BATON ROUGE — For the first time in Skip Bertman‘s tenure, the LSU baseball team lost a season opener in Alex Box Stadium, 9-8, in the first game of a doubleheader with Kansas State on Saturday afternoon in Baton Rouge.
It was also the first loss in a home opener since 1982.
With LSU trailing by one run and Johnnie Thibodeaux on first with one out in the ninth, LSU junior first baseman Zeph Zinsman thought he had received ball four from struggling Wildcat hurler Kelvin Day. When Zinsman began to walk to first, Thibodeaux also left the bag for second base. However, the pitch was only ball three and Thibodeaux was tagged out in a run-down for the second out.
Zinsman walked on the next pitch and was pinch run for by injured Tiger sophomore Mike Fontenot. Chris Phillips then grounded out to third, ending the game.
LSU (0-1) managed only two hits over the final 3 1/3 innings after coming back from a 9-1 deficit with five runs in the bottom of the sixth. Kansas State improved to 3-0 on the season in front of 7,467 at Alex Box.
LSU’s Tim Nugent, the fourth of five Tiger hurlers, pitched 5 1/3 innings of relief and allowed only one run on six hits while striking out six Wildcats and walking one.
Kansas State opened the game with a pair of runs off of Tiger starter Jason Scobie (0-1) in the top of the first inning, as leading hitter Osmar Castillo reached on an infield single to leadoff before Kasey Weishaar doubled to right. With two outs, designated hitter Josh Cavender hit a two-RBI single to give the Wildcats the early lead.
LSU struck back with a two-out run of its own in the bottom half of the first. Ryan Theriot walked to leadoff and advanced to third on a single by Wally Pontiff. After Todd Linden’s fielder’s choice put runners on first and third, freshman second baseman Aaron Hill hit an RBI single to left, scoring Theriot from third and cutting the lead to 2-1.
The game would go scoreless until the top of the fourth, when the Wildcats benefited from three hit and four walks off four Tiger pitchers. Scobie was chased from the game after Nick Scelfo hit a one-out single and Castillo and Weishaar walked. With the bases loaded, freshman Brian Wilson came in relief of Scobie and walked in two batters to give Kansas State a 4-1 lead.
Wilson was relieved by junior college transfer Justin Hill. Hill hit Pat Maloney to drive in the Wildcats’ fifth run before giving up a two-run double to Cavender. Trailing 7-1, senior Tim Nugent came in to pitch. Nugent allowed an RBI single to Loudabarger before ending the inning with a fielder’s choice.
After the Tigers went down in order in the bottom of the fourth, Kansas State scored another run off of Nugent. A walk to Castillo was followed by a one-out single by Weishaar to put runners on first and third. Mark English grounded out to Nugent for the second out, however, Maloney hit an infield single to score Castillo and put the Wildcats up 9-1.
The Tigers finally solved Kansas State starter Chad Duckers (1-0) in the bottom of the fifth, as LSU put two runs on the board a began to rattle the junior lefthander.
After Billy McBride grounded out to start the inning, Theriot singled to left center and Ray Wright hit and infield single to third. Kansas State third baseman Lucas Pfannenstiel’s throw to first went into right field and allowed Theriot and Wright to move to second and third. A passed ball on Scelfo allowed Theriot to score and Wright to advance to third. Wright scored when Pontiff grounded out to first, cutting the lead to 9-3.
Nugent retired the side in order in the top of the sixth, and the Tiger bats came alive in the bottom of the frame.
LSU drove Duckers to the showers with three singles by Aaron Hill, senior Johnnie Thibodeaux and junior transfer catcher Chris Phillips. Leading 9-4, Duckers was relieved by righthander James Brazeal. Duckers pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowing eight hits, six runs (four earned), while walking two and striking out two.
Brazeal got Tiger pinch hitter David Raymer to ground out to first, moving Thibodeaux to third and Phillips to second with two outs. Theriot then hit a two-RBI single, scoring Thibodeaux and Phillips and cutting the lead to 9-6. Brazeal walked Wright and was relieved by senior lefthander Scott Tallman.
Tallman allowed an RBI single to Pontiff which scored Theriot, and then hit Todd Linden to load the bases for Aaron Hill. Hill’s hard grounder to third was mishandled by Pfannenstiel, allowing Wright to score and cutting the lead to one, 9-8.
Phillips earned the Tigers’ first extra-base hit with a one-out double in the seventh. However, he was stranded a third when reliever Todd Lundwall forced Theriot to fly out and end the inning.
Nugent continued to roll in the top of the eight and Lundwall was relieved by lefthander Kelvin Day (S, 1) to being the bottom of the eight. Day benefited from a 1-6-3 double play to end a Tiger threat and send the game into the ninth inning with a one-run lead.
After recording the first two outs of the ninth, Nugent was relieved by closer Weylin Guidry, who gave up an infield single to Weishaar before forcing English to fly out to left to end the inning.
LSU and Kansas State will play game two of the doubleheader beginning at 4:25 p.m.