BATON ROUGE, La. — For the third time in as many games against Arizona State, LSU fell behind early.
The difference between Sunday’s game and the first two of the series was that the Tigers didn’t have a comeback in them.
Sun Devil ace Jon Switzer saw to that, blanking the Tigers through the first 6 1/3 innings in ASU’s 6-2 win at Alex Box Stadium, handing LSU their first loss of the season.
The fourth-ranked Tigers (6-1) return to action Tuesday night at 7 against McNeese State before hosting eighth-ranked Houston for a three-game series next weekend.
Switzer, a sophomore left-hander from Houston, allowed LSU only three hits and struck out four in improving to 4-0.
The Tigers finally got on the board in the seventh on Jeremy Witten’s home run in the seventh just inside the right field foul pole, then scored in the eighth when Jonah Martin dropped Johnnie Thibodeaux’s fly ball, allowing Cedrick Harris to score.
ASU (12-4) took a 2-0 lead in the second on four consecutive hits. Jeff Phelps singled with one out, then went to third when Billy Brian’s pickoff throw went into the LSU bullpen. Jeff Duncan doubled Phelps home, then Brendan Hines’ single back through the box plated Duncan.
Hines’ two run double to the right-center field gap gave the Sun Devils a 4-0 lead, and two batters later, Hines scored when Blair Barbier threw Dennis Wyrick’s grounder into the Tiger bullpen.
Hines collected his fourth RBI in the eighth with a single.
Other than Witten’s homer, the Tigers’ best threat came in the third, when they loaded the bases with two outs. But Switzer ended the threat by getting Barbier to ground out.