BATON ROUGE — No. 11 Kentucky plated two runs in the top of the eighth inning and before a 2 p.m. time limit took effect as the Wildcats and LSU ended in a 9-9 tie after eight innings on Sunday at Alex Box Stadium.
The game was stopped after eight innings due to Southeastern Conference travel regulations. No new inning was to start after 2 p.m. Kentucky was scheduled to leave for a return flight to Lexington out of New Orleans.
The Wildcats (23-2-1, 3-2-1 SEC) had already secured the series with a 16-2 victory Friday and a dramatic 6-5 win Saturday.
The Tigers (14-11-1, 1-4-1) suffered a heartbreaking ending for the second straight day. LSU looked to have won in dramatic fashion on Saturday when first baseman Sean Ochinko belted what would have been a walk-off, two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth. However, Ochinko’s shot down the left field line was later ruled a foul ball.
LSU plays host to UNO at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in Alex Box Stadium. Live audio and streaming video are available in the Geaux Zone on www.LSUsports.net.
On Sunday, the Tigers took a 9-7 lead into the final frame and were one out away from salvaging the series finale before another bizarre ending occurred.
LSU right-hander Louis Coleman entered the game to start the eighth in relief of sophomore Nolan Cain, who worked a 1-2-3 seventh. Coleman fell into trouble when left fielder Jason Kipnis doubled to leadoff the frame.
Coleman then induced two groundouts and needed just one more out. However, right fielder Mike Brown pulled the Wildcats to within a run with an RBI single up the middle.
First baseman Sawyer Carroll followed with a single to center and Brown advanced to third when centerfielder Jared Mitchell’s throw sailed pass the cut-off man in between the pitcher’s mound and second base. First baseman Seab Ochinko fell down attempting to field the ball, and Brown slid in under Coleman’s tag at home on a throw from catcher Robert Lara less than five minutes before the clock struck 2 p.m.
LSU was previously 14-0 when leading after seven innings this season.
Coleman did manage to work his way out of the inning, but the Tigers failed to score a run in the bottom of the eighth off of reliever Duran Ferguson, who retired all six batters he faced in his two innings of work.
“I’ve never seen a game end like this one did either,” said LSU head coach Paul Mainieri. “We’re just throwing the ball into the infield and the ball goes into no-man’s land. It’s been a very frustrating weekend.”
LSU had not been involved in a tie since its 2003 SEC home opener versus Florida. The series finale of that contest resulted in an 8-8 tie also due to travel regulations.
LSU second baseman Chris McGhee picked up where he left off on Saturday with three more hits and two runs. Ochinko finished 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBI. Right fielder Steven Waguespack keyed a six-run sixth inning with a three-run homer.
“Obviously, there were a lot of things that went wrong for us this weekend, but there were also some positive things,” said Mainieri. “We could have easily won two out of three ballgames and it didn’t happen for a lot of reasons. We weren’t good enough to overcome some of the bad breaks.”
UK scored five runs in the third to build a 5-1 lead on the Tigers and starter T.J. Forrest. Catcher Sean Coughlin provided a two-run homer, and Kipnis added a two-run triple to center field.
The Wildcats maintained the advantage with a solo homer by third baseman Matt McKinney to start the fifth. UK took a 7-3 lead into the bottom of the seventh before LSU responded with a six-run rally.
Lara singled up the middle, and shortstop Michael Hollander laid down a perfect bunt for a hit. McGhee then beat out an infield single to shortstop, loading the bases with no outs. Left fielder Ryan Schimpf connected on an RBI sacrifice fly, and Ochinko cut the deficit to 7-6 with a two-run single up the middle.
Two batters later, Waguespack hammered a two-out, three-run opposite field homer over the left field wall off of Tyler Henry to give LSU a 9-7 lead. It was Waguespack’s career-high fourth blast of the year and marked the Tigers’ sixth straight game with a homer.
Cain was impressive in the seventh with a perfect inning of work before the drama unfolded in the eighth.
Forrest worked three innings, allowing five runs — four earned — on six hits. He walked two and struck out two on 66 pitches.
UK starter Greg Dombrowski tossed four innings, scattering six hits and allowing three runs while walking none and striking out three.
Kentucky 9, LSU 9 (Mar 25, 2007 at Baton Rouge, La.)
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Kentucky………… 005 011 02 – 9 12 1 (23-2-1, 3-2-1 SEC)
LSU………………. 100 206 00 – 9 12 3 (14-11-1, 1-4-1 SEC)
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Pitchers: Kentucky – Greg Dombrowski; James Paxton(5); Tyler Henry(6); Duran Ferguson(7).
LSU – T.J. Forrest; Matt Jackson(4); Kyle Beerbohm(5); Nolan Cain(7); Louis Coleman(8).
T-3:08 A-7034
HR UK – Sean Coughlin (5); Matt McKinney (2).
HR LSU – Steven Waguespack (4).
Actual attendance: 2,348
Game stopped after eight innings due to SEC travel regulations.
G. Dombrowski faced 1 batter in the 5th.
LSU Baseball Report ? March 26, 2007
Overall Record: 14-11-1
SEC Record: 1-4-1
Last Week: 1-2-1
March 21 ? SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA (W, 5-3)
March 23 ? # 11 KENTUCKY (L, 2-16)
March 24 ? # 11 KENTUCKY (L, 5-6)
March 25 ? # 11 KENTUCKY (T, 9-9)
Notes on the Tigers
LSU second baseman Chris McGhee paced the Tigers’ offense in the series versus Kentucky, batting .462 (6-for-13) in three games with one homer (his first career dinger), two RBI and four runs scored . . . McGhee, a reserve outfielder last season, has started six games at second base over the past two weeks after starting second baseman Chris Jackson injured his left shoulder . . . catcher/first baseman Sean Ochinko batted .417 (5-for-12) in the Kentucky series with three RBI and two runs scored . . . as a team, the Tigers hit .298 (31-for-104) in the Kentucky series and recorded double-digit figures in hits in consecutive games (11 hits Saturday; 12 hits on Sunday) . . . LSU has a 7-1-1 mark in the games that the Tigers posted 10 or more hits . . . centerfielder Jared Mitchell, also a wide receiver for the LSU football team, played both in the football spring game and in the baseball game versus Kentucky on Saturday . . . after participating in the spring game in Tiger Stadium as a receiver and kick returner, Mitchell moved across the street to Alex Box Stadium for batting practice . . . Mitchell was 1-for-5 at the plate in Saturday’s baseball game against Kentucky . . . Sunday’s game between LSU and Kentucky ended in a 9-9 tie after eight innings, as the game was halted to accommodate UK’s airline flight plans . . . the tie was the fourth for LSU in SEC play since 1993 ? the others came versus South Carolina in 1993, at Georgia in 1999 and versus Florida in 2003 . . . LSU hit one home run in each game of the Kentucky series last weekend ? the Tigers have homered in six consecutive games and in nine of their last 10 contests.