By Hunt Palmer
THE STORY
Kade Anderson was brilliant. The rest of the Tigers, save Mavrick Rizy, were not.
LSU’s offense couldn’t solve Aggie starter Ryan Prager, and Chris Stanfield struggled with the elements twice in centerfield. Texas A&M took game one of Saturday’s doubleheader and the series, 3-1, at Blue Bell Park.
The first Aggie run came home in the second when Stanfield lost a Ben Royo pop up in the sun with a runner on first and two outs. Stanfield’s diving attempt came up just short, and Kaeden Kent scored.
That was the only blemish against Anderson who worked six dominant frames with 12 strikeouts.
After Anderson left the game, Royo tripled into the right field corner off Zac Cowan. He came home on a Hayden Schott single to give the Aggies a 2-1 lead. That became 3-1 when Caden Sorrell’s deep fly ball to the center was halted by the wind shy of the centerfield track. Standfield overran it and couldn’t glove it 400 feet from home plate. The sacrifice fly and error scored Sawyer Farr.
Perhaps the Aggies gained some momentum in the half inning that preceded the seventh inning two-spot. Steven Milam was thrown out at the plate on a Stanfield double to end the top of the seventh. Third base coach Josh Johnson waved Milam home with two out despite the throw in from left to Kent, the cutoff man, arriving just as Milam rounded third. It was an easy, easy out at the plate.
At that point the score was tied at one, and Derek Curiel was coming up. Generally, you err of the side of sending the runner with two out. I wouldn’t have in that spot because of how quickly the ball came back in and who was coming up.
LSU threatened to answer the Aggie two-spot in the top of the eighth when a pair of singles and a walk loaded the bases off lefty Weston Moss. LSU pinch hit Ashton Larson for Luis Hernandez, so Texas A&M countered with lefty hurler Kaiden Wilson. Ethan Frey grabbed a bat and flied to left on the second pitch he saw to leave the bases full.
Offensively, LSU simply has to do a better job. Prager has been lit up like a Christmas tree by almost every other SEC foe. He cruised on Saturday aside from Jones’s solo blast in the sixth that left the bat at 112 mph.
Jones fanned against Wilson with two men on and two out in the ninth to end it.
The bright side is that Anderson continues brilliantly as the postseason approaches. The obvious negative is that LSU’s offense is not nearly consistent enough at this point. The pitching staff is being asked to do far too much.
THE SCORECARD
Kade Anderson’s line: 6IP, 3H, 1R, 1ER, 3BB, 12K, 113 pitches, 73 strikes
Ryan Prager’s line: 7IP, 5H, 1R, 1ER, 3BB, 5K
Mavrick Rizy’s line: 1.2IP, 0H, 0R, 1BB, 5K
Texas A&M got the leadoff man on in six of eight innings. LSU got the leadoff man on just twice in nine tries.
LSU outhit the Aggies 8-6.
LSU was 2-for-14 with runners on. Texas A&M was 3-for-23.
The Tigers left 10 men on. Texas A&M left nine.
Derek Curiel was 0-for-5 with two strikeouts. He failed to reach base for the second time in three games.
WHAT’S NEXT
LSU and Texas A&M will play game two tonight. Lefty Justin Lampkin will start for the Aggies. LSU will go to Anthony Eyanson.
Moss and Wilson are the best two bullpen options for Texas A&M. They are likely unavailable Saturday evening. LSU will have Casan Evans ready. Cowan threw 10 pitches. Even if he’s not available to pitch Saturday night, he’ll be ready Sunday.
