For the second consecutive day, Ole Miss' pitching staff collectively had its moments, but the lineup once again couldn't produce early or when it mattered most.
The Rebels couldn't get anything going against LSU's Luke Holman (W 8-3) for five consecutive innings and when there was finally traffic on the base path, they failed to deliver down the stretch. In the end, the Tigers clinched a much-needed series victory with a 4-2 Friday win over Ole Miss, whose postseason hopes are essentially on life-support.
"Well, you have one to go. That's it," Ole Miss head coach Mike Bianco said. "You can sit here and feel sorry for yourself or you can wake up tomorrow and win a baseball game, get 12 wins and be tied with them and then get to the conference tournament and win some baseball games. We have to do more, that's not a secret. You have to show up and be ready to play tomorrow."
Liam Doyle (L 3-3) surrendered eight hits (four of which extra base hits) and gave up all four LSU runs, striking out four batters. Ole Miss' bullpen consisting of Josh Mallitz, Wes Mendes and Connor Spencer gave up a combined two hits, five walks and five strikeouts.
Ole Miss once again churned out six hits, from six different batters. Luke Hill was responsible for both of his team's runs thanks to a two-run home run in the sixth inning to make things interesting. But at the end of the day, the Rebels collectively struck out 12 times against LSU's pitching staff, who stranded four runners on base in the game's final three innings. Griffin Herring got the save for the Tigers (6) in the end, but Holman finished with nine strikeouts in 6.2 innings of work.
"(Holman) is good. It's tough," Bianco said. "Just a really good mix of three pitches. He throws both the curveball and slider. When you throw it for that many strikes… the fastball can be sneaky too even though it doesn't light up the scoreboard. When he's throwing the breaking balls like that, it makes it much tougher."
To start the day, Holman went 1-2-3 through the top of the Ole Miss order with a strikeout of Jackson Ross to end the opening frame. On the flip side, Liam Doyle struck out leadoff batter Michael Braswell, before giving up a towering solo home run to left field by Tommy White, putting LSU on the board early. Doyle then gave up a two-out single by Hayden Travinski, before getting out of the inning by striking out Josh Pearson.
After another 1-2-3 inning from Holman, LSU proceeded to extend its lead in the second with a couple two-out hits, one of which an RBI single up the middle by Alex Milazzo.
Holman then retired three more batters on 10 pitches in the third, before Tommy White picked up right where he left off with a leadoff double to begin the bottom half of the inning. However, he was left stranded thanks to another Doyle strikeout and back-to-back fly-outs.
Andrew Fischer finally got the Rebels on the base path in the fourth with a one-out, check-swing, infield single on the third base side. However, he was soon left stranded as Holman retired Jackson Ross and Will Furniss to keep the shutout intact. After giving up a leadoff single by Steven Milam, who later stole second base, Doyle got out of the inning with three consecutive fly outs.
Holman continued to deal on the mound through the fifth inning as he retired Groff with a lineup before striking out Smithwick and Hughes back-to-back, 10 pitches total. After Liam Doyle surrendered a leadoff single and double a pitch later, Bianco brought Josh Mallitz out of the Ole Miss bullpen. With two outs, the Tigers brought both baserunners home on a groundout and RBI single to right, respectively, before the end of the fifth.
The Rebels found themselves back in it when the sixth inning rolled around. After a one-out single by Eli Berch, Luke Hill sent a two-run home run into the bleachers in right field. Holman finished the inning and prevented any further damage. Josh Mallitz gave up back-to-back walks before Bianco brought Wes Mendes out of the bullpen. Alex Milazzo moved both runners into scoring position with a sac bunt for the first out. Mendes walked Braswell to load the bases up for White, who was 3-for-3 at that point, and Mendes left the field with the bases juiced, thanks to back-to-back 0-2 strikeouts.
Holman's afternoon ended in the seventh after giving up back-to-back two-out singles by Campbell Smithwick and Treyson Hughes, which led to Christian Little coming out of the LSU bullpen. Three pitches later, LSU left the field with no more damage. Mendes kept the score what it was going into the eighth, stranding Milam in scoring position with a strikeout.
The Rebels threatened again after a pinch hit single by Trenton Lyons and full count walk issued to Hill, bringing Griffin Herring out of the LSU bullpen. Griffin allowed LSU to escape trouble once again after back-to-back strikeouts and fielding a groundout to retire Furniss. After a one-out double given up by Milazzo, Connor Spencer came out of the Ole Miss bullpen to keep the deficit at two going into the ninth, where Herring sealed the deal and the weekend series victory.
At the time of writing, Ole Miss and LSU will face off one more time on Saturday, May 18 at 1 p.m. CT. The matchup can be seen on SEC Network+ or listened to on the Ole Miss Radio Network.
