How it happened: LSU’s pitchers walked ten and hit two batters, while the Tigers offense was 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position as Alabama gets out of Baton Rouge with a victory, a 7-4 win on Saturday night.
Key Moment: For the first time this season, Chase Shores did not start the series finale. Coach Jay Johnson started left-hander Conner Ware, and he pitched two plus innings allowing one run.
Shores relieved Ware in the third inning after he allowed a base hit. Shores walked the first batter he faced and then gave up a three-run homer to Alabama’s Richie Bonomolo Jr. Alabama led 3-0 and never trailed.
Will Shores start next week? Even though Shores was listed as the starting pitcher for the series finale, you knew something was up when Shores warmed up in the bullpen during the first two games of the series.
Johnson was asked if Shores would start next weekend against Tennessee, he said it’s too early to say, but he’s not closing the book on Shores starting again this season.
“I’m very comfortable starting him,” Johnson said of Shores. “Have been for 10 weeks in a row. That didn’t change. This was a little bit of a, ‘Hey, how do we get through tonight when you tapped out your two best guys out of the pen?'”
The next three conference series will be extremely tough with Tennessee, Texas A&M and Arkansas. I wouldn’t be surprised if LSU goes through the first two games of a series without using Zac Cowan or Casan Evans that one of them will start the series finale.
Jake Brown comes off the bench and drives in 3 runs: Jake Brown pinch hit for Michael Braswell in the sixth inning and hit a two-run home run. He also drove in a run in the 9th inning with a triple. Brown has been sharing playing time with Josh Pearson in right field.
I keep waiting for Coach Jay Johnson to make Brown the full-time right fielder and platoon Pearson and Ethan Frey at designated hitter. Brown has the tools to be a future major leaguer and, in my opinion, should not be sitting on the bench to start the game.
He’s also a better defender than Pearson in right field and once the postseason arrives, will Johnson lean more heavily on defense and play Pearson full-time in right.
Up Next: LSU will take Easter Sunday off and Johnson says the team needs it after playing a good McNeese team last Tuesday and then hosting Alabama. He also said there was also a lot of other work done outside of the games after the Tigers were swept by Auburn.
This week, LSU hosts Northwestern State on Tuesday night. The Demons are 15-9 in the Southland, 24-17 overall. And then the defending national champion Tennessee Volunteers comes to the Box in what promises to be a spicy series.