LSU is ranked 2nd in the latest D1Baseball Top 25 poll, but even the best teams in the country will have a clunker or two, and the Tigers had one against Northeastern on Monday night at Alex Box Stadium, losing to the Huskies 13-10.
At one point, Northeastern led 10-0 and came close to run-ruling the Tigers.
LSU’s bats were quiet for most of the game It wasn’t until Coach Jay Johnson emptied the bench and brought in some players who had only a few at-bats before the Tigers finally put some crooked numbers on the scoreboard.
Eddie Yamin IV homered, had two hits, and drove in two runs. Daniel Harden had a hit, a walk, and drove in a run.
There were also some disappointing pitching performances. Left-hander Cooper Williams got the start and retired the side in order in the first inning.
But he failed to record an out in the second inning and allowed four runs.
Zac Cowan came in relief and didn’t fare much better. Cowan allowed four runs in 1.2 innings as his ERA skyrocketed to 13.50.
Williams and Cowan were expected to be important pieces to LSU’s pitching staff, but both pitchers are off to rough starts in 2025.
Reagan Ricken was the third pitcher on the night, and the LSU freshman gave up his first two runs of the season.
It was also a rough night in the field as the Tigers had four errors. That’s the most errors by an LSU team since the 2023 College World Series Championship Series and that awful 24-4 loss to Florida.
LSU flushed that loss to the Gators and won a national championship the next day.
The Tigers will need to forget about this one and get ready for a UL Lafayette baseball team on Wednesday night that’s off to an 8-and-3 start, winning eight of their last nine.
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LSU will certainly pitch and play better defense than they displayed on Monday, but they would like to get the bats going.
3 Up, 3 Down
LSU has played 13 games in 17 days. This team looks mentally fatigued. Coach Jay Johnson scheduled 18 non-conference games before the start of SEC play, and it is testing his squad.
LSU has yet to find a reliable left-handed arm. Cooper Williams’ start was disappointing. He was expected to be a major piece of the pitching staff, but after four appearances, he has a 6.75 ERA. And no other left-handed pitchers have emerged. I like to see Ethan Plog get some more innings. He has not pitched since the series in Jacksonville.
Shake up in the line-up is coming. LSU finally showed some life at the plate in the late innings on Monday. Could we see Coach Jay Johnson give someone a start that hasn’t started yet? Maybe Daniel Harden gets a start in left field on Wednesday against the Cajuns. Eddie Yamin IV at DH is another possibility