KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — LSU gave up two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to sustain a 2-1 loss to Tennessee in the first game of a Southeastern Conference doubleheader, but rallied behind a season-high 24 hits in scoring 16 unanswered runs in overcoming a 4-0 deficit for a 16-4 victory in the nightcap to earn the split Saturday night at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
The Fighting Tigers (32-16, 13-9) and Volunteers (24-24, 9-14) wrap up their three game series with the rubber match Sunday at 1 p.m. CDT. The game will be televised live by the Jumbo Sports Network in Louisiana (WGMB-Fox 44 in Baton Rouge) and on Comcast Sports Southeast in other SEC markets.
Combined with losses by Alabama (8-7 to Georgia in 11 innings) and Ole Miss (6-4 to South Carolina), the Tigers moved into second place in the SEC West, one-half game ahead of the Rebels and just 2 1/2 behind Alabama for the overall SEC lead.
LSU’s only runs in the first six innings of the second game came on solo home runs by Eric Wiethorn in the fourth and Aaron Hill in the fifth before the Tigers finally busted loose in the seventh.
Hill drew a leadoff walk against UT starter Jeffrey Terrell, and two batters later, the game was tied when Barker blasted his second home run of the doubleheader well over the left field fence. Terrell would strike out Wiethorn for the second out, but gave up a double to Matt Heath and was replaced by Joey Andrews.
Andrews intentionally walked pinch hitter Blake Gill, then gave up an RBI single back through the box by Chris Phillips that put the Tigers ahead for good.
Pinch hitters David Raymer and J.C. Holt would then drive in three more runs with back-to-back hits, with Holt’s two-run single making it 8-4.
The Tigers would repeat the six-run inning with another six pack in the eighth, as Wally Pontiff’s base hit started the run scoring, followed by RBI doubles from Heath and Dustin Hahn, and ending again with another base hit by Holt.
Barker would end the game with three doubles, tying an LSU school record previously done by 15 other Tigers and most recently by Bryan Moore last year at Arizona State. The Tigers’ 24 hits are the most since they also had 24 last year against Duquesne.
The Vols carried over their momentum from the first game rally into the first inning of the second game, taking a 4-0 lead in the first off of LSU starter Brian Wilson.
Nick Crowe led off with a triple against Wilson, and then an infield hit by Jordan Czarniecki scored the game’s first run. Two batters later, Ryan Moffett walked, and Brandon Hopkins’ RBI single scored Czarniecki to make it 2-0, and Matt Sternberg’s two-run single followed to give the Vols a comfortable lead, but it would be their final runs of the game off of Wilson.
New Hampshire native Wilson would settle down from there, striking out a career high 11 over eight innings to improve to 3-1 on the year. Wilson has struck out 27 batters over his last three starts totaling 22 2/3 innings.
The Vols’ Terrell took the loss in the second game to drop to 4-7, striking out 10 but giving up 10 hits over 6 2/3 innings.
In the first game, Tennessee could muster just one hit through the first 7 2/3 innings off of LSU left-hander Lane Mestepey, but took the game away when Czarniecki lined a two-run single to right field to give the Vols their only runs of the contest.
With two outs in the eighth, Hunter Rigsby hit a comebacker that died just in front of the mound, and Mestepey slipped as he threw, pulling Jason Columbus off the bag and leaving Rigsby safe with an infield hit. Nick Crowe followed with a base hit to right field, and as the throw from the outfield went into third, Crowe took second to give UT two runners in scoring position.
Mestepey then had Czarniecki down 0-2, but the Vols’ freshman center fielder lined a base hit to right filed to plate both runners and hand Mestepey his first loss since March 16 against Vanderbilt.
Tennessee got a command pitching performance of its own from sophomore southpaw Ben Riley, who gave up just four hits over 8 1/3 innings to improve to 5-2.
The Vols had to survive some anxious moments in the ninth, as Riley gave up a single to Hill before Terrell relieved him and gave up a single to Sean Barker and walked Wiethorn to load the bases. But Matt Heath tapped back to Terrell, who started a 1-2-3 double play to end the game and notch his sixth save.
The only run of the game through the first 7 1/2 innings came when Barker homered to right in seventh to score the game’s first run.
LSU had only one baserunner through the first five innings, and that came when Czarniecki dropped Jon Zeringue’s routine fly ball. The Tigers got hits from Chris Phillips and Rocky Scelfo in the sixth, but Barker’s homer represented the only time LSU could get a run across.
Matt Sternberg got Tennessee’s first hit in the bottom of the fifth, and the Vols could get only runner to second base until the rally off of Mestepey, who shut out Arkansas eight days ago on four hits and was bidding to become the second LSU pitcher to throw back-to-back complete game shutouts. Mike Sirotka is the only Tiger to accomplish the feat, blanking Ole Miss and Arkansas in 1993.