BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — After scoring 34 runs in their first three Southeastern Conference tournament games, LSU was limited to four hits by Mississippi State pitchers Paul Maholm and Chris Young as the Bulldogs won the tournament championship with a 4-1 victory Sunday afternoon at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium.
The championship was Bulldogs’ fifth, but first since 1990, and denied LSU a repeat championship. The loss also ended LSU’s 16game post-season winning streak that dated back to the start of last year’s SEC Tournament.
LSU (40-19-1), which finished as SEC Tournament runners-up for the fifth time, will find out who its first-round opponent in the NCAA Regional at Alex Box Stadium on Monday at 2 p.m., when the 64-team field for the tournament is announced live on ESPN. LSU will play the first game of the regional on Friday at 2 p.m., with the second first-round game to follow at 7 p.m.
After outscoring their opponents 18-0 in the first two innings of the first three games of the tournament, State (36-22) turned the tables and scored three runs in the bottom of the first.
LSU starting pitcher Shane Youman (3-2) gave up a leadoff walk to Michael Brown, and after Brown stole second, Enrico Jones’ single put runners on the corners. Jason Burkley followed with a single up the middle to score Brown, and Jones would come hom another base hit by Josh West. Youman avoided any further damage by inducing Matthew Brinson to ground into a double play and retiring Steve Gendron on a line drive to center.
LSU got its only run in the third, as David Raymer and Ryant Theriot drew back-to-back walks with one out, then Pontiff singled home Raymer. But the rest of the inning came up empty as Theriot made a baserunning mistake on Mike Fontenot’s fly ball and was doubled off of second.
The Bulldogs got the run back in the bottom of the fourth as Matthew Maniscalco led off with a single before stealing second and scoring on a two-out hit by Brown.
Other than the third inning, LSU could only get two baserunners past first base on the day. Maholm, who won the Bulldogs’ tournament opener against South Carolina on Wednesday, allowed one run over 3 2/3 innings before giving way to Young, who worked a career-high 5 1/3 innings and allowed just three hits and struck out five to improve to 5-1.