LSU baseball kicked off the weekend against its notorious rivals in dominant fashion. The Tigers took down the Alabama Crimson Tide 8-6.
Paul Skenes, deemed the Friday night guy at the beginning of the season, was once again the first of the weekend to take the rubber. Skenes threw together a strong outing. He went for six innings, and allowed one run on five hits. The Air Force transfer had one error and one wild pitch, but struck out nine and walked none in the 24 batters that he faced. Of the 109 pitches that Skenes threw, 71 of them were strikes.
Griffin Herring, a freshman left-handed pitcher, was called in from the bullpen to relieve Skenes on the mound. Herring pitched for 2.2 innings and allowed four runs on six hits. He walked two and struck out five in the 16 batters that he faced.
Junior Bryce Collins was chosen to close out the game. Collins went just 0.1 innings and allowed one hit. He struck out one but faced only two batters.
LSU’s dominance in this game came from its ability to capitalize on runners more than Alabama was able to. At the plate, the Tigers totaled eight hits. The Tide totalled 12.To kick things off offensively for LSU, fans watched their beloved North Carolina State transfer, Tommy White, back in action with his fourteenth home run of the season.
Center fielder Dylan Crews also contributed to the number on the board for LSU. He had a home run of his own in the bottom of the third inning. It was a three-run bomb that put the Tigers up four runs. The Crimson Tide had yet to collect any runs on the board at all.
Finally, Alabama managed to round in a run in the top of the fourth inning. The Tide’s three-hole, Andrew Pinckney, sent over a solo home run to the Diamond Deck, where LSU fans were hoping it would drop. This was the only run that Alabama would manage to collect until the top of the eighth inning.
The Tide’s biggest hardship was not just overcoming LSU’s bullpen, but even more so overcoming their own. Alabama’s starter, Hagan Banks, allowed four runs on three hits. He walked one and struck out three. Banks threw 52 pitches. Freshman Kade Woods was called in from Alabama’s bullpen for relief. He proved to be no match for the heated Tiger bats, allowing three runs on three hits. Woods pitched for just over two innings.
Aidan Moza was unable to change this pitching narrative as well. He was Alabama’s third on the mound. He pitched for only 0.1 innings but walked in three runs for LSU. In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Tigers had now collected seven runs.
LSU scored yet again in the bottom of the seventh inning with a sacrifice fly sent up by catcher Alex Millazo. This was the last run of the game for the Tigers
It seemed for a bit like a rally was on the rise for Alabama, even in the top of the ninth inning. In the inning before, the Tide was able to squeeze in a run with a single through the left side. The RBI did little damage on the scoreboard but seemed to have a huge effect on the Alabama dugout.
The Tide’s momentum shifted and the bats were a bit more heated the next time they took the plate. Against Herring, and with only one more out needed, Alabama collected three more runs. Finally with Collins, the game came to a close. Though it was a valiant effort, Alabama was still defeated.
The Tigers are on the hunt for their second series sweep of the season. They look to continue that mission in game two of the weekend against the Crimson Tide. The first pitch is set to take place on Saturday at 6:00 p.m.
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