Rob Childress
Michael Barash
Texas A&M Baseball
Errors, strikeouts plague No. 2 A&M in 3-2 loss to No. 13 LSU
GAME #23: Texas A&M 2, LSU 3
RECORDS: Texas A&M 20-3 (3-2), LSU 16-6 (2-3)
WP: Caleb Gilbert (3-1)
LP: Mark Ecker (2-1)
BOX SCORE
To this point in the season, the Aggie baseball team has been exceptional in the field and at the plate. The main concern has been the pitching staff, and both the starters and bullpen have struggled in key spots this season.
On Friday night, Aggie fans were calling all three phases of Texas A&M's game into question as the Maroon and White stumbled to a loss at the hands of No. 13 LSU, 3-2.
To start, it felt like most SEC Friday night games. Both starting pitchers were dealing. Tyler Ivey and Alex Lange each threw two scoreless innings to start the game and seemed to get more comfortable as the game wore on.
Kirby Clarke, TexAgs
Ryne Birk's error in the top of the ninth helped put LSU on top.
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With Ivey pitching well into the third inning, it appeared that it might be a while before either team got the upper hand. That is, until a Hunter Melton error while fielding a routine ground ball allowed Tiger Cole Freeman to score from second base, the unearned run putting LSU in the lead early, 1-0.
The Aggies recovered nicely from the miscue, scoring two runs in the bottom of the fifth on a solo home run by Ronnie Gideon and an RBI-single by Boomer White. With Tyler Ivey looking more poised on the mound with each pitch, Texas A&M led, 2-1, through the sixth inning.
When Ivey came out, the Aggie bullpen struggled — and the defense didn't help.
Mark Ecker was the second reliever out of the pen and gave up a stand-up double to the first hitter. A few pitches into the next at-bat, the ball got past senior catcher Michael Barash and the runner moved to third. One sacrifice hit later, the game was tied.
"Defensively, we kind of let ourselves down tonight," Barash said of the Aggies' performance. "I take full responsibility for that. We need to be better. We'll get them tomorrow. (We'll) come out to win the series tomorrow."
The Aggies desperately needed to generate some offense while they struggled on the other side of the ball, but aside from the sixth inning, they couldn't get anything going.
Lange threw 6.1 innings for the Tigers, and though he gave up five hits and six walks, the sophomore was able to limit Texas A&M to just two earned runs. When he left, the Ags struggled to figure out the LSU bullpen.
All told, the A&M offense struck out 14 times -- often in the biggest moments -- and ended up stranding 12 runners on base throughout the game, two stats that perfectly reflect the tough night the Aggies had at the plate.
The Aggies went scoreless through the eighth inning, and needed a clean top half of the ninth to get back to the plate quickly and manufacture some runs. That's when the defensive mistakes came into play once again.
With a runner on second, junior second baseman Ryne Birk let a ground ball slip through the infield. The error was enough to score the runner and give LSU the lead for good.
Texas A&M got a small rally going in the bottom half, but closer Caleb Gilbert hung on to get the final three outs the Tigers needed.
"We had two great pitchers going at it," Aggie head coach Rob Childress said after the game. "Lange was fantastic, and so was Tyler Ivey. At the end of the day, we didn't play well enough to win, and LSU did. Give them all the credit."
The Aggies and Tigers have split the first two games of the weekend and will meet tomorrow for the rubber match at 2 pm at Blue Bell Park.
RECORDS: Texas A&M 20-3 (3-2), LSU 16-6 (2-3)
WP: Caleb Gilbert (3-1)
LP: Mark Ecker (2-1)
BOX SCORE
To this point in the season, the Aggie baseball team has been exceptional in the field and at the plate. The main concern has been the pitching staff, and both the starters and bullpen have struggled in key spots this season.
On Friday night, Aggie fans were calling all three phases of Texas A&M's game into question as the Maroon and White stumbled to a loss at the hands of No. 13 LSU, 3-2.
To start, it felt like most SEC Friday night games. Both starting pitchers were dealing. Tyler Ivey and Alex Lange each threw two scoreless innings to start the game and seemed to get more comfortable as the game wore on.
Kirby Clarke, TexAgs
Ryne Birk's error in the top of the ninth helped put LSU on top.
{"Module":"photo","Alignment":"left","Size":"large","Caption":"Ryne Birk\u0027s error in the top of the ninth helped put LSU on top.","MediaItemID":67607}
The Aggies recovered nicely from the miscue, scoring two runs in the bottom of the fifth on a solo home run by Ronnie Gideon and an RBI-single by Boomer White. With Tyler Ivey looking more poised on the mound with each pitch, Texas A&M led, 2-1, through the sixth inning.
When Ivey came out, the Aggie bullpen struggled — and the defense didn't help.
Mark Ecker was the second reliever out of the pen and gave up a stand-up double to the first hitter. A few pitches into the next at-bat, the ball got past senior catcher Michael Barash and the runner moved to third. One sacrifice hit later, the game was tied.
"Defensively, we kind of let ourselves down tonight," Barash said of the Aggies' performance. "I take full responsibility for that. We need to be better. We'll get them tomorrow. (We'll) come out to win the series tomorrow."
The Aggies desperately needed to generate some offense while they struggled on the other side of the ball, but aside from the sixth inning, they couldn't get anything going.
Lange threw 6.1 innings for the Tigers, and though he gave up five hits and six walks, the sophomore was able to limit Texas A&M to just two earned runs. When he left, the Ags struggled to figure out the LSU bullpen.
All told, the A&M offense struck out 14 times -- often in the biggest moments -- and ended up stranding 12 runners on base throughout the game, two stats that perfectly reflect the tough night the Aggies had at the plate.
The Aggies went scoreless through the eighth inning, and needed a clean top half of the ninth to get back to the plate quickly and manufacture some runs. That's when the defensive mistakes came into play once again.
With a runner on second, junior second baseman Ryne Birk let a ground ball slip through the infield. The error was enough to score the runner and give LSU the lead for good.
Texas A&M got a small rally going in the bottom half, but closer Caleb Gilbert hung on to get the final three outs the Tigers needed.
"We had two great pitchers going at it," Aggie head coach Rob Childress said after the game. "Lange was fantastic, and so was Tyler Ivey. At the end of the day, we didn't play well enough to win, and LSU did. Give them all the credit."
The Aggies and Tigers have split the first two games of the weekend and will meet tomorrow for the rubber match at 2 pm at Blue Bell Park.
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