LSU loses to North Carolina 4-3, ending season in region final
LSU’s run of avoiding elimination came to an end on Monday night in Chapel Hill, losing to North Carolina 4-3 in ten innings in heartbreaking fashion. The Tigers held a 3-2 lead entering the top of the ninth with star pitcher Gage Jump on the mound against the bottom of the Tar Heels lineup, but LSU was unable to hold on, sending it to extra innings where the Tigers couldn’t hold on.
Senior right handed pitcher Will Hellmers was the Tigers’ best pitcher on the night. He came in the second inning and went five and two-thirds innings allowing just two hits, two walks, and zero earned runs with four strikeouts. It was a heroic outing from a pitcher with just 17.2 innings on the mound this season, but it was not enough as Sam Dutton struggled to start the game and Gage Jump was unable to put the game away in the final innings.
While holding the Tar Heels to two runs for seven innings, LSU’s bats were unable to extend the lead. The Tigers amassed just five hits and two walks (both by Jared Jones) while Tommy White, Steven Milam, and Josh Pearson combined to go 2-of-15 at the plate.
LSU’s season ends with a record of 43-23, failing to make it out of the regional round for the second time in three years. The national champs were in a tough spot sitting at 3-12 in SEC play in mid-April, but rode a run of 21 wins in 28 games to get to the region final before ultimately falling short.
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LSU started a trio of freshmen and relied on several transfers and younger players to help replace the immense amount of talent lost after winning the national championship, which Jay Johnson talked about being the biggest challenge early in the season. That, paired with a rigorous SEC schedule put the Tigers behind the eight ball and always fighting from behind. For most of the past two months, LSU was able to dig itself out of holes, but down one run in the tenth on Monday night, that magic ran out.
“Outside of one more hit to get one more spread and put more pressure on them in the middle of the game, but [Will] was incredible. We left him in because they were not seeing him well, then we got to 71 pitches and I felt good about where we were. Nate was a completely different look and then Gage is a completely different look from both of them. We had that plan in motion and they just executed and got it going. The whole game at the end we were just this close. The margins are that thin, but I’m good because of how we prepared and how we competed.
