Moore exits, LSU drops game two

By Hunt Palmer

THE STORY

That hurt.

Figuratively and literally.

LSU lost game two to Oklahoma, 4-2, on Friday night and may have lost No. 2 starter Cooper Moore in the process.

Moore exited in the fifth after spiking a fastball. He flexed his right hand and never attempted another throw as head coach Jay Johnson, trainer Isaac Trujillo and his teammates huddled around him. Trujillo never laid a hand on him. Moore left the field in obvious disappointment. It just didn’t look good, but LSU will wait on imaging.

Beyond that, LSU pitched well for nine innings and had plenty of chances to dent the scoreboard late.

Trailing 3-2 in the seventh, Chris Stanfield reached on an infield single and moved to second on a balk. He darted to third on a wild pitch and could have scampered home on another, but it grazed Steven Milam’s quad in the left hand batter’s box for a hit by pitch. Jake Brown drew a walk to load the bases for Derek Curiel who worked a 3-2 count with the tying run on third before popping up to center field.

In the eighth, Omar Serna drew a leadoff walk, and the count went 3-0 to John Pearson. Kadyn Leon, who retired Curiel in the clutch an inning earlier, worked the count full and induced a 5-4-3 double play that put the inning on ice. Pearson hit it hard but right at the third baseman.

Oklahoma would add an insurance run with a two-out, RBI single from Trey Gambill off Santiago Garcia. The Sooners added that to single runs in the third, fourth and fifth.

Ultimately, LSU didn’t do enough on offense with just two runs on seven hits. Pearson’s second inning homer was the only extra base hit.

Johnson knows his team is having some issues hitting the ball hard, and Oklahoma’s starter, LJ Mercurius, is tough. LSU tried to steal a run with a first and third steal-and-stop in the first inning, but Milam was thrown out at home by the shortstop after the catcher’s throw down.

This loss kills a little bit of momentum LSU had garnered from winning three straight. Moore’s status remains far more important. He was good on Friday night and may have his entire year in jeopardy.

Johnson said following the game that Moore indicated his triceps was bothering him. No timetable was laid out, but Johnson said he was “pretty optimistic that he’ll be alright.”

THE SCORECARD

Cooper Moore: 4 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 62 pitches, 43 strikes

LJ Mercurius: 5.1 IO, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, 83 pitches, 52 strikes

LSU was 7-for-33 (.226)

LSU was 3-for-14 (.214) with runners on.

LSU was 1-for-6 (.167) with RISP

Zach Yorke: 0-for-4, 4 K

Derek Curiel: 0-for-4, 2 K

Jake Brown: 1-for-1, R, 2 BB

LSU pitching walked 3, Oklahoma pitching walked 4.

WHAT’S NEXT

The rubber match is at 2:00 on Saturday. William Schmidt will take the ball for LSU in a big spot. The Tigers have Gavin Guidry and Deven Sheerin fully rested as well.