Securing a spot

HOOVER, AL -- Coming into the SEC Tournament, the LSU Tigers were considered a team on the bubble for making the NCAA Tournament. So, any type of success this week would solidify their chances of continuing their streak of post-season appearances.
With the fate of the season on the line, the Tigers took to the field Tuesday night against a red hot hitting Mississippi State team and took care of business, defeating the Bulldogs 8-5 in comeback fashion for a first round elimination win.
LSU now advances on and was scheduled to play the No. 1 team in the tournament, Florida on Wednesday. After the first round, the tournament now becomes a double elimination.
Tuesday night’s win was not the typical win that Tigers fans have come to know in the past, but this season has not been typical for LSU either. The Tigers came into the tournament with an overall record of 34-23 and a conference record of 16-15.
But, as they say, it is what you do now that counts. And, LSU has proven successful in the SEC Tournament, winning 12 titles and posting a 32-6 mark here since 2008. Even so, Tuesday night started very rough for the Tigers.
Mississippi State took control of the game early on, scoring the first three runs of the ballgame and took a 3-0 lead into the bottom of the fifth inning.
LSU, shut down offensively for the first four at-bats of the game, got to Bulldog ace left-hander Konnor Pilkington in the fifth. After loading the bases, Zach Watson hit a sacrifice fly to deep right field, putting the Tigers on the scoreboard and chasing Pilkington.
Antoine Duplantis followed with a sharp two-out RBI single off reliever JP France, cutting the lead to 3-2.
Mississippi State answered with a run in the top of the sixth. However, the Tiger bats came to life once again, as they plated two more runs to tie the game up at 4-4.
LSU took the lead for good in the bottom of the seventh inning. Jake Slaughter gave LSU its first lead in that inning when, with two strikes against him and the bases loaded, he was hit by a pitch from Blake Smith. Immediately after that, Nick Coomes hit a sacrifice fly to left-center scoring Duplantis.
The Bulldogs added another run in the top of the eighth to bring the score to 6-5, but it was too little too late, as the Tigers picked up two key runs in the bottom half of the inning to ensure the win.
Devin Fontenot picked up the win after only throwing one inning, as the freshman came in relief in the fifth inning.
Duplantis led the way at the plate, going three-for-five with a triple, two runs scored and two RBI.
“That was a very thrilling victory for our team,” head coach Paul Mainieri said after the game.