After 4-3 win Saturday, LSU can reach Omaha by beating Miss. St. at 8 p.m. Sunday on ESPN2

Glenn Guilbeau
The Daily Advertiser
Starting pitcher Alex Lange on the mound as Mississippi State takes on LSU in the NCAA Super Regional at Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge Saturday, June 10, 2017.

 

BATON ROUGE - Finally, by the eighth, hell, LSU had had enough.

LSU trailed Mississippi State, 3-0, entering the bottom of the eighth inning late Saturday night after getting runners to third in the fourth, fifth and seventh innings to no avail while ace right-hander Alex Lange had allowed just one hit and one run through the first seven with nine strikeouts.

State had struck for two hits and two runs off Lange in the eighth for a 3-0 lead that silenced a standing room only crowd of 12,000 at Alex Box Stadium Saturday night in the NCAA Super Regional opener.

"Yeah, it was dead," LSU center fielder Zach Watson said.

Then Kramer Robertson walked to lead off the LSU eighth.

"As soon as Kramer walked, the gates of hell were unleashed," Lange said.

After Cole Freeman lined out to center, State started proceeding below purgatory. Antoine Duplantis singled, and Greg Deichmann doubled to get the Tigers through the pressure barrier, cut State's lead to 3-2 and chase reliever Peyton Plumlee. Then Zach Watson singled off reliever Riley Self to score Deichmann to tie it 3-3.

And State was in deep flames as Alex Box roared to life.

"It was an amazing experience," Watson said. "Something you only dream of doing."

Then Beau Jordan singled, fanning the flames with the fourth hit of the Apocalypse. After an intentional walk to Josh Smith to load the bases, Michael Papierski launched a deep sacrifice fly right center off Self to score Watson from third for the 4-3 lead and eventual final.

“We played great for seven,” Mississippi State coach Andy Cannizaro said. “They beat us in the last two innings. They win the ball game.”

The soul of State, which journeyed from hell and back at the NCAA Regional in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, last weekend by winning four games in two days, was not dead yet, though. Elijah MacNamee singled to open the top of the ninth off LSU reliever Zack Hess, who had bailed Lange out of the eighth by getting a ground out to end the frame. Then MacNamee reached third on a sacrifice bunt and a ground out. But Hess (7-1) struck out Hunter Stovall to end the game and get the win as the Tigers won their 15th straight and fourth in a row this season over State. Self (5-2) took the loss.

"That's a game we'll never forget in these parts," LSU coach Paul Mainieri said. "I can promise you that. I'll be talking about this game 10 years from now."

Particularly if LSU advances to college baseball heaven - aka Omaha, Nebraska - and the College World Series. The Tigers (47-17) can do that with a win over State (40-26) at 8 p.m. Sunday on ESPN2. Senior left-hander Jared Poche (10-3, 3.13 ERA) will pitch for LSU against a pitcher to be named from a season-long injury depleted State staff.

Probable starters for State are freshman right-hander Denver McQuary (3-3, 4.67 ERA), who did not go into this season as a pitcher, or junior right-hander Jacob Billingsley (2-3, 4.44 ERA).

"Hopefully, by the end of the day, we're going to have won the game and can make our reservations," Mainieri said.

There were no vacancies at home for LSU through the first seven innings despite the Tigers constantly knocking on the door.

LSU had three hits in the first six innings off State ace Konnor Pilkington but no runs. A lead-off walk to Jake Slaughter, who started at first base ahead of regular first baseman Nick Coomes (now healthy after thumb injury), was wiped out in the third when Robertson hit into a double play before Freeman struck out.

Duplantis led off the LSU fourth with a single and reached third after one out on Watson's single. But Jordan couldn't manage a sacrifice fly as he popped out to second base. Smith looked like he was about to give LSU a 3-1 lead, but his fly ball was caught at the warning track by right fielder Hunter Vansau.

Papierski led off the LSU fifth with a double and reached third on a sacrifice bunt by Slaughter. But Papierski got caught too far off the bag on a grounder by Robertson to third base. An angry Mainieri chewed out Papierski in the dugout. Then Freeman grounded out to second to end the inning.

Deichmann reached first when Pilkington hit him with one out in the sixth. Watson, though, bounced into a double play.

Then in the seventh, Jordan led off with a single, and Smith walked to chase Pilkington. Papierski sacrifice bunted both over a base off reliever Petyon Plumlee. Slaughter popped to shallow center, and Jordan tried to score, but he was out on a close play at the plate.  

"Offensively, it was a little frustrating," Mainieri said. "We couldn't get the run in from third."

State took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Lange hit Jake Mangum with the bases loaded after Ryan Gridley had the only hit of the inning and of the game for the Bulldogs through seven innings. Lange walked two batters around Gridley's single to load the bases before Mangum came up.

After hitting Mangum, Lange struck out Vansau and MacNamee, and that was it for State's offense ... until the eighth.

The Bulldogs finally registered another hit off Lange with one out in the eighth when Stovall doubled. After Lange intentionally walked .395-hitting Brent Rooker and struck out Gridley, Cody Brown laced a two-run double into left field for a 3-0 lead that appeared insurmountable.

Lange left the game down 3-0 in the eighth in his final Alex Box appearance, having allowed three hits and three runs with six walks and 10 strikeouts. All looked lost, but Deichmann spoke to the team in the dugout before the LSU eighth.

"Everybody needs to breathe," he said. "We've been in these situations. We've been in worse situations."

Glenn Guilbeau covers LSU sports for the USA Today Network of Louisiana. Follow him on Twitter at @LSUBeatTweet.Coverage of LSU and commentary by Guilbeau supported by Hebert’s Town & Country Automobile Dealer in Shreveport located at 1155 East Bert Kouns Loop. Research your next Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep or Ram at http://hebertstandc.com/