For the second straight game, LSU jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but instead of a meltdown in the 8th inning as they did on Friday night, the Tigers started to fall apart in the fourth inning on Saturday and were run-ruled 12-2 in 7 innings.
Turning Point: LSU led 2-0 in the 4th inning after scoring on a two-out RBI double by Steven Millam in the first inning. In the 2nd inning, Chris Stanfield drove in a run with a sacrifice fly.
William Schmidt threw three hitless innings to start the game, but ran into big-time trouble in the 4th inning.
The Ole Miss fourth inning began with back-to-back walks as Schmidt struggled to locate his curveball.
Ole Miss scored its runs in the fourth inning with a sacrifice fly, an RBI single, and a two-run homer by Austin Fawley.
Schmidt’s day was done, and the Tigers were done, too, in front of an amped-up crowd in Oxford.
Wait it gets worse: After getting two runs in the first two innings, LSU would have only two hits the rest of the way.
Ole Miss put the game away in the 6th inning with seven runs.
Again, it started with a lead-off walk by Zion Theophilus. He was pulled one batter later, and LSU used five pitchers in that inning.
Daniel Lachenmayer hit another batter and threw a wild pitch.
Conner Benge could not record an out.
Ethan Plog faced five hitters and gave up three runs.
Mavrick Rizy finally got out of the inning, but not before giving up a three-run double.
What it means: Coming into the series, Ole Miss had one of the worst offenses in the SEC, but they’ve scored 18 runs in the first two games.
Free base runners remain a problem. LSU pitchers walked eight, hit two others, and threw three wild pitches.
You needed a great start from Schmidt, and the sophomore couldn’t get past the fourth inning.
The offense hasn’t done much in this series, and all of the amazing moments that occurred last week with multiple grand slams are no longer happening, which is not a surprise.
LSU falls 6-8 in the SEC and will count on its bullpen to win them a game on Sunday.
