The LSU Tigers ended a five-game SEC series losing streak with a series victory against Missouri in Columbia. LSU won the series with a six to two win over Mizzou.
It was a must win scenario for LSU on Sunday who could not afford to lose a sixth SEC series and still expect a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
The Tigers fell behind 2-0 on Sunday, but a Paxton Kling two-run double tied the game in the 5th inning.
LSU would add single runs in the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth innings to secure the victory.
It was the first time in over a month that LSU faced an SEC foe that was not ranked in the Top 10. The Tigers took advantage of a weaker opponent, but Coach Jay Johnson has also figured some things out.
He has settled on a weekend rotation of Gage Jump, Luke Holman and Nate Ackenhausen.
On Sunday, Ackenhausen made his second start and for the second straight weekend he gave LSU a chance to win. Ack threw four innings against Mizzou, allowing two runs on five hits and he also struck out five.
Griffin Herring (3-0) continued his dominance out of the pen. Herring pitched five innings of shutout baseball, allowing one hit and striking out eight.
For LSU to make a run in the second half of the SEC schedule, they need a freshman to give them a lift. Ashton Larson appears to be that guy. He belted his second home run of the year and had five hits for the weekend. The Kansas native has a seven-game hitting streak.
LSU is now 5-13 in the SEC and in sixth place in the West. But they are set to begin a nine-game homestand and they’ll host Auburn this weekend. The Plainsman have the worst record in the SEC and it’s an opponent that the Tigers can sweep.
If LSU can get to 8-13 in the SEC, then you can maybe start to believe this team can go on a serious run in May.