HOUSTON — LSU’s defense collapsed in the bottom of the ninth, as three Fighting Tiger errors led to three Houston runs as the Cougars (6-4) nudged LSU (8-3), 12-11 in a wild Sunday afternoon game at Cougar Field, giving Houston a 2-1 series victory.
LSU (No. 3 ESPN/USA Today and Collegiate Baseball, No. 5 Baseball America) is off until Friday at 6:30 p.m. when it opens a three-game series with Long Beach St.
Holding an 11-9 lead entering the bottom of the ninth, LSU reliever Brian Wilson retired Thanos Papavasiliou on a ground ball for the first out, then gave up an infield hit to Gabe Lucas and retired Michael Bourn on a fly ball for the second out.
Jesse Crain followed Bourne with a single, and Cole Bruce then hit a ground ball that would have ended the game, but Jason Vargas let the ball go through his legs, allowing Lucas to score to cut the lead to 11-10.
Chris Snyder’s RBI single scored Crain to tie the game at 11-11, then Stuart Musselwhite hit a ground ball to J.C. Holt that would have forced extra innings. But Holt dropped the ball and threw to Wally Pontiff, who had Bruce caught in a rundown. But Pontiff threw the ball to the backstop, scoring Bruce.
The seven errors committed by LSU are one short of a school record set in 1984 against Auburn. LSU gave up six unearned runs in the game and gave up 10 unearned runs on 12 errors in the three-game series.
After scoring five runs in the sixth on Saturday, the Tigers exploded for eight runs on eight singles off of four Houston relievers to overcome a 7-3 deficit.
Blake Gill and Holt started the uprising with back-to-back hits, then Pontiff, whose three-run double gave the Tigers the lead for good on Saturday, brought home Gill with another safety to cut Houston’s lead to 7-4.
Cougar reliever Keith Whatley gave up a hit to Sean Barker that scored Pontiff, but he got the first out of the inning by retiring Pontiff on a force play when Eric Wiethorn failed on a sacrifice bunt attempt.
Whatley was soon in trouble, though, giving up a hit to Matt Heath to load the bases, then walking Dustin Hahn to force in Barker and pare the Houston edge to 7-6.
Bryan Harris came in for Whatley, but Vargas greeted him with a two-run single that put the Tigers ahead 8-7. Darren Welch would foul out to first for the second out, but Gill’s second hit of the inning to loaded the bases and Crain came in from shortstop to replace Harris.
Crain walked Holt to force in another run, and Pontiff posted two more runs with the final hit of the inning, as Barker, who knocked out broke two lights on a pole with a first-inning foul ball, struck out to end the frame.
Houston seemed poised to tie the game in the bottom of the sixth, as the Cougars loaded the bases with one out. But LSU reliever Weylin Guidry came in for Brad David and got Snyder and Musselwhite to fly out to end the threat.
A pair of Rocky Scelfo errorsled to four unearned runs in the second off of LSU starter Clay Harris. Scelfo booted Papavasiliou’s ground ball to start the inning, and Papvasiliou would reach third on a ground out by Gabe Lucas and Bourn’s base hit.
Harris fanned Crain for the second out and got Hyung Cho to hit a ground ball that would have ended the inning, but the ball hit off of Scelfo’s glove, allowing Papavasiliou and Bourn to score and make it 4-1.
Musselwhite then singled home Cho before scoring on Scalise’s double for a 6-1 Houston advantage.
Harris, a true freshman right-hander, was pressed into an emergency start when scheduled starter Jake Tompkins could not go due to a strained oblique muscle. Harris gave up eight hits and six runs, although only the tallies in the first inning were earned.
The teams traded single runs in the fourth, as Holt’s pinch-hit single pulled the Tigers to within 6-2 before Houston got the run back on Cho’s RBI single to score Crain.