Alabama Baseball Comes Up Short against No. 15 LSU, 7-4

Alabama baseball fell short on Friday evening, suffering a 7-5 loss to 15th-ranked LSU at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. Following tonight’s contest, the Tide moves to 15-28 overall and 2-18 in conference play, while the Tigers claim the series win.

“Our guys really competed tonight,” said Alabama head coach Greg Goff. “I thought Chandler Taylor had a tremendous night with the left-on-left matchup; he had some big hits. Our whole team just really competed against some really good arms. Give LSU credit, once we scored, they continued to score. We just ran out of innings."

The Crimson Tide battled from behind all evening after LSU jumped out to an early 3-0 lead after the first three frames. The two teams went on to trade runs for the next five-and-a half innings, with the Tide trimming the deficit to one-run after the fourth. The Tigers answered back, outscoring the Tide across the final five frames to secure the win.

Chandler Taylor highlighted the Alabama offense, finishing with a season-high tying three hits in four-at-bats, adding a home run, one RBI and a pair of runs scored. Sam Finnerty and Connor Short added to the team's RBI totals, each contributing one apiece, while Short notched his fourth home run of the season.

LSU began the night's scoring, plating three runs across the second and third innings. The Tigers began the second with a double before a wild pitch moved the runner to third. A groundout in the next at-bat crossed the game's first run to give LSU a 1-0 lead.

In the third, the Tiger leadoff man reached on a single, and a two-base throwing error allowed him to advance to third. One batter later, a single through the left side scored one. With two down in the inning, a single placed runners on the corners for the Tigers before a passed ball allowed the inning's second run in and moved the Tiger advantage to 3-0. Alabama responded the next half inning, using Short’s solo shot to narrow the gap and make it a 3-1 affair after three full.

The Tigers added one in the fourth to widen the margin again. After a leadoff walk was erased by a fielder's choice, a hit-by-pitch put a pair of runners on for LSU. One out later, a single up the middle plated a run for the Tigers to make it a 4-1 ballgame.
In the next half inning, The Tide chipped away at the lead, scoring two. Hunter Alexander began the scoring sequence, drawing a leadoff walk. Taylor followed with a single to put a pair of runners on for Finnerty, who delivered a single of his own to score Alexander. In the next at-bat, Alex Webb grounded into a double-play, but the twin-killing allowed Taylor to come across, setting the score at 4-3.

LSU plated two runs in the fifth to push the lead to three. A pair of singles placed runners on first and second for the Tigers, before a hit-by-pitch loaded the bases. One more single in the next at-bat crossed a pair to increase the LSU lead to 6-3.

The Crimson Tide cut into the Tigers’ lead, adding one in the sixth. With two down in the inning, Taylor collected his third hit of the day with a solo shot to deep right field, setting the score at 6-4 after six innings of play. The two teams went scoreless for the next two innings before the Tigers notched a solo home run in the top of the ninth to pad the lead and put the game out of reach.

Tomorrow’s series finale is set for a 2 p.m. CT start at Sewell-Thomas Stadium. Alabama will look to junior right-hander Jake Walters, while LSU calls on freshman righty Eric Walker. Fans can catch all of the action on SEC Network+.