FINAL
LSU Tigers - 8
Texas Longhorns - 2
Winning Pitcher: Kade Anderson (5-0)
Losing Pitcher: Jared Spencer (2-1)
Save: Zac Cowan (2)
RECAP
In the Top 1st, LHP Jared Spencer walked two batters, but struck out three as he put up a zero on the board. The biggest issue was that he had to battle and throw 25 pitches in the first inning, setting the tone for the evening.
In the Bottom 1st, the Horns got a 1 out single from Max Belyeu on a soft grounder to the left side, but the LSU lefty, Kade Anderson, got back to back strikeouts to end the frame.
In the Top 2nd, Jared Spencer gave up a lead off single, but nothing more as he racked up his 4th K of the evening. What was notable about the inning was the trend, Texas pitchers letting LSU get the lead on man on base and driving up pitch counts.
In the Bottom 2nd, the Texas hitters were retired in order as Kade Anderson continue to cruise.
In the Top 3rd, Jared Spencer was able to get the lead off guy out, but then gave up a single and hit the next batter, putting two runners on. He battled though getting back to back ground outs to end the scoring threat to keep it 0-0.
In the Bottom 3rd, Will Gasparino led off with bunt base hit to the left side to get the lead off man on. Tommy Farmer then hit a rocket liner to LF (108 off the bat), but unfortunately it had no air and was right to the defender. Ethan Mendoza then struck out, bringing Max Belyeu to the plate. Belyeu hit a hard single to the right side into the shift, but it came off the glove of the 2B defender and he reached safely. Jalin Flores then lifted a weak fly ball to LF that dropped in for an RBI single to give the Horns a 1-0 lead.
In the Top 4th, LSU got the lead off man on via walk, bringing Luis Hernandez to the plate, the former Indiana State Sycamore and teammate of Jared Spencer. On a 1-2 count, Spencer tried to back door a slider, but left it up and Luis took advantage, hitting the slider up into the wind to LF and over the wall for a 2 run HR to put the Tigers ahead 2-0. Jared was able to get out of the inning without any more damage being done, racking up two more strikeouts, but LSU had the lead and the momentum as Spencer's pitch count continued to climb.
In the Bottom 4th, the Horns were again retired in order as Kade Anderson locked them down and put up a zero on the board to keep it 2-1 Tigers.
In the Top 5th, Jared Spencer gave up back to back singles to start the inning. A sac bunt then moved both runners over, putting runners on 2B and 3B with just 1 out. Josh Pearson came to the plate and was able to lift a fly ball to the OF for a sac fly, plating another run for the Tigers to make it 3-1. Luis Hernandez then terrorized Jared Spencer one more time as he hit an RBI single to LF to make it 4-1 Tigers.
In the Bottom 5th, The Horns got a 1 out single from Tommy Farmer, but that was it as Kade Anderson continued to dominate the zone for LSU.
In the Top 6th, Texas went to the pen as Jared Spencer was sitting on 90+ pitches, the most in his career and brought in RHP Andre Duplantier to pitch. Andre put up a zero, but it wasn't the prettiest inning to watch. The first batter flied out to CF and then Dre hit the next batter. Dre was then able to get the second out via a fly out, but immediately walked the next batter, putting two runners on with 2 outs. Thankfully Dre got a strikeout looking for the third out on a 3-2 count to keep it 4-1 Tigers.
In the Bottom 6th, the Horns would strike back, but could only muster a single run. The lead off man Jalin Flores thought he had drawn a walk on a very close pitch at the plate, but the ump said it was a strike and on the next pitch he saw, he hit a grounder to the left side for the 1st out. That brought Rylan Galvan to the plate who got a 2-2 slider that he could handle and as he is adept at doing, hit a deep shot to RF for an oppo taco to make it 4-2 Tigers. Adrian Rodriguez was able to get a single after that, but the Horns failed to do any more damage.
In the Top 7th, Andre Duplantier was back on the mound for the Horns. Unfortunately, the game got away from Texas as LSU was able to put up a 4 spot on the board and take firm control of the game once and for all. Once again, LSU got the lead off man on base on a full count single. Dre got the next batter out via fly out, but then gave up back to back singles, the last of which was an RBI bunt single (safety squeeze) to make it 5-2 Tigers. The next batter then hit an RBI double to make it 6-2 Tigers. After lead off man Derek Curriel struck out, the big bat for LSU, Jared Jones, came through with a 2 run RBI single to make it 8-2 Tigers. Jim Schlossnagle lifted Andre Duplantier and brought in RHP Cody Howard to pitch and he was able to get the Horns out of the rest of the inning without further damage.
In the Bottom 7th, LSU went to the bullpen after starter Kaden Anderson had thrown 101 pitches on the night, 71 for strikes, and turned to RHP Zac Cowan. The highly recruited transfer portalee from Wofford came in and put up a zero on the board. After getting back to back strikeouts, Ethan Mendoza reached base due to an error by the SS, followed by a hard hit single by Max Belyeu, but that was all they could muster.
In top 8th, RHP Cody Howard was back on the bump for Texas. Howard issued a lead off walk to start the inning, but retired the next three batters in order to keep it 8-2 Tigers.
Bottom 8th, the Horns again went down in order as they could not get anything going.
In the Top 9th, Howard gave up a 1 out single, but that was it, bringing the Horns to bat in the Bottom of the 9th looking for a miracle comeback. No miracle was there to be had though as the Horns went down in order.
BIG MOMENT
In the Top 4th, Jared Spencer was facing former Indiana State Luis Hernandez and had him in an 1-2 count. Spencer tried to back door him with a slider, which he had not seen from Spencer yet but it hung up too much over the plate and Luis was able to get under it and hit it to LF in the wind for a 2 run home run, putting LSU ahead, a lead which they would not relinquish.
IMPACT PLAYER
Max Belyeu - nothing sexy about it, but he went 3-4 tonight against a really good pitcher. A pitcher that will likely hear his name called very early in the 2025 MLB Draft. Belyeu has struggled a bit at the plate as of late, so getting him going again and getting his confidence back would be massive for the Horns at the top of the lineup.
TAKEAWAYS
Welcome to big boy SEC baseball. The Tigers are the #2 team in the nation for a reason. The reality is that they are at a different stage as a program. They have won a national championship recently (2023) and have had elite coaches in place for the past few years, whereas Texas is JUST getting things going in year one. Look at the recruiting pipeline, look at the pitching development, and everywhere else. This is an coaching staff and they will be there very soon.
Does it suck? Of course it does, but the fact remains that the Horns are still 3-1 in SEC conference play which has them tied for 3rd place. Even getting a single win this weekend would be outstanding as they continue build upon who they are as a team.
NEXT UP
Horns and Tigers will square off again tomorrow evening at 6pm as they look to even up the series and get back into the win column having lost the last two games.
