State in Paducah, Ky. First pitch at Brooks Stadium Monday is slated for 7 p.m. ET. Fans can catch the action live on the Big Blue Sports Network (radio), with the Voice of UK Baseball, Neil Price calling the game. In Lexington, the game can be found on WLAP 630-AM and in Louisville on WKJK 1080-AM.
Tennessee struck first in the second inning, getting an unearned run to take a 1-0 lead. After Dombrowski got the first out, Danny Lima hit a high hopper at McClendon at third base, who quickly fielded the ball and fired an off-balance throw that got by Spear at first base, scooting into right field and allowing Lima to move to third. Dombrowski plunked Tanner Moore with just Dombrowski’s second hit-by-pitch of the year, setting up the double play. Dombrowski induced the double play ground ball, but in the exchange from Wade at shortstop and Wilkes at second, Wilkes could not get the ball cleanly out of his glove, keeping UT out of the double play and allowing Lima to score the first run of the game.
The Wildcats immediately answered with three runs in the third inning, taking a 3-1 lead. After Tyler Howe grounded out to lead off, Marcus Nidiffer ripped a single into left field, moving to second on a wild pitch and to third on a groundout. McClendon scored Nidiffer with his second double in as many at bats – his eighth of the year. Carroll got hit by a pitch and Cowgill scored McClendon with an RBI single deep into the hole. Wilkes continued his hot-hitting week, scoring Carroll with an RBI single into left field.
UT took a lead with a four run, six hit inning in the third. P.J. Polk singled through the left side to lead off and after Kentrail Davis struck out, Lockwood doubled Polk home, with a two-bagger hit to centerfield. Cody Brown connected on his eighth home run of the season, getting a ball up in the win in left field, soaring over the bleachers. Shawn Griffin doubled into centerfield and Lima scored Griffin with a single up the middle, making it 5-3 UT.
Kentucky immediately answered with five runs in the fourth inning, taking an 8-5 lead. Howe led off the frame with a walk and Nidiffer reached on a fielding error charged to Brown, UT’s third baseman. After a Wiley sacrifice, McClendon ripped his third double in as many at bats, scoring Howe. Carroll, hitting from the left side, ripped an opposite field jack into the seats in left field, a three-run homer, his 14th of the year. Cowgill drew his team-best 40th walk of the season, moving to third on Wilkes second hit of the game, a single through the right side. Spear scored Cowgill with a fielder’s choice, hit hard up the middle.
UK continued to pile it on in the fifth inning, plating five runs on three hits, to take a commanding 13-5 lead. Howe led off by getting hit by his NCAA-leading 26th pitch of the season. Nidiffer laid down a sacrifice and Wiley scored him with a triple off the wall in left-centerfield, his second three-bagger of the year. McClendon continued to be perfect at the plate, ripping a single up the middle to score Wiley. Carroll got hit by his second pitch of the game and Cowgill drew his second consecutive walk. Wilkes hit into an RBI fielders choice and Spear scored two with a double into the left-centerfield gap, making it 13-5 Wildcats.
The Wildcats again put up five runs in the seventh extending its lead to 18-5, as McClendon reached base for the fifth time in as many attempts, drawing his first walk in the game. Carroll followed with a walk of his own, out at second base after Cowgill hit into a fielders choice. On the attempted double play turn from Lima at second, the ball sailed past Gomes at first, allowing McClendon to scored from second on the error. Wilkes continued to swing the blistering bat, ripping his third homer of the week and his ninth of the year, a two-run shot to the opposite field. After Spear singled, Wade ripped his fifth homer of the year, a bomb hit to the same spot Wilkes did, the left-centerfield alley.
UK added two runs in the ninth, as Spear led off with a walk , scoring on Howe’s double, with Howe plating after Wiley ripped an RBI single up the middle.
Late-Inning Rally Lifts Tide past No. 22 Florida, 8-7
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Alabama scored six runs in the final two innings, capped by senior Matt Bentley's sacrifice fly that scored junior Jeff Texada from second base to give the Crimson Tide an improbable 8-7 come-from-behind win over No. 22 Florida at Sewell-Thomas Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The ninth inning was the last inning to be played as the game had a Southeastern Conference-mandated 4:15 p.m. curfew due to Florida's travel plans. No new inning could start after the 4:15 p.m. deadline and the game ended at 4:20 p.m. as Texada slid across the plate with the winning run.
Alabama improves to 30-22 overall and 14-13 in SEC. Florida drops to 30-20 overall and 14-13 in league play. Alabama, Florida, Kentucky and Ole Miss are all tied for fourth place in the latest SEC standings.
Alabama trailed 7-2 with two outs in the eighth inning, but scored five runs to tie the game to set up the eventful ninth inning.
Florida reliever Clint Franklin hit junior Alex Avila with one out to put the potential winning run at first base. Alabama head coach Jim Wells inserted Texada as a pinch-runner and sophomore Brandon May followed with a base hit to center field, his fourth hit of the game.
Bentley strolled to plate and cranked a 0-2 pitch to deep right field for what appeared to be a game-winning three run home, but UF right fielder Riley Cooper, who stands 6-5 and plays wide receiver on the Gators football team, made a leaping catch over the wall to rob Bentley of the potential game-winning hit.
Texada tagged up at second base and was waived home by third base coach Dax Norris. The throw into the infield missed the cut-off man and Texada slid into home just ahead of the throw from first baseman Jon Townsend to score the winning run.
"I was waving him the whole time," said third-base coach Dax Norris. "I read the ball and saw it get away. That was our only chance. They missed the cut-off man. I was waving Texada the whole way. He thought I was going to stop him. Like I learned from coach Wells, be aggressive, make them throw you out. Especially in that situation with a curfew and two outs, make them throw you out. But I read the throw, which was a bad throw."
"That was a great call by Dax," Wells said. "He needs to be sent (home), curfew or no curfew. But with the curfew, definitely."
"I was just going to tag and advance to the next bag, that's all I thought," Texada said. "I didn't see anything (in the field). I saw Dax waving me and I was questioning why. I thought he had hit the cut man, but I went with (the decision by) Dax and tried to get home as fast as I could."
Austin Graham (5-1), the fourth Alabama pitcher in the game, earned the win with 3 2/3 innings of relief. He allowed one run and three hits and struck out three batters.
Clint Franklin (3-3), the fifth Florida pitcher used by Coach Kevin O'Sullivan, was tagged with the loss. He allowed one run and one hit in two-thirds of an inning.
It was Alabama's second walk-off win of the weekend. On Friday, sophomore Del Howell stroked a two-run double over Riley's head in right field to score freshman Josh Rutledge and Avila for the win.
Alabama trailed by five runs with two outs in the eighth inning before staging the improbable comeback. Avila started the eighth inning rally with a one-out walk, but was erased when May reached on a fielder's choice for the second out of the inning.
Florida then brought in right-hander Tommy Toledo, who promptly gave up a three-run home run to junior Kent Matthes as the Tide closed the gap to 7-5. It was Matthes' 10th home run of the season.
Sophomore Del Howell, the hero in the series opener, and sophomore Jake Smith, followed with back-to-back singles to bring junior Tyler Odle to plate with two outs. Odle the stroked a 2-1 pitch over the head of center fielder Matt den Dekker for a two-run triple that scored Howell and Smith to tie the game at 7-7. Freshman Josh Rutledge, who went 0 for 4 to snap his 28-game hitting streak, grounded out to end the inning, leaving Odle at third.
Florida scored single runs in each of the first three innings to take a 3-0 lead over Alabama.
In the first, left fielder Avery Barnes ripped the first pitch of the game to left field for a leadoff double and scored three pitches later on den Dekker's single up the middle to put the Gators in front 1-0.
In the second inning, third baseman Josh Adams reached on a lead off single, moved to second on a wild pitch and scored on Cooper's one-out double down the left field line.
The Gators added another run in the third inning when shortstop Cole Figueroa tripled to right center with one out and scored on Brandon McArthur's ground out to second base to give UF a 3-0 lead.
Alabama got back in the game by scoring two runs on four in the bottom of the fourth inning to cut the lead to 3-2. Freshman Ross Wilson started the inning with a base hit to right field to break up the no-hitter. After Avila flied out to center, May and Bentley followed with base hits to load the bases with one out.
Matthes then lined a single to center to score Wilson and cut the lead to 3-1. After Howell struck out with the bases loaded, UF catcher Buddy Munroe was charged with a passed ball as May scored from third base to cut the deficit to 3-2. Smith flied out to center to end the inning, stranding the tying and go-ahead runs on base.
Florida quickly answered with a pair of home runs in the fifth inning to stretch its lead to 6-2. McArthur launched a two-run home run off lefty Will Stroup and Bryson Barber added a solo blast off Josh Copeland as the Gators took a four-run lead. McArthur's home run was his first of the season, while Barber hit his fourth home run.
Cole Figueroa led off the seventh inning with his seventh home run of the year as Florida stretched its lead to 7-2 before the Tide put together an impressive come-from-behind win.
Alabama returns to action next weekend when the Crimson Tide travels to Athens, Ga., to take on the Georgia Bulldogs in the final regular-season series of the 2008 season. Alabama and Georgia open their three-game set on Thursday, May 15 at 6:30 p.m. (EDT). The two teams will also play Friday, May 16 at 6:30 p.m. (EDT) and Saturday, May 17 at 2 p.m. (EDT).
LSU DEFEATS MISSISSIPPI STATE, 9-6; TIGERS EARN 12th STRAIGHT VICTORY
BATON ROUGE, La. -- Before the largest paid attendance in Alex Box Stadium history, No. 22 LSU beat Mississippi State, 9-6, Sunday and swept the weekend series in the final regular season contest at the historic ballpark.
After the victory, over 100 former LSU players spanning seven decades of baseball in Alex Box Stadium joined current players, coaches, fans and LSU Athletics Director and legendary Tiger baseball coach Skip Bertman to commemorate 70 years in “The Box.”
The Tigers (35-16-1, 15-11-1 SEC), winners of 12 consecutive games, swept their third straight SEC series for the first time since the 1991 national championship season. Mississippi State dropped to 20-32 and 7-20 in the SEC.
LSU is in first place in the SEC Western Division, 1.5 games ahead of Alabama and Ole Miss. The Tigers’ 12-game win streak is the longest by an LSU squad since the 2000 club won 13 in a row at the end of its national championship season.
“We are going to enjoy this victory and celebration for another four or five hours,” LSU coach Paul Mainieri said. “Then, we’ll start thinking about UNO on Tuesday and Auburn on the weekend. We are going to get ourselves refocused and put winning streaks and playoffs out of our minds for now.
“I’m going to get the guys back into a good frame of mind to compete and continue to take the fight to the teams we play. I’m so proud of what our players have accomplished to this point, and we’re looking forward to continuing”
Senior right-hander Jared Bradford (9-4) notched the victory Sunday, giving up four earned runs on 10 hits in six innings and striking out seven. MSU’s Justin Pigott (2-3) was charged with the loss as the left-hander allowed six runs (three earned) on six hits in five innings pitched.
Shortstop DJ LeMahieu and left fielder Blake Dean paced the Tigers at the plate. LeMahieu finished with two hits and two RBI, and Dean collected a pair of hits, including his 12th home run of the season.
A two-run homer by MSU’s Ryan Duffy in the first inning propelled the Bulldogs to an early 2-0 lead.
The Tigers countered with a run in the second to reduce the deficit to 2-1, as Dean launched a solo shot over the right field wall.
LSU took the lead with a two-run third. Derek Helenihi drove in a run on a ground ball to short and advanced Ryan Schimpf to third. With Dean batting, Pigott threw a wild pitch to score Schimpf, and the Tigers led, 3-2.
The Bulldogs tied it up at 3-3 in the fourth. With a man on third, Andy Rice knocked in a run on an infield hit. However, in the bottom of the frame, LeMahieu ripped an RBI single through the right side, and LSU regained the lead, 4-3.
The Tigers extended their lead to 6-3, notching two more runs in the fifth. Leon Landry led off the frame with a double and later scored when left fielder Nick Hardy committed an error on a pop fly by Dean. In the next at-bat, Micah Gibbs lined a base hit up the middle to drive in the second run of the frame.
After Mississippi State recorded a run in the sixth, LSU returned the favor in the bottom of the inning, scoring a run to take a 7-4 advantage. With two outs, Landry reached second on an error, and Michael Hollander drove him in with a two-bagger down the left field line.
The Bulldogs bounced back in the seventh with two runs off on three hits, cutting LSU’s lead to only one run, 7-6.
LSU struck back in the bottom of the seventh. After consecutive singles by Helenihi and Dean, MSU reliever John Lalor threw a wild pitch, allowing Helenihi to cross the plate. LeMahieu followed two batters later with a sacrifice fly to bring in Dean from third, and the Tigers regained a three-run advantage, 9-6.
Freshman Daniel Bradshaw hurled 2.2 scoreless innings to record his fourth save and preserve the victory.
LSU will play the University of New Orleans at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Metairie, La. (Zephyr Field) before concluding the regular season with a three-game set at Auburn beginning on Thursday.